Thinking about buying a hybrid vehicle.. any suggestions?

[fkknuckle]

Shelby Super Snake! Oh wait you said 35-40K, forget it. Boss 302 then.

 

[Jack Davenport]

I don't follow the hybrid market, but have you looked at the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid? I think it's around $37K (standard) to $40K (fully optioned).

That's a great looking car. Does Hyundai make a Sonata Hybrid? I like that too. I think I will check out a MKZ tomorrow. Not sure if they have any hybrids in stock.

 

[Rey C.]

Yeah, Hyundai does make a hybrid. I'm not sure if it's a Sonata though - maybe... but not certain. Plus, I think Hyundais (and/or Kias) have like 500 year warranties or something close to that. They used to be POS cars. But they're pretty good now.

If I ever try to make an insider trading scheme work (and don't get caught), I think I'll go for one of these hybrids:

Porsche 918 RSR Hybrid

 

[Jack Davenport]

Didn't get a chance to check out the MKZ today as I hoped. I will probably go tomorrow when no vulture salesmen are prowling the lot.

Toyota used to be for shit in the early 70's too as well as Honda. These manufacturers get a foot in the US market with low end cars and if they take off they up the quality. The Hyundai Genesis looks as good as any Mercedes.

 

[E-Ann-Hilden]

How about a Ford C-Max Hybrid or a Mazda 6 Diesel coming out this year?

 

[Rey C.]

Didn't get a chance to check out the MKZ today as I hoped. I will probably go tomorrow when no vulture salesmen are prowling the lot.

Toyota used to be for shit in the early 70's too as well as Honda. These manufacturers get a foot in the US market with low end cars and if they take off they up the quality. The Hyundai Genesis looks as good as any Mercedes.

You know I have no shame or hesitation in making fun of shit cars. And I'll be honest, Hyundais and Kias used to be a favorite target of mine. But from their current styling (very daring and cutting edge) to their build processes and quality controls, those Korean sister companies are snatching food off Honda's plate these days. One or both of them had a 10 year warranty a few years ago - a friend of mine bought one for that very reason (I think she got a Kia something). Yeah, I'd definitely check one out if I was looking for a sedan.

 

[Red XXX]

Why not build your own, hybrid cars are just as unenvironmental as conventional cars due to constructional costs etc ...... so build your own - recycle materials etc, etc ...... after all what could possibly go wrong :explosion:

 

[vodkazvictim]

M113 Hybrid

 

[The Yak]

Buying a hybrid in our state (NC) might not be as financially advantageous as it used to be.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/05/27/2921296/road-worrier-hybrid-electric-car.html

 

[Rey C.]

Didn't get a chance to check out the MKZ today as I hoped. I will probably go tomorrow when no vulture salesmen are prowling the lot.

Toyota used to be for shit in the early 70's too as well as Honda. These manufacturers get a foot in the US market with low end cars and if they take off they up the quality. The Hyundai Genesis looks as good as any Mercedes.

If you decide to try out the Lincoln, pay close attention to the touchscreen sat/nav/control system - it's shit... it really is. The Ford/Lincoln Sync, or MyTouch or whatever they call it, is about as complex and wonky a thing as I have ever seen. After I posted this to you, I suggested to my girl that she look at the MKZ Hybrid. It's a nice car. But the onboard computer system they chose is horrible. And because *I* suggested the Lincoln (and I guess I'm supposed to know about cars), she was asking me how this works and how that works and why this doesn't work this way, like I was the one who designed and built it. What a wasted day.

She tends to buy Honda products. So I guess she'll get either a Honda or an Acura. I think Honda is one of the ones that's incorporating iOS into their onboard systems so that should keep lil Miss iPhone Girl happy. But this discussion has got me thinking about maybe choosing a hybrid for my next car too.

 

[sean miguel]

Had to go on a long road trip recently and rented one of the new Toyota Prius'.
It's just total quality and had surprisingly good performance. It had some serious get up and go through those mountain passes.

 

[Sam Fisher]

Be sure to have plenty of these on hand after you buy your hybrid.



(for birth control measures, I mean)

:lurk:

 

[Rey C.]

I remember when the "new" C4 Corvette came out in 1983 (as an '84). Its 5.7/350 V8 produced about 205 hp. The 5.3 liter V12 in a car I bought in the late 80's produced about 290 hp. The rather exotic 3.0 liter V8 in the Ferrari 308 only produced about 250 hp. Yet the (mildly modified) 2.0 liter 4 cylinder turbo in my WRX produces just shy of 300 hp. And it averages 26 mpg (with sane driving). And it's nothing special. If I wanted to get silly with the boost, electronic engine management and the internals, 400 hp would be easily doable. Mainly because of advances in electronics, including hybrid and energy recovery systems (like what F1 is developing), as well as turbo technology, I think we're at the dawn of some amazing performance from relatively small and affordable engines. The only problem is, they're going to be total hell to work on. Shade tree mechanics might as well shoot themselves in the head now.

This little 1.6 liter V6 turbo monster from Mercedes will produce about 750 total horsepower in F1 race dress next year (about what the 2.4 liter N.A. V8 has now), including about 160 hp from the energy recovery systems... roughly similar system to what hybrid cars have now. I'd love to get a performance car and know that I had even an extra 100 hp on tap, that is "free", since the brakes have saved it up for me.

Too bad the touchscreen in the Lincoln MKZ is total shit. It would make a nice road car (though not a performer), if not for that. And if the payment book was in my girlfriend's name and not mine, yet I could still drive it sometimes, that would be even better.