Hybrid Cars--Help me!!

[cressida_pimpin]

I'm doing a research project for school and need to find out some information on the target market for hybrid cars. Anyone know of any good sites (not search engines) that would have some information as to why people buy hybrids? Also the average customers' age, sex etc..Pretty much any site that talks about hybrids would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks In Advance

[ashee]

Well people buy them because they cost less to run fuel wise and also because they don't damage the environment as much as other vehicles?

Check out Toyota and Honda's websites, or almost any car company website I'm sure they will have something about hybrid vehicles as many of them now have hybrid models.

[Tik-Tok]

sSQpadSJeb4

AND


MgZOAMS7Hac


Sorry, unhelpful, but I couldn't resist...

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by ashee
Well people buy them because they cost less to run fuel wise

Yeah, but the it'll take the average driver 8 years to see any savings after their initial cost of buying a hybrid... and then comes the battery replacement :nut:

[ashee]

But that is the reason they buy them, haha.

[pyar_deewane]

also the new high end hybrids being made world wide....such as the BMW 7SERIES HYDROGEN and the LEXUS are bought not by people who care about the environment they buy them as a STATUS SYMBOL...that they can afford a regualr luxury but go the extra dollar to have something everyone else doesnt

[alloroc]

Personally I would go to some of the Hybrid forums introduce yourself like you did here and simply ask...

Name - age - State / Province?

How long they have had the car?
What kind of milage do they get?
What do they use the car for?
Are they happy with the purchase so far?
What factors influenced the purchase of a hybrid?


Teacher can't debunk it if it is coming straight from owners.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Car and driver/ road and track/ motor trend have done articles saying if Hybrids are worth it or not. The answer is definately no (in most cases), for reasons people have described above such as battery replacement. Also you will want to buy a new car before a hybrid pays for the difference in gas.

Good luck.

[hjr]

people buy them cause they are sheep. the cars are horrrrible. terrible design, terrible interior, not that great on fuel, extra expensive. there is literally NO redeeming qualities of hybrid cars.

IF you want a car that is less expensive to run, will last forever, has nice design and awsome interior AND is good for the environment - get the new jetta / rabbit diesel (tdi)

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by hjr
people buy them cause they are sheep. the cars are horrrrible. terrible design, terrible interior, not that great on fuel, extra expensive. there is literally NO redeeming qualities of hybrid cars.

IF you want a car that is less expensive to run, will last forever, has nice design and awsome interior AND is good for the environment - get the new jetta / rabbit diesel (tdi)


I would have to partially disagree. The Lexus GS 450h and LS 460h have outstanding interiors and the 450h is even faster than it's V8 counterpart.

Cars like the prius and insight and all of ford's hybrids are however total wastes of money for every reason you listed pretty much.

[cressida_pimpin]

Even your opinions are helping and if you think of more links feel free to post them up

[codetrap]

.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by codetrap
I'm completely loving the mileage I get on my Jetta TDI.

A good place to start I think, would be the site www.tdiclub.com

Its got some good links to online reports etc..


A Jetta TDI isnt a hybrid its a diesel. Its amazing on gas though, some people claiming 1000km/tank.

[nismodrifter]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt



A Jetta TDI isnt a hybrid its a diesel. Its amazing on gas though, some people claiming 1000km/tank.

1254 going through the rockies!

consistently getting 800km in the city (and I never ran it until the light went on! I always filled with 1/8th of the tank left)

[herragge]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt

I would have to partially disagree. The Lexus GS 450h and LS 460h have outstanding interiors and the 450h is even faster than it's V8 counterpart.

Cars like the prius and insight and all of ford's hybrids are however total wastes of money for every reason you listed pretty much.

Yes I would agree with you here as well. Lexus has some of the best interior styling in the world for its price range certainly. Lexus has three hybrids, GS450h, LS600h, RX400h. I like the idea that they are trying to play a part in reducing emissions. I mean, I suppose that is a start anyways despite maybe not being the smartest move in the short term.

Mike

[Neons4life]

There was a report on the news the other day talking about parking fees in England, they mentioned that people who drive a environmentaly friendly car (hybrid/electric) get to park for free, while those who drive big gas abusing SUV's have to pay around $700/month for parking.
They giving incentives like this to get people to switch over.

Now they are talking about bringing this idea into Calgary. basically the bigger the vehicle and more gas it uses the more you will pay for parking downtown. One of Calgary's alderman are really trying to push this idea.

[hjr]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt



I would have to partially disagree. The Lexus GS 450h and LS 460h have outstanding interiors and the 450h is even faster than it's V8 counterpart.

Cars like the prius and insight and all of ford's hybrids are however total wastes of money for every reason you listed pretty much.

true enough about the lexus models, they are very sexy and basically a decent approach to hybrid-ity. The reason they work though, is that they are adaptions or upgrades from existing sexy models. There are not purpose built hybrids. There are no purpose builts worth owning. even with the lexus models for example, you are paying a premium that will probably never be accounted for by the 'cheaper' fuel economy. generally speaking, hybrids dont get much better economy than a similar gasoline car. diesel is still the most consistently economical. The issue of long term costs (aka batteries and controllers and their ilk) has not yet been addressed. these cars may become valueless when it starts having problems related to the hybrid technology.

(electric motors are very powerful, so wid the lexus for example, it uses an electric motor, coupled with a very powerful 6 cyl engine. So powerful indeed that it sports 13 more horsepower than the 4.3 v8 found in the gs 430 for example. so you have a more powerful engine coupled with a strong electric motor, it will be faster than the 430 models.)

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by Neons4life
There was a report on the news the other day talking about parking fees in England, they mentioned that people who drive a environmentaly friendly car (hybrid/electric) get to park for free, while those who drive big gas abusing SUV's have to pay around $700/month for parking.
They giving incentives like this to get people to switch over.

Now they are talking about bringing this idea into Calgary. basically the bigger the vehicle and more gas it uses the more you will pay for parking downtown. One of Calgary's alderman are really trying to push this idea.

I like that idea quite a bit. People who buy massive SUV's and just drive them around with 1 passenger, no luggage, only in the city, just so they can feel "up high" and safe are retarded. I.e. HUMMER H2, etc. They should all be shot out of the hole they made in the ozone layer and into space.

[andres_mt]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt


I like that idea quite a bit. People who buy massive SUV's and just drive them around with 1 passenger, no luggage, only in the city, just so they can feel "up high" and safe are retarded. I.e. HUMMER H2, etc. They should all be shot out of the hole they made in the ozone layer and into space.

Lol i agree ... I hate seeing people with their massive trucks and SUV's and not using them the way there suppose to be used...I don't how many times i've seen just one person driving in one of those alone. IMO they gov't needs more initiatives to reduce the amount of cars on the road especially those which aren't so environmentally friendly.

I heard somewhere that alberta is one of the highest emitters of pollution (smog, co2, etc.).. anyone else hear that?

[barbarian]

Originally posted by andres_mt


Lol i agree ... I hate seeing people with their massive trucks and SUV's and not using them the way there suppose to be used...I don't how many times i've seen just one person driving in one of those alone. IMO they gov't needs more initiatives to reduce the amount of cars on the road especially those which aren't so environmentally friendly.

I heard somewhere that alberta is one of the highest emitters of pollution (smog, co2, etc.).. anyone else hear that?

Oil and Gas processing is extremely energy intensive... we need to get some nuke plants built to reduce CO2 emissions.

[alloroc]

We also use old school coal powered generators for electricity.

[HRD2PLZ]

The Lexus Hybrids are gorgeous... They kind of bring sexy to a Hybrid. I'm actually looking at the RX400h for my next vehicle. I know the average person doesn't save enough fuel to justify, but the average person also doesn't put 40-50K on their vehicles per year :eek:

[cressida_pimpin]

Why do you guys think people buy hybrids if they dont justify themselves in gas savings? just a status thing, enviro. concious?

[pyar_deewane]

^ to answer ur question I think its because ...

if you have the money then buy it....this applies to limitless merchandise...so when buying a new car for example...if you have the money to buy the anti-rust coating then you go for it...same with buying a ps3...considering between a 20gb and a 60gb...if you have the money then most likely youre going to get the 60gb...this also applies to hybrids...its not really about saving gas...I mean that is one of the most important deciding factors along with saving the earth...but also you want something thats different and yet better than other vehicles on the road...so if you have the money to do so...youre going to do it:thumbsup:

[hellraiser456]

i don't thgink there really is a "target" market.

i think it is a sort of "green" look to the companys to "impress" the people interested in buying new cars. You have the "we care about the environment, so we came out with this".

all in all though, through my reaserch as i once considered buying one before i bought my somewhat gas guzzling supra, that unless you drive real easy...you will not get the gas millage alot of them claim to have. I take the honda insight for example...an older one. if i recall they only come with a manual transmission...which i was cool with cause i like manual. the power came from a 1l sohc vtec engine that pout out like a wooping 100 horse or something..and the electric motor added i think 60...and a bunch of low end tourque.

My first problem with them was parts and batterys. Like importing a car from japan you have a car with a truly unique engine and thus parts and service you cost a bigillion dollars. Second problem i had with them is you had to drive like a grandma in order to get the quoted gas milage and have enough juice in the batteries in order to actully run the car of solely the electric motor, which i later learned, they use the gas motor alot more than i honestly expected.

if you have the a/c running you gas motor will always be on too...which to me kinda sucks as well.


i had a chance to be in a toyota yaris and basically the same thing. the engine was on basicly for anything other than a mild mild acceleration. anything over 100km/h the engine was on anyway and this citys stop and go driving..for the few seconds the engine is off i don't think it will make enough of a difference to really invest into

overall i think they are more a marketing toy rather than a practical money saver. there are straight gas engine cars that get close milage with out the added mumbo jumbo of the hybrid cars.

That said i believe they are a first stop to a very big problem...but far from a reasonable solution. i believe something like fuel cells will be the real winner...and i don't think cars with those are too too far away.

[pyar_deewane]

^ cars with fuel cells they had them about ten years ago....long story short GM, Toyota and Ford pulled the plug because of big oil and gas players...kinda sad....all the owners loved them unanimously...though Ford and GM decided to destroy all them after the 5year lease ended:(

[hjr]

the target is 'green' conscious consumers who are duped into thinking that driving one of these cars helps. that is why they are so popular in california; a commendable concern for the environment, but a complete lack of information coupled with popular opinion gives you someone buying a hybrid.

[barbarian]

Originally posted by pyar_deewane
^ cars with fuel cells they had them about ten years ago....long story short GM, Toyota and Ford pulled the plug because of big oil and gas players...kinda sad....all the owners loved them unanimously...though Ford and GM decided to destroy all them after the 5year lease ended:(


Well what were they using, hydrogen or methane in those fuel cells? With hydrogen, the energy to split water has to come from somewhere, and unless you want to build lots of nuclear reactors, or burn lots of coal, it's coming from oil and gas.