Hybrid Gas Mileage Good? Bad? As Expected?

519 messages, Last post on Jan 16, 2007 at 6:14 AM

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What is this discussion about? Hybrid Cars, Fuel Efficiency (MPG)

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#465 of 519 Re: Inname comparision [rorr] by falconone Dec 13, 2005 (12:42 pm)
Replying to: rorr (Dec 13, 2005 12:27 pm) Haven't you heard?? It's a new model only available in certain parts of the US. Quite a vehicle!!! Replies to this message: rorr (Dec 13, 2005 1:07 pm) falconone (Dec 13, 2005 1:36 pm)
#466 of 519 Re: Inname comparision [falconone] by rorr Dec 13, 2005 (1:07 pm)
Replying to: falconone (Dec 13, 2005 12:42 pm) "It's a new model only available in certain parts of the US. Quite a vehicle!!!" I'll bet. Since the Suburban is 5x the Speck, I'm guessing the Speck is about 4' long, 2' wide, 18" tall, seats two and weighs less than 1000 lbs. Quite a vehicle alright! Replies to this message: falconone (Dec 13, 2005 1:36 pm)
#467 of 519 Re: Inname comparision [rorr] by falconone Dec 13, 2005 (1:36 pm)
Replying to: rorr (Dec 13, 2005 1:07 pm) Absolutely!!! I also understand that there will be a $4,000 tax credit for all 2006 Specks, so I have my order in!!
#468 of 519 Re: A/C on or off [fndlyfmrflyr] by warner Dec 14, 2005 (9:59 am)
Replying to: fndlyfmrflyr (Dec 11, 2005 3:26 am) THANK YOU! I'm happy to hear that someone didn't radically change their driving style to squeeze a few extra mpg out of their car. It's fine for people to play those MPG games, as long as they're not making everyone else's drive miserable by being in the way. I say to the hyper-milers, "Go get your record mileage on the weekend when the roads are not congested, but please don't make my commute miserable so you can save a nickel each day on gas." I am a fairly aggressive driver though....so maybe I have my own issues, too. But I promise that I won't get in anyone's way or slow them down if they want to go faster than me in the left lane. (I'm not a closet cop...I'll let them slow people down who are going too fast). Okay...I'm done venting....back to EPA stuff Replies to this message: misterme (Dec 15, 2005 3:04 pm)
#469 of 519 HMM, let's see - 250 million cars, saving 5 cents a day... by larsb Dec 14, 2005 (10:12 am)
quote warner-"but please don't make my commute miserable so you can save a nickel each day on gas."-end quote I do feel sorry for you if passing a slow car can "make your commute miserable." We ALL need to slow down. It's to the point of ridiculous to race up to the next red light - STOP, then RACE to the next red light - STOP, repeat all day. That's SO WASTEFUL and people do it completely by habit and don't even know any better. If we all slowed down and saved a nickel on gas a day, that $12,500,000 saved every day. Sounds good to me.... Replies to this message: warner (Dec 14, 2005 10:25 am)
#470 of 519 Re: HMM, let's see - 250 million cars, saving 5 cents a day... [larsb] by warner Dec 14, 2005 (10:25 am)
Replying to: larsb (Dec 14, 2005 10:12 am) quote warner-"but please don't make my commute miserable so you can save a nickel each day on gas."-end quote I do feel sorry for you if passing a slow car can "make your commute miserable." Assuming I have the OPTION to pass a slow car, I'm not miserable and couldn't care less how slow someone else wants to go. I thought I made that part clear. We ALL need to slow down. It's to the point of ridiculous to race up to the next red light - STOP, then RACE to the next red light - STOP, repeat all day. That's SO WASTEFUL and people do it completely by habit and don't even know any better. Umm....I'm not sure about this but I don't think we ALL need to do anything that one specific group decides that we need to do. I'm not sure where you live, but where I live we are not under communist rule, and that's part of the deal...we can make choices. I don't ask that Hyper-milers drive faster just because I like to, I just ask that they not prevent me from driving the way that I like to. I will afford them the same respect. One person's rights end where another's begins. I drive a 2006 Civic and I'm not some crazy maniac (I just traded my 2004 in on on 2006 and averaged 35mpg over the 41,000 miles that I put on the '04), but I do like to move things along. I'm in the Chicago area and my family and I are always fairly busy. I'm willing to pay that extra nickel a day to save myself a half hour of driving. If someone else is not willing to do that, I'm FINE with that as long as they don't prevent me from doing that. I'm all for peace here, my friend. Warner
#471 of 519 Regardless of politics..... by larsb Dec 14, 2005 (10:36 am)
Keeping politics and communism out of it, what I said was that "WE ALL SHOULD DO THAT FOR THE GOOD OF US ALL" and that will not be any different regardless of what type of government is running things. If you are one of the people driving too fast, you DO need to slow down, for the sake of all of us. Driving like that causes overconsumption (driving up gas prices) and causes more wrecks (rear ends) which drives up car insurance rates, and accidents cause more hospital trips (which raises medical insurance rates). Nothing good comes from driving too fast, but a LOT of good can come from hypermiling. It's called "personal sacrifice for the good of all." Heard of it? No, really, I don't want to come across as too harsh, but all you have to do is sit and think about it a while. Sure, our country is based on independent thought and no one being able to tell anyone else how to live, but there should be common sense limits to that. Drive how you want, but don't criticize hypermilers for doing something that is good for ALL of us. Replies to this message: warner (Dec 14, 2005 11:55 am)
#472 of 519 Re: Regardless of politics..... [larsb] by warner Dec 14, 2005 (11:55 am)
Replying to: larsb (Dec 14, 2005 10:36 am) I'm already driving a ULEV. I seriously doubt that my driving habits in this vehicle are affecting overconsumption any more than a hyper milers habits are affecting it. As far as wrecks, I have not had any wrecks since I was a teenager, so I must be doing okay in that respect. You are making assumptions when you accuse me of "driving too fast" as well, don't you think? How far does one need to go to be doing "what's good for all of us"? Why stop with hyper-miling? Why not just walk, ride a bicycle, carpool, or use public transportation? Maybe these hyper-milers really aren't doing enough for the good of us all? My point is that there is a limit to what people can be expected to do. If I drove my civic with the pedal to the floor each time I went somewhere (which I obviously don't), I could NEVER match the same emissions as someone driving a huge gas-guzzling SUV while employing the Hyper-mileage techniques. My point is that it's fine for Hyper-milers to practice their hobby (which is really what it is, if you get right down to it) as long as it doesn't interfere with others around them....just as I can drive the way that I want to as long as it doesn't interfere with those around me, right? I'm hopeful that we can find some common ground here. I don't think that what I'm talking about is unreasonable. Warner
#473 of 519 My driving style is now more sensible, more economically sound. by larsb Dec 14, 2005 (12:10 pm)
quote warner-"My point is that it's fine for Hyper-milers to practice their hobby (which is really what it is, if you get right down to it) as long as it doesn't interfere with others around them....just as I can drive the way that I want to as long as it doesn't interfere with those around me, right?"-end quote I contend that people driving too fast are doing more harm to more people than someone driving 5 mph below the speed limit in the "right lane=slow lane." Anyone who drives in the style to which I was referring, the "jackrabbit starts at red light only to accomplish wasting gas until I have to stop at the next red light then I shall again rush to the next light," those people are flat wrong and many of them do not even know they are doing something idiotic because no one has ever pointed it out to them. quote warner-"You are making assumptions when you accuse me of "driving too fast" as well, don't you think?"-end quote I neither assumed anything nor accused you of anything. I said, talking to EVERYONE reading my post "If you are one of the ones driving too fast." Notice the IF, meaning, "if you are reading this and fit this description, my next statement is for you." If not, then not. As far a hypermiling being a hobby, it's not a hobby for me at all. It's a "Driving Style" and it has made me see how stupid I was for not doing this my whole life. I no longer worry about getting speeding tickets, and I no longer worry about rear-ending someone, and I no longer worry about how much gasoline I'm wasting, because I'm not wasting any - I'm using as little as required for my commute. As far as carpool, bike, bus, etc., I cannot do that because I am a single father of two kids whom I am required to deliver to school and retrieve each afternoon. They are out of district boundaries because the in-district school is too far out of our way, so they cannot take the school bus. the City Bus would take away valuable sleep from my kids, who already go to bed at 8:00 PM and get up at 6:00 AM. I hypermile and conserve fuel and reduce out-of-the-way trips as much as possible, and without a Hybrid, I would be much less effective at all of that. Replies to this message: warner (Dec 14, 2005 12:51 pm) xcel (Dec 14, 2005 1:49 pm) warner (Dec 14, 2005 6:24 pm) and 2 more... mirth (Dec 14, 2005 1:19 pm) larsb (Dec 14, 2005 1:52 pm) falconone (Dec 14, 2005 2:01 pm) and 3 more... warner (Dec 14, 2005 6:32 pm) gagrice (Dec 14, 2005 6:53 pm)
#474 of 519 Re: My driving style is now more sensible, more economically sound. [larsb] by warner Dec 14, 2005 (12:51 pm)
Replying to: larsb (Dec 14, 2005 12:10 pm) I contend that people driving too fast are doing more harm to more people than someone driving 5 mph below the speed limit in the "right lane=slow lane." Agreed. I don't drive "too fast", but some people do and you are right - they are a bigger hazard than the slow poke in the right lane. During periods of heavy traffic though, the slow poke in the right lane IS a hazard, whether you want to believe it or not. If there is space for traffic to change lanes to get around him, that's fine; otherwise he/she IS causing a problem with traffic flow. Anyone who drives in the style to which I was referring, the "jackrabbit starts at red light only to accomplish wasting gas until I have to stop at the next red light then I shall again rush to the next light," those people are flat wrong and many of them do not even know they are doing something idiotic because no one has ever pointed it out to them. Once again, we agree! I never start off fast from a light unless there is a chance to make the next light without stopping (and thereby having to start back up again and waste gas, create extra emissions, and all that bad stuff that you hate). I WILL take off from lights quickly when I know how they are timed (such as in my normal commute to work and home each day) because it saves me time which is more valuable to ME than a few drops of gasoline. I'm sure there are times when this saves me gasoline too though, in not having to stop for every light on the way home. quote warner-"You are making assumptions when you accuse me of "driving too fast" as well, don't you think?"-end quote I neither assumed anything nor accused you of anything. I said, talking to EVERYONE reading my post "If you are one of the ones driving too fast." Notice the IF, meaning, "if you are reading this and fit this description, my next statement is for you." If not, then not. You got me. You neither assumed or accused me of driving too fast. I stand corrected. I'm happy to report that the negative views that you have about people who practice that behavior do not apply to me. As far a hypermiling being a hobby, it's not a hobby for me at all. It's a "Driving Style" and it has made me see how stupid I was for not doing this my whole life. I no longer worry about getting speeding tickets, and I no longer worry about rear-ending someone, and I no longer worry about how much gasoline I'm wasting, because I'm not wasting any - I'm using as little as required for my commute. Fair enough. To me it would have to be a hobby of sorts, because beyond the little bit of gasoline that I saved by driving that way, the amount of time I'd lose doing it would have to be qualified as a hobby for the amount of time I wasted doing it. What is it really about? Saving gas for the good of the environment? Is that what it is? That's the ONLY reason I could see for someone wanting to buy a hybrid vehicle. There certainly isn't a practical financial way of justifying the purchase of one. If someone wants the latest technology just to have one, that's cool....I buy all kinds of things that I don't need, but I don't then criticize others who don't agree with my decisions, nor do I feel that I'm somehow better or doing more for others because of the decisions that I make. The way that I see it, SOME DAY (and probably sooner than later) the hybrid technology WILL make sense from a financially practical sense, but it just doesn't today. I think we will ALL own hybrids (in some sense of the word or another) at some point down the road, but it's just not "ready" yet. I equate this to any new technology, like voice-over-ip or anything that had a time when it was really whiz-bang cool but just not practical. That's just my opinion. As far as carpool, bike, bus, etc., I cannot do that because I am a single father of two kids whom I am required to deliver to school and retrieve each afternoon. They are out of district boundaries because the in-district school is too far out of our way, so they cannot take the school bus. the City Bus would take away valuable sleep from my kids, who already go to bed at 8:00 PM and get up at 6:00 AM. That makes sense. I have 3 young children myself (12 and under) and although I'm not a single dad, my wife doesn't drive so it's almost WORSE because I generally have to drive her home from work (she takes public transportation to work on days that she can't ride with me - it's on my way to work to drop her off). I wasn't necessarily talking about you specifically (just as you weren't talking about me specifically when you spoke of people who drive too fast), but hyper-milers whose sole reason for doing so is to help with the environment-related issues. Surely SOME of them have a situation which would allow them to walk, bike, carpool, or use public transportation, don't you think? My point was (and I believe that you understood it) that people who claim to be better than others who don't follow their practices had better be ready for their own practices to be scrutinized. I hypermile and conserve fuel and reduce out-of-the-way trips as much as possible, and without a Hybrid, I would be much less effective at all of that. Once again, you'll get no argument from me about your personal choices. I think it's really cool that people want to see how far they can push the envelope; whatever the envelope might be. My ONLY gripe is when they feel their "cause" is greater or somehow more important than others around them. Warner Replies to this message: xcel (Dec 14, 2005 1:49 pm) warner (Dec 14, 2005 6:24 pm) xcel (Dec 14, 2005 8:03 pm) and 1 more...