07-14-2008, 05:00 PM
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#41 (permalink)
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Grouper
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If you drive at 10,000' daily and go offroading frequently, then by all means, go buy an Escape. However, if you drive in the city like a large portion of the population, AWD is just a nicety.
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Originally Posted by georoc01
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Originally Posted by SlvrDragon50
That's why you get a real hybrid like the Prius. There are electric cars right now that already get 100+ mpg such as the Tesla but those are much more expensive than hybrids. I know someone in CA( I think) converts cars into electric for 10k
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Originally Posted by georoc01
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Originally Posted by SlvrDragon50
I still think this. Is the wrong approach.
So the gas price is around $4.30 / gallon
A hybrid can yield a mpg of around 45-60
An average car probably from 1998-2004 probably has mpg around 15-25
Switching to a hybrid is like cutting down fuel prices in half or more. This in turn reduces carbon emissions, quite a few people will enjoy the much quieter car as well, and it is an upgrade from most older cars.
The population is realizing this as in 2000, only 20,000 hybrids were produced. Today, there are 400,000 in use! We need to learn how to ween ourselves off of oil, not simply find some more so wecan have a few years of cheaper prices.
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The problem is that lets take the Ford Escape Hybrid, it gets about 30MPG vs the 20 MPG the non hybrid version gets. It costs $7,000 more with a battery that has an unknown shelf life. Even at $5 a gallon its going to take about 85,000 miles to hit the break even and if you have to finance your vehicle, its going to be even more than that.
So I guess it depends where you are from an economic version and what kind of premium you would pay for a hybrid vehicle. Personally, I am waiting for the plug-in version of the Escape Hybrid, which will supposedly get close to 100MPG. Now we would be making some progress! |
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Well, when they start making a Prius with AWD and enough HP to drive effectively at 10,000 feet, I am all for it! I know there is a Lexus RX-400 out there that is, but doesn't get much better gas mileage than the Ford Escape Hybrid. |
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