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]

AND





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

[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]

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[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.