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Hybrid cars, part deux!

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  • #16
    Re: Hybrid cars, part deux!

    Originally posted by matapule View Post
    [...]Aw right, now you go hybrid speak. Yup, matapule go hypermiler som time.
    I heard about hypermiling in the 90s...before hybrids were born! There were some incredible stories of people with the normal gas guzzlers who were going to extremes to up their mpg. I remember thinking how much work they were putting into it. Drafting was an important part of the process! Crazy!
    Kay den, bu ebry car coas at 100, eben MacK truk
    Well, silly, I know that!!! That's why I added a big grin smiley in my post! What'dya do with it?!

    Still impressed with your mileage with an SUV.

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    • #17
      Re: Hybrid cars, part deux!

      Originally posted by tutusue View Post
      I added a big grin smiley in my post! What'dya do with it?!.
      I put it in the 60/40 back seat with matapule and res of junk! Big Smiley is my fren.
      Peace, Love, and Local Grindz

      People who form FIRM opinions with so little knowledge only pretend to be open-minded. They select their facts like food from a buffet. David R. Dow

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      • #18
        Re: Hybrid cars, part deux!

        Originally posted by matapule View Post
        I put it in the 60/40 back seat with matapule and res of junk! Big Smiley is my fren.
        Aha! I spent the day at the beach yesterday and not in my car. I'll look for it later this morning!!!

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        • #19
          Re: Hybrid cars, part deux!

          Tutu try turning off the green "econ" button when you need more power on acceleration. That button will put more control on the acceleration and deceleration to give you optimal driving and regenerative charging capabilities. Turning it off allows more driver control but at a loss of fuel economy and charging.

          The Insight LX, EX and EX-with navigation vehicles were marketed later on in it's current redesign to accomodate younger buyers that wanted to make an environmental statement but couldn't afford the higher sticker price of the Toyota Prius or the Honda Civics and Accords.

          Honda sold Hybrid Accords during the 1990's but it didn't fare well on residual value so they stopped producing them. Likewise Toyota still produces their hybrid Camrys and Highlanders, but are not getting good response to them either. Too heavy to give any significant fuel savings like the Prius. As a matter of fact as early as 1975 Honda has been producing automobile engines (largest manufacture of combustion engines in the world) that met or exceeded the CARB emission standards...before CARB was inacted in California. Virtually all Hondas are ULEV, ULEV-II or PZEV vehicles. ULEV stands for Ultra Low Emission Vehicles, PZEV stands for Partial Zero Emission Vehicles. The Insight is a PZEV vehicle. Regular Civics are right between ULEV and PZEV. Very environmentally friendly. )

          With the Insight, Honda keeps their marketing on it lowkey as it is not their bread and butter automobile. As a Honda sales consultant, we make very little commission on these vehicles, (under $100 at full sticker price). If you purchased your Insight EX for less than $100 below final dealer invoice. The sales consultant made absolutely nothing on that deal including the dealership. In other words...LOSS LEADER. He went straight for unit count to pull his numbers up.

          Honda sells the Insight low for one major reason...their committment to the environment. Honda will sell an Insight at a loss or break even to accomodate buyers that cannot afford a Prius or Hybrid Civic so they can jump on the environmental bandwagon.

          BTW Honda also sells CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) Civics, as well as Hydrogen-powered vehicles but keeps a low key on them as well.
          Last edited by craigwatanabe; July 16, 2010, 07:46 AM.
          Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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          • #20
            Re: Hybrid cars, part deux!

            Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
            Virtually all Hondas are ULEV, ULEV-II or PZEV vehicles. ULEV stands for Ultra Low Emission Vehicles, PZEV stands for Partial Zero Emission Vehicles.
            Virtually? Aren't ALL Honda and Acuras at least ULEVs by now?

            There are a lot of unlikely ULEVs out there -- trucks, SUVs, sports cars, big luxury cars. Even my 480hp twin-turbo Nissan hot rod is a ULEV (which I was very surprised to discover). It's amazing how much internal-combustion technology has advanced, and Honda, IMHO, makes some of the best engines in the world. I wouldn't be surprised if their lawn mowers are ULEVs.

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            • #21
              Re: Hybrid cars, part deux!

              Originally posted by tutusue View Post
              [...]
              Another observation...yesterday, during my first freeway drive, I noticed that the car "danced" a little at 60-65 mph; kinda like being buffeted by wind. It was a little windy plus I'm used to a heavy, very solid car, so I didn't think too much about it. I'm still adjusting! My advice to anyone contemplating buying an Insight is to take it for a freeway test drive to see if it bothers you. It's not a major problem for me but it might be for someone else.
              Update! The "dancing" did not repeat itself during my 2nd freeway drive. I still recommend the freeway test drive, tho'.
              Originally posted by matapule View Post
              I put it in the 60/40 back seat with matapule and res of junk! Big Smiley is my fren.
              Eureka! It was under the passenger seat!
              Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
              Tutu try turning off the green "econ" button when you need more power on acceleration. That button will put more control on the acceleration and deceleration to give you optimal driving and regenerative charging capabilities. Turning it off allows more driver control but at a loss of fuel economy and charging.[...]
              Thx, Craig. For my normal day to day driving I don't need more powerful acceleration. I think I'd rather have fuel economy. I did need to accelerate like a wild woman during a potential accident, however. I was able to avoid the situation and wonder if ESC helped me thru it during a very quick left turn onto a cross street. No way to know, I guess.

              Another idiosyncrasy is, during a certain time of day (around noon), the top of the dashboard is lightly reflected in the windshield causing slight visual diffusion. This obviously has to do with the position of the sun and more than likely is not specific to Insights. My guess is any car, Prius' included, with that degree of windshield slant will encounter the same issue. Do any Prius owners wish to chime in?

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              • #22
                Re: Hybrid cars, part deux!

                Speaking of the Insight's Econ button that Craig mentioned above...with it "on", the car goes into super efficiency mode which increases the mpg. The "on" position also affects the A/C which doesn't cool as well as when Econ is off. Still, for the 10 days I've had the car I've kept Econ "on" and the A/C has been completely acceptable. 'Til today!!! It's hot and humid so found it necessary to turn Econ off. It didn't take long at all to feel a change in the temperature. I like having the on or off option.

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                • #23
                  Re: Hybrid cars, part deux!

                  Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
                  ...Honda sold Hybrid Accords during the 1990's but it didn't fare well on residual value so they stopped producing them. Likewise Toyota still produces their hybrid Camrys and Highlanders, but are not getting good response to them either. Too heavy to give any significant fuel savings like the Prius. ....
                  I thought the Accord hybrid was sold in the mid 2000s?

                  I don't think it has anything to do with being too heavy that offset any significant fuel savings. I think they tried too hard to make the hybrid versions have the same or better performance specs as the conventional models. For instance, they could have used a 4 cylinder with electric motors for the Accord hybrid but they decided to retain a 6. The Accord hybrid could do 0-60 in 6.7. I think the Prius is a 10 second car.

                  I wish they would produce hybrid minivans. Would seem to make the most sense in terms of practicality.

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                  • #24
                    Re: Hybrid cars, part deux!

                    Originally posted by zff View Post
                    Virtually? Aren't ALL Honda and Acuras at least ULEVs by now?

                    There are a lot of unlikely ULEVs out there -- trucks, SUVs, sports cars, big luxury cars. Even my 480hp twin-turbo Nissan hot rod is a ULEV (which I was very surprised to discover). It's amazing how much internal-combustion technology has advanced, and Honda, IMHO, makes some of the best engines in the world. I wouldn't be surprised if their lawn mowers are ULEVs.
                    I thought I saw somewhere in the product brochures that the Element may not be ULEV. I'll double check.
                    Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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                    • #25
                      Re: Hybrid cars, part deux!

                      Originally posted by joshuatree View Post
                      I thought the Accord hybrid was sold in the mid 2000s?

                      I don't think it has anything to do with being too heavy that offset any significant fuel savings. I think they tried too hard to make the hybrid versions have the same or better performance specs as the conventional models. For instance, they could have used a 4 cylinder with electric motors for the Accord hybrid but they decided to retain a 6. The Accord hybrid could do 0-60 in 6.7. I think the Prius is a 10 second car.

                      I wish they would produce hybrid minivans. Would seem to make the most sense in terms of practicality.
                      Correct, it was the Insight that came out in the 90's. Having a hybrid minivan would be great but probably engineering hurdles kept it at bay. As for Honda's hybrid vehicles, they use a single motor inline with the engine and tranny as opposed to several motors. There had to be a reason why they retained a 6cyl for their power distribution as opposed to a 4cyl.

                      Coming out this fall will be the new CR-Z hybrid vehicle. A little sporty and a little hybrid in one vehicle. Nothing too sporty though but kinda interesting vehicle.
                      Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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                      • #26
                        Re: Hybrid cars, part deux!

                        Originally posted by tutusue View Post
                        Another idiosyncrasy is, during a certain time of day (around noon), the top of the dashboard is lightly reflected in the windshield causing slight visual diffusion. This obviously has to do with the position of the sun and more than likely is not specific to Insights. My guess is any car, Prius' included, with that degree of windshield slant will encounter the same issue. Do any Prius owners wish to chime in?
                        Never noticed it. I'll have to look for it.

                        Ours dashboard is a matte gray and it's full of curves, so I wonder if that makes a difference.

                        It took me a long time to notice that the Prius' LED dashboard display (speedometer, odometer) is actually mounted in/below the dash and reflected back to the driver with an angled mirror. It's such a long way away from the driver that I don't have to focus on it. Very convenient for us presbyopians who can barely read the LCD multifunction display without our reading glasses.
                        Youth may be wasted on the young, but retirement is wasted on the old.
                        Live like you're dying, invest like you're immortal.
                        We grow old if we stop playing, but it's never too late to have a happy childhood.
                        Forget about who you were-- discover who you are.

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                        • #27
                          Re: Hybrid cars, part deux!

                          Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
                          If you purchased your Insight EX for less than $100 below final dealer invoice. The sales consultant made absolutely nothing on that deal including the dealership..
                          Craig, you certainly know more about this than I, but that is not my understanding. Yes, a salesman makes only about $100 on a new car sale, but much more on used cars. However, selling a car "at invoice" does not mean that nobody makes anything. The dealer gets rebates, hold backs, incentives, etc. from the manufacturer on every sale. So the dealer does make a profit on an "at invoice" sale and the salesman should get his commission, whatever it is, out of that. But yes, the dealership makes most of its profit on used car sales and service work.
                          Peace, Love, and Local Grindz

                          People who form FIRM opinions with so little knowledge only pretend to be open-minded. They select their facts like food from a buffet. David R. Dow

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                          • #28
                            Re: Hybrid cars, part deux!

                            Originally posted by tutusue View Post
                            Another idiosyncrasy is, during a certain time of day (around noon), the top of the dashboard is lightly reflected in the windshield causing slight visual diffusion.?
                            I think that it happens to everyone at one time or other. Just put on a pair of polarized sunglasses and the reflection goes away.

                            BTW, speaking of glasses/sunglasses while driving.......I wear prescription glasses with "Transition" lenses. That means the glass gets darker when in direct sunlight - built in sunglasses! However, because of the slightly tinted glass in the front windshield of an auto, Transitions do not work inside a car. Therefore, I put on a pair of polarized sunglasses when driving in the bright sun. I make Big Smiley put them on too!

                            Originally posted by Nords View Post
                            Very convenient for us presbyopians who can barely read ..........
                            Good to see some Presbyterians on this forum!
                            Peace, Love, and Local Grindz

                            People who form FIRM opinions with so little knowledge only pretend to be open-minded. They select their facts like food from a buffet. David R. Dow

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                            • #29
                              Re: Hybrid cars, part deux!

                              Speaking of sunglasses and cars, I've always been annoyed by the fact that designers of modern in-car display systems don't seem to take into account that many people wear polarized sunglasses when they drive. I've been in cars where a display was practically unreadable while wearing shades unless I tilted my head to one side.

                              In fact, this issue with many displays being unreadable when wearing polarized shades seems to have been largely ignored by nearly every manufacturer of gadgets in this digital age. It's annoying enough with cellphones and iPods, but I could see it being an actual hazard in a car.

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                              • #30
                                Re: Hybrid cars, part deux!

                                Tutu, can you give us an update on your hybrid - driving impressions, gas mileage, comfort, etc? I know you don't drive too much, but still after 3 months you should have some impressions. What color did you get?
                                Peace, Love, and Local Grindz

                                People who form FIRM opinions with so little knowledge only pretend to be open-minded. They select their facts like food from a buffet. David R. Dow

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