Honda announces pricing for their Prius, er, Global Small Hybrid

[TimBikes]

Originally Posted by john1701a

Continuing to educate about the difference between ASSIST hybrids and FULL hybrids would be beneficial.

.

To which a lot of folks might conclude that for $5,000 less they would rather have an ASSIST that gets 45 mpg than a FULL that gets 50.

I think it is smart for Honda to forge their own path, different from that of the Prius. It gives consumers more choice and puts more high FE cars on the road.

[Dave_PH]

Originally Posted by MSantos

Yes, the Accord was a blunder. But some of us will not forget the Lexus's hybrids and their similarly mis-guided emphasis on performance either.


Cheers;

MSantos

I didn't know there was an Accord Hybrid. I'll have to do some research. A hybrid that performs is what Honda needs. I test drove a Civic Hybrid and it was dangerously sluggish. Much worse than the Prius.

[MSantos]

Originally Posted by MJ77

... I don't think EV fits into what they are trying to do long term, but it should...

Quite true... unless you follow their history and philosophy then you'll understand why plug-ins are not high in their strategy. Frankly when seeing it from their position, I cannot blame them at all.

Also, does this mean that they are totally detached from the EV-only game?

Of course not, they never were. Look at the FCX Clarity to get an idea where there have been burying a good part of their R&D over the last 6-7 years. If you remove the Hydrogen tank and the compact FC stack you are left with... exactly. A purely electric car?

Hummm, those crazy, crazy "losers" at Honda .

Cheers;

MSantos

[MSantos]

Originally Posted by Dave_PH

I didn't know there was an Accord Hybrid. I'll have to do some research. A hybrid that performs is what Honda needs. I test drove a Civic Hybrid and it was dangerously sluggish. Much worse than the Prius.

Sorry, I cannot relate to that. Either by my own experience with both cars or on paper. Are you referring to a special circumstance like the tester either having a depleted pack or undergoing a forced regen? If so, then the HCH-2 is a frustrating old dog when accelerating without the electric power assist.

Cheers;

MSantos

[DaveinOlyWA]

im sure honda and toyota will continue to co-exist successfully. trying to 2nd guess a very successful company is fool's play. no doubt, they have very valid reasons for going in the direction they are going AND they are making money doing it...

if we want to 2nd guess, lets talk gm or ford. granted ford is headed (just started heading that way last week) in the right direction, but wont be there until 2010. now lets ask why it took ford so long to do something???... but who cares? i dont anymore. its a waste of time.

i just kick back, wait until whatever is available and make my decision and live with that. will i consider ford or gm?? absolutely i will, no one is eliminated. unlike most, it does not matter what happened to me yesterday, only what is being offered today.

i have had bad experiences with gm, but they are just as much in the running as anyone else...i will admit, they dont warrant much of my time currently, but that can always change.

[Rybold]

Originally Posted by etyler88

Motor assist equals no chance for plugin PHEV. If the car gets over 50 mpg then certainly it is a great car but having no EV only range makes it yesterdays news. I can't get excited about it. Honda makes great cars so I am really disappointed that they are not pursuing some EV.

This will give Toyota a competitive advantage in the future as more PHEVs are offered in the market.

Originally Posted by jhinton

We have no idea what Honda's new hybrid is going to be like ... and people are already bench-racing. You may want to wait ... before claiming that the Prius is "just more vehicle" than the Honda. It's a little early to be claiming victory.

Exactly. I was also thinking from Toyota's perspective. Toyota is being pushed right now to make the Prius even better because they have no idea what surprise Honda may unveil on their hybrid. Anytime you release a new product, you want to be innovative.

Originally Posted by robbyr2

And some Americans still don't get it. I had a coworker tell me yesterday that with the price of oil down to $125 gas should be dropping to $3 any day. If I told him what I thought about that, I would be tempted later to say "I told you so." Not good to say to your coworkers.

You are safe. Oil would have to go below $93.75 before you would see $3 at the pump.
.

[Dave_PH]

Originally Posted by MSantos

Sorry, I cannot relate to that. Either by my own experience with both cars or on paper. Are you referring to a special circumstance like the tester either having a depleted pack or undergoing a forced regen? If so, then the HCH-2 is a frustrating old dog when accelerating without the electric power assist.

Cheers;

MSantos

The HCH I test drove accelerated VERY slowly. The Prius is peppy in comparison. I hope I didn't just test drive an HCH with a depleated battery because I like the rest of the car. The suspension puts the Prius to shame and the interior is much nicer. I checked Edmunds and saw that the 0-60 on the HCH is slower than the Prius.

[redhandeddenial]

Originally Posted by TonyPSchaefer

Coworkers: fine.
Boss: bite your tongue.

But my boss has been telling me for the last three years that I told everyone so.

i convinced my boss to buy a camry hybrid!!!!
38mpg on his vaction vs 22 in his crv, vs 18 in the car he replaced!

i think we can call that a victory

[Dave_PH]

38's not bad at all. Before the Prius I had a 4 cyl Solara automatic that only got 20/28. But Solaras and Camrys ar soooo boring

[MSantos]

Originally Posted by Dave_PH

...I checked Edmunds and saw that the 0-60 on the HCH is slower than the Prius.

Yep. The Prius is faster but when driven normally I can hardly see a difference - hence my abjection to the use of the word "much".
In any case, check the other publications as well as the 0-60 numbers for the HCH-II are all over the map. Some peg it at 12s, while others as high as 15s or more... but only a few actually care to look into the SoC to find the reason why. I believe the Prius II is faster by almost 2 seconds under normal circumstances.