Quote:
Originally Posted by homehardwood
I for one have no interest in the hybrid market. Yes they be slightly more efficient for in town driving but my 04 Corolla gets 35-40 highway. That is good mileage and the upside is I don't have to drop $5-6000 5 years down the road on batteries. It is a novel idea but if they can't be produced cheaper then they just don't pencil out. The environmental impact difference is probably(my uneducated opinion) negligable do to the hazardous production of the batteries. There will no doubt be someone here who will argue my points, so educate me with the facts.=)
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I don't know all of the facts but as a Prius owner I know that batteries are no where near $5-6k. Maybe in 2000 they were but now they are around $1k give or take $200. Its a relatively cheap replacement now (labor might be close to as much as the battery) and I am not aware of many having to do this. Priuschat.com has many more experts that can give details but most are seeing over 300k miles before they need replaced. Even for those that drive way more than average they'll likely last 15 years. In that time frame I expect that the battery replacement will be as cheap as a 60 or 90k mile tuneup. Not to mention that a 2010 Prius has no belts, chains or anthign to replace ever 60k miles. Less overall maintenance = cost savings
I do far more city driving so the 58 mpg we get around town was more important than a highway figure but I know others drive the freeways 40 miles a day and need great highway mileage versus city. There is a cost factor to geting a hybrid but a new Prius is cheaper than a Jetta TDI and can run on the cheaper regular fuel.
sounds like you made a smart choice for a good highway mileage car that finds your needs without spending big bucks.
On a side note to the pollution of producing the batteries, it is widely known that the actual emission output fro mthe manufacturing plant is miniscule compared to the tail pipe emission of the car being produced. the batteries are recycleable and the new Li-polymer batteries in the Hyundai/Kia cars are non-toxic. Somewhere there is a video of the chairman or CEO drinking the battery fluid to prove that it is safe. I have no doubts that mining of the Li is un-friendly to the environment like all mining is but I doubt it is worse than any average mining operation.