Edmunds InsideLine Publishes False Statements

[DeadPhish]

I'm guessing that Edmunds is hurting financially in this down automotive with a relatively low number of 'hits' as people pull back from auto buying thus auto buying research. The article last week by The Mechanic brought out a raft of trolls and haters.

Now this one... Fit vs Prius
2008 Honda Fit vs. 2008 Toyota Prius Hybrid.*


In response I sent this following email to Mr Oldham the Editor in Chief who has a standing request for comments on InsideLine.

Mr Oldham

Ok you asked for comments.

I will assume that as Editor in Chief that you are actually in charge and oversee the writings of your staff. I guess that you must have been on vacation this week when the "Fit vs Prius" comparo was put up on IL. The other option is that you knowingly allow your staff to publish trash that is at best grossly erroneous, at worst intentionally inflammatory to generate hits on the Edmunds website, thus to generate more income.

The Fit vs Prius article by Chris Walton could have served a good purpose and generated solid commentary until the 2nd paragraph. At that point the article is factually flawed and the entire analysis is rendered questionable at best.

Quoting:
"You could save $8,425 right now by buying a $15,420 Honda Fit instead of the $23,845 Toyota Prius. Of course, if the price of gasoline goes higher, then the Prius with its EPA combined estimate of 46 mpg will pay you back for your investment sooner than you'd expect. Then again, the Fit with its EPA combined estimate of 30 mpg doesn't carry the same penalty of higher financing charges, insurance costs and taxes as the more expensive Prius, plus the Toyota will be needing a new $2,585 battery pack when the odometer shows 100,000-150,000 miles."
Unquote:

What idiot wrote this paragraph? High school writers, I'm guessing you've allowed a summer intern to write this piece, can check facts better than the alleged Editor who allowed his byline to be misused here.

Since you are the Editor in Chief and presumably in charge of your underlings would you like to provide the data that your staff used to support the last sentence in the quoted paragraph? Methinks that you will search long and hard to find such data, ending soon in an epic failure.

The conclusion is that you, Mr Oldham as Editor in Chief, allowed your staff to make up unsubstantiated statements based on no data whatsoever. If that's the case then it appears that Edmunds is intentionally slipping away from a being a respected fact-based automotive source towards being a sensasionalistic 'yellow rag' of a website.

Oh you missed my point? Let me make it clearer......

Allow me to refer you to the recent BusinessWeek article which addressed this specific concern about the battery packs. BusinessWeek as opposed to Edmunds seems to have attempted to do some real research as opposed to what your summer staff didn't do.

BTW I don't disagree with the final conclusion of the article. It has never been an issue that a lesser vehicle at a signficantly lesser price is a 'better buy' than a larger vehicle with more features - no matter what the fuel savings might be. If your summer staff hadn't poisoned the article by making a fallacious statment from the outset it would have generate some serious discussion.

Unfortunately you, you are responsible (?) I assume, have allowed Edmunds degenerate into a common rag. In what was supposedly a factual comparison you've intentionally published a fallacious opinion.

Bob Fogarty

[ldxcrunr]

wow that was well written

[usbseawolf2000]

What's next for them? Fit vs. Accord and declear Fit as the winner?

[dwreed3rd]

Gee! I don't understand. I didn't see your response among their comments listed for the article.
Prehaps he did't get back from being off yet.

Great email!

[ronvalencia]

Statements like "Toyota will be needing a new $2,585 battery pack when the odometer shows 100,000-150,000 miles" was debunked by several Taxis fleet (e.g. Canada, Australia) and Gen 1 results.

[usbseawolf2000]

Originally Posted by ronvalencia

Statements like "Toyota will be needing a new $2,585 battery pack when the odometer shows 100,000-150,000 miles" was debunked by several Taxis fleet (e.g. Canada, Australia) and Gen 1 results.

You gotta wonder why they didn't mention about the cost of changing Fit transmission after 5 years / 60,000 miles (warranty expires).

The fact that Prius' HV battery has twice longer warranty than Fit powertrain was not mentioned. Instead, they choose to go the FUD tactic.

[ronvalencia]

In
Motor Authority Toyota Prius taxi tops 340,000mi, dispels battery myth

A fleet of 32 Prius, each car racks up about 200,000km (125,000mi) each year. Two of the older examples have managed a lifespan of 350,000km (218,000mi) and 550,000km (341,000mi) before needing replacement of their nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries.

[Dave_PH]

I was going to tell you that if you didn't like the Edmunds review you should NEVER look at what Top Gear has to say. These are reviewers who prefer gold plater Lamborghini's and Mercades with jet engines attached but check out their Prius Review.

Toyota Prius New Car Review - Car Reviews - Top Gear

[Neohybrid]

Another thing they fail to mention is comfort -- especially in the back seat. The Fit might be OK for kids in the back, but adults will be "less than comfortable" -- even on the short trips. It reminds me of our '05 Beetle -- you can sit in the back seat if you don't mind your knees hitting the back of the front seat. And that is with the front passenger's knees against the dash! We looked at the Fit and the Matrix before we looked at the Prius and decided that we didn't need another "Beetle backseat". We wanted a car that our family of three (plus three dogs) could ride in on long trips and not have to sit in each other's lap.

[dipper]

I hang out in an s2000 forum, some are even saying Fit > Corvette. So don't be too serious.

I need Prius sales number to come down so I can pick up a 2010 Prius without having to wait and/or pay at/above MSRP.

Edmunds and other hybrid-hater writers are helping me make it happen. So don't rock my boat, people.