Just Drove A Rented Prius To Portland Or........

[rsmith6621]

....From Seattle......Round trip 447 miles on 8 gallons of petro for 55mpg....I love it the gas saving paid for the upgrade from Enterprise Car....


...So anyhow I was thinking if Obama is serious about getting us off the middle east dependency for oil that he was talking about during the campaign and the SOU address then why doesn't he set a new fuel standards and they be set in place by 2014....I don't understand why all new automobiles by 2014 can't have HYBRID engines in them.

55mpg would save me about $700.00 a year alone for gas I buy to commute....I hardly ever go anywhere else with out renting a car..

[Ruby the Liberal]

1. 2014?

:rofl:

Health Insurance "reform" won't be in effect by then. Financial "reform" has until, when, 2018? They gave the credit card companies 18 months to enact VERY limited reforms that could have taken a programmer a week to write and install in their systems (if that).

This isn't about the administration per se - it is our culture of politicians wanting to give corporate America as much time as possible to figure out where the loopholes are so that they can adjust their gaming of the system.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Sadly, that is perfectly true.

Everything happens so far in the future that those affected can find ways around the new rules by the time it comes into effect.

[divideandconquer]

3. Hybrid sales plummet 40% in August; Prius records 37.5% decline

Hybrid sales plummet 40% in August; Prius records 37.5% decline

One month of dreary sales figures doesn't signal the end of the hybrid, but the numbers reported for August hint that without a rise in gas prices, hybrid vehicle sales will likely continue to suffer. Overall hybrid sales dropped 40.4 percent in August compared to a year ago. Not even the mighty Toyota Prius could avoid the plunge. Prius sales fell 37.5 percent compared to August 2009 and dropped off 16.3 percent compared to the July 2010 numbers. Combined, Toyota and Lexus hybrids saw a 36.2 percent decline from a year ago. Ford fared better by posting a 17.1 percent drop in year-over-year numbers.
------------------------------------------------------
<http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/04/hybrid-sales-plummet-40-in-august-prius-records-37-5-decline/#comments>

[flvegan]

4. Worst August for US auto sales since 1983

Not just hybrids.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67T3DN20100901

[divideandconquer]

9. Gas pigs did well, luxury car sales did very well and fullsize trucks did Ok

Cadillac, Buick, Jaguar, Porsche, Infinit, Acura, Jeep, Audi, Land Rover, Mercedes and Lincoln were all up.
<http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/01/by-the-numbers-august-2010-the-c4c-hangover-continues/>

[depakid]

29. Just goes to show how stupid people are

I'll have ZERO sympathy for those who bought (or manufactured) gas hogs as prices rise to $5, $7 and %10+ per gallon over the next decade.

I mean, how much more of a warning do they need?

[SoCalDem]

6. They cost too much for most of the "common" people

and are "toys" for many of the well off who buy them. I suspect that many of the wealthier people who buy them, still drive their big ole guzzlers too.

To be effective, hybrids or no-gasoline autos have to become the NORM..not the "hey-look-at-me-I'm-green" novelty.

If they made them for $10K, they would be all over the place.

People who depend on a paycheck every week, and who are not independently well-off, are too worried about keeping their jobs, to sign on to 5-6 years of car payments. They aren't buying ANY cars..especially $35-40K hybrids.

[Brickbat]

10. Yup.

I think the "look at me!" factor is huge when it comes to Prius sales. We're about to hit 40 mpg in our Focus, every tank. It was a lot cheaper than a Prius -- and union-made in the USA, too.

[Warren Stupidity]

11. What a lot of misinformation.

Lets start with "They aren't buying ANY cars..especially $35-40K hybrids."

Prius starts at 22K and tops out at 28K.
Insight starts at 19K up to 23K.

I gave up a subaru outback with 230,000 miles on it for a new prius. Doubled my mileage, although I loved the subaru and merely like the prius.

Nobody is selling a new car here for 10K. Get real.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

35. That might come as a suprise to Hyundai

I paid $10,050 for my Hyundai Accent BEFORE Cash For Clunkering my girlfriends old Ford Bronco.

[jpak]

33. IIRC the MRSP of a base Prius is $22k - not $35-40k

n/t

[SoCalDem]

37. If you cannot afford ANY car payment, it's a moot point anyway.

Americans (as a whole) like big..and shiny..& fancy, so our car prices reflect it..

A national push to make a truly affordable (paid off in 2-3 yrs) entry-level non-gasoline car is what's needed to sell enough of them to make a difference.

We all know that we will never really do that, so I guess the young folks here will have to figure it out later when it's too late:(

[rsmith6621]

7. Car Sales Suffers Because The Economy Keeps Dipping

.....ALSO....IMO if we would invest and make a commitment to HYBRID TECH the cost would come down to where people could afford it and people would go back to work.....I cannot even with my great pay afford a $27000.00 car...

[jpak]

32. I see Priuses everywhere in Maine these days - they are ubiquitous

and the vast majority of new cars on the road in Maine today are fuel efficient cars - not SUVs.

Those figures are the result of comparing Cash-4-Clunkers (2009) to No Cash-4-Clunkers (2010) sales.

Apples and Oranges

[BrklynLiberal]

36. Priuses are like dog poop here in NYC...everywhere

[Steely_Dan]

24. You Know...

...that's an excellent point. And an angle on this that hadn't occurred to me.

-P

[Taitertots]

5. Because it would be political suicide

And an economic nightmare.

[david13]

8. The major problem is what I say all the time. The price of gas is ...

too low. Thus it continues to be the great american custom to waste as much of it as possible, and get the biggest, most gas guzzling monstrosity possible.
Ergo, Ford. GM.
A gas hog in a road hog. The american way.
dc

[blue_onyx]

15. LOL

GM and Ford vehicles are just as fuel efficent as foreign competitors (if not more fuel efficient).

Chevy Malibu: 22/33
Toyota Camry: 22/33
Honda Accord: 22/31
Ford Fusion: 22/31

But, as always, you don't let facts get in your way.

[david13]

16. You are no where in the ball park of the facts. First those are numbers

that come from Ford and GM. I would not believe them if you put a gun to my head.
Second, try the fleet average. Then you will know what the difference is.
Malibu and Fusion account for what tiny tiny percent of their sales?
I don't get my facts from the bozos at GM and Ford.
dc

[blue_onyx]

17. Nonsense

"I don't get my facts from the bozos at GM and Ford."

What are you talking about? I have yet to see you post any comment that contains facts.

The numbers I posted are fact. Deal with it

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/

[david13]

19. GM and Ford have long built junk. I have had cars and worked on

cars for a lot of years. And GM and Ford build junk. Plain and simple.
Something you read off a GM or Ford ad is not a fact.
And what qualifies you to know a spark plug from a sensor. ESP.
It's like that pathetic chevrolet commercial says. "Let the best car win".
It already did. It's a Toyota.
And why are you talking about my posts?
What are you, some type of stalker?
dc

[blue_onyx]

20. LOL

OMG...your comments are so irrational. It's a government website that posts the fuel efficiency for all vehicles.

"It already did. It's a Toyota."

Ignoring Toyota's very apparent quality problems, huh?


"What are you, some type of stalker?"

No. You post this same bullshit in almost every GM/Ford?Chrysler thread.


It's very interesting that you're saying anything to deflect from the fact that your comments are wrong and contain zero truth.

[david13]

31. Wow would that any chance be the same govenment that was

suckered into give gm 50 billion dollars to invest in Brazil and China. Yeah, I should believe that.
I don't ignore anybodys apparent quality problems. But you seem willing to ignore the long history of gm and ford and their quality problems, way beyond what any other manufacturer ever had.
Wait, where are you? Oh, you are bought and sold. I get it.
Well nice sales pitch, but I have a policy, never believe anything the salesman says.
Have you ever heard the term bankruptcy? The bullshit is someone else caused it. No one else is responsible for gm, other than gm, and they can't fob their junk off on the world anymore. You and they might have noticed that for the last 30 years.
I don't buy the flag waving crap and I don't buy the buy from the we say so corporation, even if they do say they have better anything from anybody.
I understand your desire to protect the local industry, but at what cost.
What's their shining example. Saturn. The most lugubrious of the planets.
Another one that could never make a profit. Why not. Quality, to start with.
dc

[divideandconquer]

28. Toyota was 21st in the latest JD Power survey for intital quality

Toyota Sinks in Quality Survey After Recalls; Ford Makes Top 5
June 17, 2010, 8:37 PM EDT

By David Welch

June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. both set records for their namesake brands in the annual J.D. Power & Associates survey of new vehicle quality, with Toyota dropping to its worst ranking since the report began and Ford making its first foray into the top five performers.

Toyota fell to 21st place from sixth in the Westlake Village, California-based market-research firm’s initial quality report, which measures consumer complaints in the first 90 days of vehicle ownership.

High scoring brands do a better job of keeping customers, with owners of cars in the top quartile buying the same brand 59 percent of the time while brands in the bottom quartile keep just 44 percent of their purchasers, J.D. Power said.

“Toyota’s problems were directly related to the recalls. This will certainly hurt their image a bit,” said David Sargent, J.D. Power’s vice president of global vehicle research. “For Ford, this is the culmination of nine years of improvement.”
---------------------------------------------
<http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-17/toyota-sinks-in-quality-survey-after-recalls-ford-makes-top-5.html>

[Born_A_Truman]

30. I'm getting 28mpg in my 2000 E320

I only drive on weekends around town. I'll have to check highway some time.

[Brickbat]

22. Yeah, my Focus getting almost 40 mpg and my Taurus doing 28 mpg...huge guzzlers.

Beasts, both of 'em.

:rofl:

[comtec]

12. I drove a fusion when i was visiting Wisconsen

and I was very impressed with the handling and mileage.

The fusion is a dual fuel (imho complete BS, but the economy is good) that can use .. what is it E85?

anyway, they need to start making these things affordable.

an argument can be made about cost to build vs profits, etc... but im pretty sure they can make some lower-end units considering the economy.

oh well, common sense is not for the big guys, only us poor folks.

[Kringle]

13. the electric car is coming .nt

[skids]

14. Is that a trick question?

Because Obama raised the fuel standards already? :shrug:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/22/fuel-efficiency-standards_n_586036.html

[stevedeshazer]

18. I have a 1999 Civic. It goes 440 miles on 12.7 gallons of gasoline.

Cost? Bought it used two years ago for $5740.

New Prius? Can't compare the cost. It ain't even close.

It's the SUV's that are killing it.

[PBS Poll-435]

21. Did it speed out of control, violently, on I-5?

:hide:

[DemoTex]

23. I'm having BIG problems with my 2007 Prius (IN ABSENTIA)

I am not a happy Prius camper right now. This problem manifested itself a year ago, while my Prius was under warranty. Now it is not under warranty, but the problem persists: to the point that Dr. D. (in South Carolina) cannot trust or use the Prius while I am here in Oregon. That makes the problem and Toyota totally unacceptable.

This is the problem: about half the time the "READY" light does not come on during the start cycle. Then the Prius WILL-NOT-START, and the transponder-key must be removed from the vicinity of the car to re-cycle the process. Then, half the time, the problem repeats.

Fine. I loved the Prius for three years. Now, given what I hear from the "shop", I'll sell it when I get back to SC. I'll also sell my Tacoma.

I'll buy a big Ford F-350 for next fire season in Oregon and an in-efficient 1964 Porsche 356 C for around town in SC. I am pissed and I can afford both.



Almost EXACTLY like the 1964 SC I sold in 1999.

[Steely_Dan]

25. You Just Posted A Pic Of My Dream Car...

I'm drooling on my keyboard.

-P

[Dappleganger]

34. That car...

My father-in-law had one (rec'd as a gift from his parents upon college graduation in 1962) and always regrets selling it. However, he did that because they needed something better to drive my husband around in (he was born in early '64). We have seen many pics of it and father-in-law always tears up, LOL!

Hope you find one!

[HuckleB]

26. I'm not a big fan of hybrids.

I really don't see how the mileage they get is all that impressive, for starters. It seems like engineering should have been able to move gas engines to the same place without the hybrid technology by now. Secondly, clean diesel seems like a better option. The engines last forever, and the mileage is as good or better than hybrids, with much less maintenance issues.

[ZenKitty]

27. Nice :) Have to give a shout out to the Ford Fiesta...

youngest headed off to college last week in his brand spankin' new Ford Fiesta. He called me about 100 miles outside of Austin so excited! "Mom..my MPG average is 62!" lol