Was watching Motorweek on PBS this evening and heard the news reporter say SUV sales were down 15% last year. I found this story dated May 18, 2004. http://money.cnn.com/2004/05/17/pf/autos/suvs_gas/ Also, saw a commercial for a new Honda Hybrid Civic with in town gas mileage of 47mpg. I didn't see what mileage was for highway. I rode in the Civic years ago and found it to be a good ride for me. Now, I have other considerations and have to drive something else. However, if I didn't I'd check one out. Never figured I'd ever be hawking cars, LOL.
hybrid civic has worse gas mileage than the prius i've heard that people get avg of 40-45mpg driving the prius. i dont think hybrids are economical, period. you pay extra for that battery & extra drivetrain initially. and you will have to pay up the @$$ when you need to replace the battery down the line. prius battery warranty ends at 80k miles SUV is just excessive. the only time i would find it useful is when i need a 4x4 to go snowboarding. it really depends on your driving style. i get 40-42mpg driving 60-65mph on long trips on my 105hp civic. with windows closed & AC on. odometer is at 138k and counting.
That's cool. I drive another Avalon (second one, actually my Dad owns it) -- 2004 and it gets 26.5 city and highway with the a/c or heater running. That's about what I got in the old Avalon but it was 9 years old and had about 73,000 miles. If we could've afforded to keep it we would've but with the trade-in the new only cost $4,000 more than the 1995 model did.
IMO the trend will continue. Oil will go higher and we'll be looking more seriously at gas mileage. Check out stock symbol ZAPZ ZAP sells the smart car which gets 60 miles per gallon and there's no costly battery like there is with hybrid cars.
For those of us with families, non of these are viable options. Neither my wife or I would ever buy a mini van. I guess that means I am stuck with my 18 - 20 MPG Ford. I'm ok with that. My commute to work is about 5 miles, and from my house 15 minutes gets you anywhere you want to go in beautiful San Diego. And, at least I can fit everything in the car when it is time to take a trip!
Exactly, try cramming the wife, two kids, the dog and all of their gear for a weekend trip into a Honda Civic. It can't be done. It doesn't help that I am 6'6" tall and even in a full size car like a Ford Taurus, Toyota Camry, etc no one can sit behind me. Now a minivan does work wonders and is a little easier on the gas than an SUV not to mention a good bit cheaper to buy than an SUV. Nothing against the previous posters but I tend to think that these people admantely against SUVs must not have a family and not have a life that involves outdoors activities. Try taking a civic camping, fishing or hunting (I have done this in a Chevy cavalier but the ice chests full of deer in the bask seat leave a funcky smell).
A guy I knew had a Honda CRX that gets 61mpg city. That was his daily driver, and the family had a larger vehicle for weekend use. That's a great way to save money... Nowadays, with it costing $50 to fill my sedan's gas tank, I'm seriously thinking about demoting it to weekend use and buying a cheapo, teeny car. Hybrids don't make sense, what with them going for $3000-$7000 over MSRP. Even with the tax credit, you're paying thousands more than the equivalent gasoline model. Figure it's easier to rent an SUV when I need one, keep a sedan, and drive a itty-bitty gas-miser daily.
Duck tape around the edge of the coolers. When we moved from Detroit to Charlotte, we taped up a cooler full of venison and it worked well.
Actually Hybrids make a LOT of sense. Trouble is that people ignored the realities about SUV's and the price of gas for way too long. My fiance bought a Prius a year ago. She paid $21K for a new 2004. Sure she waited 6 months to get it. She gets over 50 mpg overall (highway + city). And the tax credit of $2000 along with it. And that's $2000 off her taxes so it's the equivalent of a income reduction of $5000 or more. So that purchase was a LOT better than anything else out there costwise and fuelwise. If people opened their eyes and saw the explosive demand in countries like China and likely India (next) they'd see that gas is going higher and that Goldman's $105/barrel thesis may not be far off the mark.