Accord Hybrid? Not impressed

Amen. I am not going to look at a hybrid Accord even if I come accross one on the highway, which will be very unlikely because they are not going to sell well.

 

Up here in the north, Corvette owners require a winter vehicle. Sport cars like that with the ultra-wide tires, all that HP on the rear-wheels, and the extremely low ground-clearance are a bad idea. And it isn't to smart allowing the salt to eat away that nice glossy finish either.

Anywho, they require something else to drive during that time. Surprisingly, some liked the idea of Prius, since they desired an impressive car rather than a Pickup or SUV.

Accord-Hybrid would likely capture that particular market now.

Hey, at least you can't say I'm not acknowledging all the facts.

 

I've been pondering putting together my own Prius TV commercial:

-Because I teach television production
-I have a load of very expensive and very high-quality gear at work
-I have an 04
-I'm getting sick of "bigger is better" marketing...

Perhaps I can enlist Frank H. to help me out on a nice sunny day one weekend by driving wife's 04 around as I shoot!

I think it would go something like this:
[hr:7b518e2dda]
-Fade up from black as we see...

-GFX: "Fiction...", a generic sports car driving down an empty country road, swerving around bends, lots of sporty shots of wheels spinning, driver in sunglasses, etc.

cut to:

-GFX: "Fact...", driver stuck in traffic, car idling, shots of prices at gas stations at record high levels, horns honking, heat waves over the hood of cars, drivers annoyed and uncomfortable, the clock ticking away as that car creeps along the road.

cut to:

-GFX: "260 HP, 6 cylinder turbocharged, blah.. blah.. blah..", shots of RPM needle revving, beauty shots under the hood of a sleek clean engine, the sound of a powerful engine roaring. Driver in metallic sunglasses, swept-back haircut, leather bomber jacker.

cut to:

-GFX: "140 HP wasted...", the same car in traffic this time - the traffic is moving at a moderate pace, nobody's car is racing or otherwise using the huge excess of horsepower that's available to them. Driver in normal business suit is talking business with his passenger.

cut to:

-GFX: "Read between the lines - '05 Prius" - Various beauty shots of the car, power flow indicator, under the hood shots ('cause they are pretty cool), show interior space, the car's engine shutting off, and the car drives off-screen using battery power (sfx: slight electric whine/hum), revealing the Prius logo.
[hr:7b518e2dda]
Whatcha think?

Dave.

 

I'm in!

 

sounds great... but need to have the Prius driving past a succession of gas stations too.

 

Good stuff Dave. Show it passing a few stations, with some Trip A or consumption screen shots in between, then show the consumption screen, followed by the pump clicking off at 10 or 11 gallons. All the better if the guy at the next pump is still going at 15 gallons. Ding, ding, ding

I've told a few interested people about my first tank and WOW is all I hear.

 

hey it only gets better!!

you will get better mileage as you learn the nuances of your Prius.

my first tank was the only tank i averaged less the 50 mpg. (although i suspect that part of the reason could be the less than full tank i received from the dealer)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA\";p=\"44892)</div>

I sure hope you meant nuances! So far the only thing about my Prius that is a nuisance is me. I get way over exicted about showing the SKS to people. My wife says so.

 

i stand corrected!!

nuances is what i meant... i dont proof read anything i type...

 

People

Sports cars, for example, have MUCH better seats. I do drive Prius but after years of driving luxury cars, I tell you: Prius seats suck big time. So sitting in traffic in BMW M3 with 14-way adjustable seat and magnitudes better sound system is much more pleasant experience, I assure you.

I was close to ordering Accord Hybrid, but decided not to since $32K Honda seems to be way overpriced. After all, it is just Accord V6 + 16HP eletcric with no additional perks. I would definitely buy it if it was Acura TL Hybrid.

I am not crazy about mpg (provided it is reasonable) and Prius acceleration is, say, closer to a minivan. I would prefer something between Prius and Accord. 110hp is too low, 270hp too much. Accord 4-banger (160hp) paired with 50HP electric in Acura TL chassis with 35-40mpg would be a perfect combination.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(LazyBear\";p=\"45468)</div>

You've just described the car I'd like to buy today, but even two years from now there might not be anything like that on the market. Something like an Acura TL or Infiniti G-35 with a full hybrid powertrain. I'd like more luxury than the Prius, but I drove a G-35 (admittedly not the best interior in its class), and non-hybrids just don't do it for me anymore. A full-hybrid luxury sports sedan is what I want. The Accord hybrid misses on all three: it's a mild-hybrid near-luxury non-sporty sedan.

 

i believe if im not mistaken that the car you want will be here next year from Lexus and Toyota.

basically the same hybrid technology but in a bigger more luxurious car. dont know the cost but it will be steep.

 

It is going to be Lexus Rx400h SUV. Then there will be Highlander and, I believe, Camry. Lexus won't be like Prius, as far as I understand, it carries the same 3.3 V6 engine as Rx330 + battery will assist with 0-60 acceleration. I will have a look but so far it does not seems to be what I want. I mean, 11s or Priuis 0-60 is kinda low, but I don't 7.0s 0-60 either. Highlander is just an ugly box (sorry). Lexus sedan would be better.

In recent 'Green Car' magazine there is a short information on Altima Hybrid which has 2.5l 175hp engine + synergy drive licensed by Nissan from Toyota yielding something around 220hp. This one sounds close to what I would like to get.

I have heard about Acura RL hybrid with 400hp (!) but it is just new RL with 300hp 3.5V6 + 100hp electric motor. I definitely don't care about 400hp sedan.

 

there is an accord hybrid forum. love it or hate it

www.accord-hybrid.net

 

Since you posted that same link 5 times on various threads here already, I choose "hate it".

 

that forum is idiotic! 1 admin who wants people to mod their car with wheels and possibly other stuff, and some users who are like "omg the accord hybrid is so great, i though hybrids were slow! blah blah blah blah blah" i want to shoot them for being so ignorant!

btw LazyBear prius seats are commuter type- more support and less plush = not tiring and good for long trips. They have stuff at target if you want it softer: lumber support foam bead thingy thats really squeezable and plushy.

and teamw, you made a good choice I still think leather sucks though. cold in winter, burning in summer and a sickly smell of death. The Prius has more legroom than the Accord, so 4 people will fit more comfortably

 

It would surprise me if the hybrid Accord took much market share away from the Prius. The Accord is a bigger, more powerful, and more expensive car. There may be a few buyers who want something halfway between and could be pulled one way or the other, but I think most buyers of one would find the other entirely inappropriate.

The Prius, being both smaller and more efficient, with a much smaller engine, burns far less gas, and so is the clear choice for the tree-hugger crowd as well as the folks who just want to burn less gas. The Accord will appeal to people for whom the Prius is too small or not powerful enough.

My mother bought a new car early this year. She looked at the Prius, which a friend of hers drives, but she was not comfortable with a car that small. So she bought an Accord. She might have considered an Accord hybrid if it was available. But both the Prius and the Civic were too small for her. I actually think Honda missed the boat when it decided to use hybrid technology to give the Accord more power, rather than better economy. I don't think there's a big market for hybrid among the power-hungry crowd. Folks who want more power don't care how much gas they burn.

The only real competition the Prius has is the HCH. And its only selling point is that the Civic is a known item from a reliable maker.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel\";p=\"59956)</div>

What aspect of "size" does that refer to?