December 2012 Dashboard

Wow, Hyundai/Kia is doing better than Honda.

 

I have owned Chevolet, Mercury Villager, Hyundai, Honda and Toyota. Toyota's quality exceeds all of the above. My cars are pretty much going the order of the Pie chart above.

 

'12 Dec dashboard chart full of mistakes - plug-in chart is next to CNG figures and it says plug-ins next to the clean diesel chart. Other dashboard months are good with sales listed in order. Junk charts this month.

 

I don't like the new design of their site. It now looks complicated and the top section is trying to sell cars.

 

No argument from me as it took several hours last night to incorporate the new format into the spreadsheet for "Sept to Current". However, I think I mostly got it right.

If we get a January version, I think I know how to make the spreadsheet generate a usable table, quickly. My impression is there are manual steps that convert the original source data into the rendered table but some of them may have been 'skipped.'

I wish they'd contact me as I would gladly give them either a spreadsheet and/or perl script to generate a more usable version every time.

Bob Wilson

 

Nice growth in the mid size hybrids. Camry had a 14% take rate, Fusion had a 17% take rate.

 

Midsize sedans are the most popular cars in US. I would really like to see that hybrid segment take off. Accord is claiming 30 MPG with the new CVT equipped models, so the hybrids better get a good 40 MPG average. They need to push the city mpg, cause 43 (LE hybrid) is a lot better than 25 (LE non hybrid) ....

advertise like this - Toyota Camry Hybrid 43 MPG*

* epa city est.

 

I thought Accord hybrid city was going to be lower than highway. Pleasantly surprised.

 

fuel economy ratings of 49/45/47 mpg (city/hwy/combined)[8]

"[8] Preliminary mileage ratings determined by Honda. Final EPA mileage ratings not available at time of printing. Use for comparison purposes only. Your actual mileage may vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle."

Lets hope it doesn't end up like Fusion hybrid - under 40 mpg actual.

 

I'll check to see if the EPA has the roll-down coefficients that we can compare to Prius values. We have already seen the CMAX drag curves were more predictive of true MPG.

Bob Wilson

 

I don't think 40 mpg average is a bad thing, its much better than the regular version. Note CR in its bashing of the ford system still managed better mileage than the camry hyrid. Any of these mid sized hybrids save gas versus the alternative. Car and Driver in its review of the fusion hybrid, noted that when driven hard, although it was way under EPA the car had more power than the non-hybrid model and much better fuel economy. YMMV.

 

It is when the window sticker says 47 combined mpg. You are right, 40 mpg is not a bad thing when you buy a car expecting 40 mpg.

 

They save gas, but cost $4k more (Camry LE, hybrid LE)

'13 Accord sedan LX w/ CVT is 27/36/30 (city,hwy,avg) and $22,480 msrp. Accord hybrid is not going to get 49/45/47. Hopefully 45 city/41 hwy 42 average. That would be great for a 191"long, 72" wide midsize sedan that's probably going to have 3,500 lb curb weight. Still, 100k miles to make up $4k cost diff assuming $4.10 gas (which is lot less than that now).

US mfrg. might keep cost down.

 

YMMV. There is a problem with the advertising, but not the products. Still IMHO the EPA does a better job than the magazines or foreign governments.

Yep the camry hybrid and fusion hybrid cost about $4000 more than their non-hybrid versions, and both give up a little trunk space. In return you get a eCVT, more power, engine off instead of idling at most stops, and you burn less fuel. How much less fuel? YMMV. Lets say the accord hybrid averages 40 mpg and the 4 cyclinder traditional automatic 30 mpg and at 15,000 miles per year would save 125 gallons of gas a year. That should after the first year cover the extra depreciation and interest. Your driving routes will have a lot to do with it as will future gas prices, but.... that seems like a good trade off for $4K if honda prices it like ford and toyota. The camry hybrid is made in the US, the fusion hybrid in mexico.