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View Full Version : Answers to common questions about hybrids


Chuck
11-08-2007, 10:20 AM
If a hybrid driver tells you he's getting 70 mpg in his stock car, he's lying. (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/OPINION03/711070327/1386/rss07)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Prius_HSD_Logo.jpgScott Burgess - Detroit News - Nov 7, 2007

I hear the question a couple of times a month: "I'm thinking about buying a hybrid, what should I get?"

That's like asking, "I'm thinking about buying a watch, any recommendations?"

Sure, a nice watch on your wrist and a hybrid in your driveway might gain you points during Ketel One cocktail parties, but does it make sense?

Some people say yes, no matter what the circumstances. But either they don't know what they're talking about or don't spend much time on a highway, have never towed anything heavier than a Sunfish sailboat and think the Honda Ridgeline and Ford F-350 are about the same thing...http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/OPINION03/711070327/1386/rss07

johnf514
11-08-2007, 10:27 AM
"Read More" link is incorrect?

GreenBlues
11-08-2007, 10:34 AM
The article is so bad. Don't bother fixing the link.

PaleMelanesian
11-08-2007, 10:38 AM
Click the "If a hybrid driver tells you he's getting 70 MPG" link instead.

The experienced hybrid driver can try 'hypermiling,' which uses a lot of acceleration and braking to get even better mileage -- though you never really go above 30 mph, and all of the stop and go tends to make you carsick.

:confused::eek::mad::(

HCHCIN
11-08-2007, 10:38 AM
More idiocy from Detroit.

Chuck
11-08-2007, 10:42 AM
"Read More" link is incorrect?Thank you for pointing this out - link has been fixed

laurieaw
11-08-2007, 10:42 AM
his email link is at the bottom of the page. perhaps someone would like to invite him here....and show him what i got on the way to work this morning. 71.5. i don't like to be called a liar.

Chuck
11-08-2007, 10:49 AM
If it was possible to post a 2nd poll with this article, it would be:

"Was posting this News Article trollbait?" :p

johnf514
11-08-2007, 11:01 AM
I think it was a good find, Delta Flyer. Just shows the idiocy and stereotypes we must overcome to spread the good word that is hypermiling.

tarabell
11-08-2007, 11:05 AM
However, a gentle touch on any vehicle will help you stretch your mileage. The experienced hybrid driver can try 'hypermiling,' which uses a lot of acceleration and braking to get even better mileage -- though you never really go above 30 mph, and all of the stop and go tends to make you carsick.

I thought he had a psychotic break here, then I figured out maybe he's talking about pulse & glide....(laughing hysterically).....

Chuck
11-08-2007, 11:06 AM
He actually gives some good advise, but it's drowned by comments such as "if a hybrid driver gets 70mpg - they are lying".

Q . Who should consider a hybrid?
A . If more than two-thirds of your time in a car is spent sitting in stop-and-go traffic, then a hybrid is right up your alleyMention that Honda as the exception (highway cruising is it's forte and he's fine


Q . How do hybrids perform on the road?
A . When built for efficiency, they can feel slow out of the blocks. Face it, a Prius is not going to blow anyone's doors off.It's just like conventional cars - some are performance-oriented, others are built for economy.

I'd say the delivery could be the most offensive thing after the 70mpg comment...maybe he will follow fellow Detroiter Madonna to England and make the same kind of reviews Jermy Clarkston makes.

laurieaw
11-08-2007, 11:06 AM
sorry, i couldn't help myself.........my reponse

sir, i really must take offense at the idea that you promote that those of us who claim to get 70MPG are liars. i drive a 2005 civic hybrid with a manual transmission, and on my 40 mile commute to work this morning, i actually pulled into the parking lot with 71.5MPG on the gauges. most of my driving was done at between 42-50 miles and hour, and less where the speed limit was less. and the only thing that's not stock on my car is the block heater i have installed.

your comment about getting carsick was pretty ridiculous, unless of course you can't manage to shift more smoothly than to make yourself sick. with my 5 speed, i can actually shift with no difference in speed or RPM....imagine that. i get sicker watching gas prices rise, as does the speeding on our roads.

with gas prices approaching the $4 mark, one would think that those of you who have an in with the industry would start giving a little more thought to perhaps driving slower and settling for a little less power and speed. we cannot possibly continue on our current course forever, and i think it would behoove you to be a little more positive about reducing our consumption without the sarcasm.

feel free to stop by cleanmpg.com, and see how many "liars" post their daily mileage in the 50s, 50s, 70s and beyond. it's happening, you just need to know where to look.

Skwyre7
11-08-2007, 11:58 AM
Nice, Laurie.

Re: the article, I thought he started out well (for a Detroit writer, anyway), then the **** started flowing.

Can someone start up a site that flushes **** like this article down an internet toilet? Something like digg, but the opposite.

lightfoot
11-08-2007, 12:20 PM
Nice, Laurie.

Re: the article, I thought he started out well (for a Detroit writer, anyway), then the **** started flowing.

Can someone start up a site that flushes **** like this article down an internet toilet? Something like digg, but the opposite.
Call it flush.com maybe?

Earthling
11-08-2007, 01:04 PM
Q . How do hybrids perform on the road?

A . When built for efficiency, they can feel slow out of the blocks. Face it, a Prius is not going to blow anyone's doors off.

More BS about the Prius being slow. I can blow the doors off any $35K pickup truck, with few exceptions, and blow the doors off a surprising number of cars "out of the blocks" with my Prius.

Harry

laurieaw
11-08-2007, 02:01 PM
Q . How do hybrids perform on the road?

A . When built for efficiency, they can feel slow out of the blocks. Face it, a Prius is not going to blow anyone's doors off.

More BS about the Prius being slow. I can blow the doors off any $35K pickup truck, with few exceptions, and blow the doors off a surprising number of cars "out of the blocks" with my Prius.

Harry

and why does the writer think it's imporant to "blow the doors off"? it's this type of mentality that keeps us in the trouble we are in with the gas prices
:mad:

bullwinkle428
11-08-2007, 03:03 PM
I haven't posted much since joining cleanmpg.com a little while back (although I've read a great deal and have learned a tremendous amount of information!), but HAD to post something in response to this article.

This DORK seems to have taken every stupid myth about hybrids repeated often by every ignorant knuckle-dragger out there, collected them together, and reported them as ACTUAL FACTS! If this doesn't convince people about the existence of collusion between big media and big corporate interests, specifically related to a geographic region, then I don't know what it would take. Congrats to Laurie for a great post-article comment - we'll see if the author has the guts to respond to her rebuttal...

Earthling
11-08-2007, 03:07 PM
and why does the writer think it's imporant to "blow the doors off"? it's this type of mentality that keeps us in the trouble we are in with the gas prices
:mad:

Worse than that, "Face it, a Prius is not going to blow anyone's doors off" could reasonably be interpreted as meaning that the Prius is the slowest car on the road. I mean, if it can't beat anyone's doors off, it means it can't beat any car, period. That is blatantly wrong, and the author is either woefully ignorant to write that, or is purposely continuing the myth that the Prius is slow.

It isn't slow, and I'm challenging the author on that point. Mr. Author, you are full of BS!

Harry

laurieaw
11-08-2007, 03:31 PM
come on, guys. his email is right at the end of the article......let him know what you think. :)

CitrusInsighter
11-08-2007, 05:22 PM
I sent him a heavy response via email while I should have been working on my presentation. It just pissed me off so much, I couldn't concentrate until I sent him my thoughts. I hope he gives some response to see what he defends his article with. By all means, more people should let him know we see how slanted this article is. I made sure to include an invitation both to CleanMPG as well as the next Milwaukee Hybrid Group meeting.



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