Another article with plenty of "feeling" and few "facts"

[Tempus]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daver969 @ Apr 19 2006, 04:31 PM) [snapback]242259[/snapback]</div>

It's easier to see if we look at Gallons per Mile rather than MPG. Going from 15 to 17 saves about .75 gallons per 100 miles.

So that's why I think we should measure efficiency in Gallons per Mile, like they do in Europe.
[/b]

In this month's Road and Track there's a head to head bake off with Civic vs HCH, Escape versus FEH and Camry versus TCH.

The Camry came out looking fantastic!

But, they also really pushed for measuring mileage in 'GPC' or Gallons per Hundred Miles.

They mentioned it in that article repeatedly, and then several times other places in the issue.

[Mardikes]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(seeh2o @ Apr 17 2006, 09:53 AM) [snapback]240950[/snapback]</div>

Gee, do you think he has an agenda? Ok, I do have to agree about the hybrid SUV bits. I have a friend who bought a Lexus hybrid SUV, now she gets 17 mpg instead of 15. I guess it makes her feel better. We rode around in it a bit, it made me appreciate my Prius all the more.
[/b]

Couple of thoughts on the SUV issue.

First, she has to drive like a complete idiot to get 17 mpg on the Lexus Hybrid. We have a Highlander Hybrid and going to the beach (about 60 miles with a mountain pass at 4500 feet, we got 29.4 MPG. Around town, with a short commute and living about 800 feet above downtown, we get about 23 MPG, would be higher if our drives were longer. Tell her to lay off the pedal and keep the needle on the left side gauge in the broken white line (or blue when going down hill) and lay off the pedal when she gets near to top of a hill. It is way too easy to accelerate with this vehicle. I wish we could limit the acceleration via the computer. If they did, they could boost the MPG by five or more gallons.

Second, everyone has to remember that sometimes you want and need a larger car. For example, when we drove to the beach in the past we took both of our Prius, since neither was large enough, and whenever we drove around we ended up in caravans of two cars. Believe me, two Prius use the same amount of gas as one Highlander Hybrid and it is more enjoyable being in one vehicle.

Third, we get incredibly good gas milage with our Highlander Hybrid when we take the Prius instead of it on the trips when we really only need the Prius. And incredibly good milage when I walk the 3 miles to work, rather than drive.

Fourth, Toyota made a decision, which probably is wise, to overmuscle their first large car hybrid. Now that it has been done, and they have heard the complaints, I would not be surprised if the next generation of the Highlander Hybrid gets better gas milage and has a bit less horsepower. They actually beefed the power of the 2001 Prius when they brought it into the US.

George

[Mirza]

Do you mean the standard Camry or the TCH????

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tempus @ Apr 19 2006, 07:01 PM) [snapback]242343[/snapback]</div>

In this month's Road and Track there's a head to head bake off with Civic vs HCH, Escape versus FEH and Camry versus TCH.

The Camry came out looking fantastic!

But, they also really pushed for measuring mileage in 'GPC' or Gallons per Hundred Miles.

They mentioned it in that article repeatedly, and then several times other places in the issue.
[/b]

Looks like the media hybrid pundits are circle jerking each other.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(VaPrius @ Apr 17 2006, 08:49 PM) [snapback]241216[/snapback]</div>

This guy's only research into hybrids was reading a few anti-hybrid articles.
[/b]

[Tempus]

The Hybrid Camry came out looking very good. It was a pre-release version they were testing, and they estimated the price at $29,500. I'm expecting they'll be amazed at the actual price

[engnrng]

[quote]
"On a cross-country excursion in a Prius, the staff of Automobile Magazine discovered mileage plummeted on the Interstate. .......Indeed, the gasoline engine worked so hard that we calculated we might have used less fuel on our journey if we had been driving Toyota's conventionally powered, similarly sized Corolla — which costs thousands less. For the owner who does the majority of her driving on the highway, the Prius's potential for fuel economy will never be realized and its price premium never recovered. " (from the article)

I read an article last year in Conde Nast where the author/driver/expert managed to limit his Prius mileage to 35 mpg by leaving the shifter in B mode the entire time. This, of course, forces the gas engine to be running all the time and virtually eliminates regenerative braking because the battery is always full. He left it in B mode because he thought it was a clever way to maximize regenerative braking. I would love to see an article about Prius articles. There have been over 500 articles - have any of them ever contained 100% accurate information? I have yet to see one...

[Mirza]

Anyone else feeling a lot of frustration and resentment because of these misinformation-propagating articles?

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/edit...ndoped/letters/
There was at least one letter to the editor ("I love my hybrid, even on the highway)

I refuse to fill out the NYTimes registration, so I can't post the letter to the editor. If anyone is registered I would more than welcome them to submit a letter to the editor.