35% (or 25%) of hybrid owners don't buy 2nd hybrid

Road cars are kinda boring compared to the upper left type of vehicles. But, I would think something like a Porsche Turbo Carrera would not be boring.

 

It's amazes me how an analysis written up over 7 years ago still applies so well to the activity we deal with... John's Stuff - Toyota Prius - Anti-Hybrid Analysis

Ironically, that same footage is now having a positive effect.

Most people haven't noticed how effective of a barrier it has become. Rather than getting attempt after attempt to insult & discredit, that single episode withstood the test of time. The misunderstood attempt to educate at the expense of supporters was so entertaining and so powerful of an opposition tool that it has prevented any other material from being created. As the meme grows older and older, less and less can compete with it. That leaves those hoping to mock hybrids with nothing but a single arrow in their quiver.

They cannot prevent progress with such a limited arsenal.

It's a great example of how a battle won early on can actually have the opposite effect in the long-run, contributing to the loss of the war in the end.

 

wow. I was wondering during family trip ( 2 adults and 2 kids) recently to DC. there were so many Prius on older or newer models liftback and some Vs.
I am feeling old while driving Hybrid, after read your post.

I can achieved 50-55 mpg on MFD during mixed city driving on DC, and 46-49MPG on interstate with 65-75mph with cruise control

if you have secondary non-EV car, you are good to go with EV car in the city with "free" charging station.

I prefer volt.. with extended range (gas engine) that can be utilized during a long mixed trip or do not worry on charging station.

I am driving mix city(50%)/Highway(50%) with ~50 or more Miles round-trip. Hybrid serves me well
I always get better mpg on the way back to home due on some traffic congestions on local roads and highways.

The question is "how mixed city/highway driving and how many miles daily".

 

I'm a DC city driver! I sure hope this isn't the last car I have before I die! I'm not even close to retirement age, either. I think it's becoming a more popular car for millennials in this city; I know quite a few people around my age with Prii.

 

Anyone who's interested in what the situation was actually like in 2006 can read forum posts and published articles from back then. They tell a very different story than looking back 7 years later. It's far too easy to misrepresent after so much time has passed by. That was before gas hit $4 per gallon, back when the market was thriving and priorities were elsewhere.

 

Did Honda stop selling the original Insight in 2006?

Bob Wilson

 

I don't readily recall. My blogs have that detail somewhere. Back then, things were different anyway. It was more about proving the technology itself rather than focus on individual models. People seem to forget how measures evolve over time.

The difference between ASSIST and FULL hybrids was a big deal through that first stage. The beginning of the second was clearly marked by the start of 2006... when the tax-credits were introduced. The purpose was to push acceptance deeper into the market.

Emission rating was always a challenge to get any attention at all. Honda wasn't even pushing it. The manual transmission earned a ULEV and was the more desired model. That put the CVT earning the SULEV rating in an awkward position. Meanwhile, Toyota was racing ahead and Honda's focus was on making the hybrid Civic popular.

Carbon emissions started to gain attention then too, making the true green (smog reduction) an even greater challenge. The end of 2006 brought the introduction of ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel), which was suppose to help with that. Instead, it came up short, not being as green as hoped... hence calling it "clean" diesel rather than keeping focus on actual emission ratings. MPG took a hit as a result too.

Long story short, these look backs at history are distorted at best. You cannot judge a time quite unlike now using current standards. Expectations were different then. Gas was cheap. The economy was thriving. People were still buying monster-size vehicles. New offerings weren't getting much serious attention.

 

Oh I don't know about the problems of remembering the history but some of your post reminded me of earlier decisions and experience:

• 2001 - I looked closely at the Gen I Prius and Honda Civic hybrids - looking at the traction battery and motor generators, the Prius had ~2x the power of the Honda. Worse, my wife's arthritic knees would have made getting in and out of the Civic painful. As for the 2001 Insight, it was never considered to be anything but a toy, completely impractical for us. But the local dealer only had a crappy Prius and they didn't come with cruise control. So we went with an Echo with an after-market cruise control sold by the dealer.
• 2005 - In the spring, I had put my name on the Prius waiting list. Then one day, I came in and heard a message,"A Prius has arrived. The first one here with $1,000 gets it." This was back in the day when there were waiting lists and dealers marked the Prius up, a bunch. That Fall, we lost our '91 Camry in a rain-slick accident and the insurance company confiscated the car. So using eBay, we bought our first Prius, a 2003 with 49,000 miles located in Fort Worth Texas. I did the financing with our local bank; flew out on a Saturday, and; drove it home. I had already ordered the maintenance manuals before stepping on the plane.
• 2006 - The "clean diesel" trolls started showing up in the different forums. The CleanMPG crowd got pissed at GreenHybrid.com and ran away . . . except for their recruiters. CNW Marketing came out with their nonsense. I started averaging 52 MPG year after year with 2003 Prius. I also remember the GM silliness with the "two-mode" and their start-stop "hybrids." In particular, I had to explain some basic engineering terms to GM customers who would come to GreenHybrid.com asking why they didn't get Prius MPG. Then a CleanMPG recruiter would step in and . . . I would not have to continue the basic engineering lesson.

Perhaps we can find a CleanMPG recruiter to answer some of Troy's concerns. Better still, Troy might visit the CleanMPG site and share his Pearls. <grins>

Bob Wilson

 

Walter, Walter, Walter...what are we going to do with you? Now we gotta chip in to buy you a new PiP so your prophecy is proven wrong. How old is a senior citizen? 65? If so I am innocent.

 

Well if I do live way past my prime and I can't drive anymore ---- I will likely have my eye on getting a self-driving Prius ... and come to think of it --- if there is an option where the Prius transforms into a robot or I can replace the ICE with a Mr.Fusion reactor I will be getting one for sure!!!

 

The title of the thread is screwy. It means 75% do buy a 2nd hybrid. Remove the word "don't" and you're good.

 

Ouch! I resemble that remark!
Jeez, I hope that's not prophetic as I would hate to be sitting at a stoplight and have the car's computer suddenly say, "Die now or at least stop driving me!"

 

Is that code P666?

Bob Wilson