GAS PROTEST

[Puckdropper]

QUOTE: My next veichle is either going to be a hybrid or a VW diesel car......haven't decided yet....

If you're driving in the city, or around small towns, go with the hybrid. According to my uncle Roger (a shadetree mechanic), a diesel gets really good mileage out on the road when it has a change to get warm and stay warm and burn some of the afterfumes. He said his diesel will burn a quarter tank going about 7-10 miles after going distances like that for a time. When he gets it out on the interstates, it uses a lot less gas.

From what I've heard about hybrids, they only run the gas engine to charge the battery. That means if the battery's fine, and the motor/lights not running, not going anywhere doesn't hurt your gas mileage. (50 mpg in the city would be great!) When my car needs to be replaced (that's still a long ways off), I'm going to be looking at hybrids, even if I have to buy one new.

[DSchmitt]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Puckdropper

QUOTE: My next veichle is either going to be a hybrid or a VW diesel car......haven't decided yet....

If you're driving in the city, or around small towns, go with the hybrid. According to my uncle Roger (a shadetree mechanic), a diesel gets really good mileage out on the road when it has a change to get warm and stay warm and burn some of the afterfumes. He said his diesel will burn a quarter tank going about 7-10 miles after going distances like that for a time. When he gets it out on the interstates, it uses a lot less gas.

From what I've heard about hybrids, they only run the gas engine to charge the battery. That means if the battery's fine, and the motor/lights not running, not going anywhere doesn't hurt your gas mileage. (50 mpg in the city would be great!) When my car needs to be replaced (that's still a long ways off), I'm going to be looking at hybrids, even if I have to buy one new.

I looked at the Toyota Prius several years ago. It uses electric, gas or gas and electric depending on the situation. I like the concept and it may be the way to go someday, however I didn't buy one.

I checked the web for comments by owners. Several whose driving situation is similar to mine (short trips around town during the week, once in awhile a longer trip on the weekend) reported that during the week they got less than 20 mpg due to the need to keep the batteries charged. My old GMC van does as well and the straight gas buggy I bought does better.

[Modelcar]

....Latest reports by auto writers have the current Prius running it's best mileage during local driving and in the range of 50 mpg....Slightly less over the open road.

[DSchmitt]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Modelcar

....Latest reports by auto writers have the current Prius running it's best mileage during local driving and in the range of 50 mpg....Slightly less over the open road.

I would like to believe thats true, but did they really test it in the real world. A week straight of city street driving. My commute is under 3 miles. I have less than one mile where I can legally exceed 35 MPH (if I take the Highway instead of going through the residental areas) and due to traffic I am normally below 25 mph and sometimes stop and go.

[Modelcar]

.....Page 86 in May Motor Trend has good article of about 4 of them....and some charts, etc.....Believe they are into the automotive bit enough to present pretty good info. Actually, the Prius does even better on the chart than I quoted....

[Anonymous]

Toyota quit pursuing fuel cell technology as a replacement for the internal combustion and hybrid vehicles because it IS dirty fuel. They are still experimenting with it and have a fleet of them on the West Coast but it won't become commonplace. They instead have geared towards hybrids as the wave of the future. They were implimented in Japan 5 years before the U.S. and introduced to California first for emissions concerns. Their benefits and reliability has been so good that they cannot produce enough of them to meet demand. Some of Toyotas assembly plants here are being re-tooled so that in the near future almost any of its 17 models can be built 'standard' or hybrid on the same line as the build order states.Other major manufacturers that have fallen behind in this technology have found it 'cheaper' to lease Toyotas technology and pay them for their research and success than to design their own. I have been involved with the Prius since its introduction to the U.S. and can say I have never seen a major malfunction with any of them and the generation 2's are even better! Go Toyo!

[RudyRockvilleMD]

New York City is evaluating some hybrid buses for noise, economy, and pollution, and so far their experience has shown hybrid buses look promising. Montgomery County, MD will test a few hybrid buses soon to evaluate their noise, pollution and economy. I don't know whose technology the buses use. Certainly if buses can successfully use the hybrid technology why can't cars or light trucks?

When it comes to cars I believe in "live and let live." Four years ago my wife was after me to buy a new car never mind our 91 Olds wagon only had 62000 miles on it I threatened to get an SUV because my brand of car quit making station wagons. To make a short story long when my wife and I took a road trip from Kansas City to Mt Rushmore 4 years ago, our children suggested we rent an SUV to see how we liked it. After putting 2000 miles on the SUV the jury was still out, but after a few months Saturn announced a new mid-size station wagon so we bought one, and we like it.. If somebody wants to drive an SUV , a van, a truck or a hearse, that's their business. The same applies to the size of a house. BTW our other car is not a Pullman it is an Olds Ciera Cutlass Cruiser wagon.

[Anonymous]

That's the beauty of America and our freedom (and that's why they hate us!) We can choose to drive what we want, spend what we want, live where we want, and practically do what we want! A hybrid for some,a v-8 for others,a 440 double-pumper for some,a sequential turbo Supra for me! See? It all works in this great Country called America!

[mvlandsw]

Not buying gas for a day won't accomplish anything except making long lines the next day. To make the oil companies notice we would have to not "USE" any gas for a day or longer.

[Anonymous]

One other side effect to the price gouging at the pump is that people trying to come off of welfare and go to work are going to figure that it costs more to go to work than it is worth and try to sit at home collecting a welfare check instead. Not only that, but people are going to cut back on spending, sending this country back into a recession if not a depression, as the continued price gouging forces people to start cancelling vacation plans right and left because of the price gouging at the gas pump. In addition, there is a greater number of pump and run type incidents where people pump gas and drive off without paying for it. That is becoming more rampant as the higher the prices go. For vacation travel there is always a combination of Amtrak and Greyhound used together. I think it is high time to not only rebuild our mass transit and rail passenger network, but topple the administration that wants to destroy Amtrak, the corrupt George W. Bush, who is bought and paid for by Oil Interests. Time to take ba ck our country by whatever means is necessary.

[Anonymous]

One other side effect to the price gouging at the pump is that people trying to come off of welfare and go to work are going to figure that it costs more to go to work than it is worth and try to sit at home collecting a welfare check instead. Not only that, but people are going to cut back on spending, sending this country back into a recession if not a depression, as the continued price gouging forces people to start cancelling vacation plans right and left because of the price gouging at the gas pump. In addition, there is a greater number of pump and run type incidents where people pump gas and drive off without paying for it. That is becoming more rampant as the higher the prices go. For vacation travel there is always a combination of Amtrak and Greyhound used together. I think it is high time to not only rebuild our mass transit and rail passenger network, but topple the administration that wants to destroy Amtrak, the corrupt George W. Bush, who is bought and paid for by Oil Interests. Time to take ba ck our country by whatever means is necessary.

[daveklepper]

Everyone has the opportunity to insure his next auto is a hybrid. Dave Klepper

[Modelcar]

....It is not only time to revisit our priorities on mass transit but way over due.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tomtrain

toyomantrains - I've wondered about the hybrids' batteries. They represent a large part of what's under the hood now, don't they? So far, have they held up well? I've heard they are guaranteed for eight years by Toyota. Do they require any special maintenance?

Actually, the hybrid battery is in the trunk- fairly large and heavy but made up of individual replaceable module cells. I have yet to see any type of problem with the hybrid battery and the warranty is outstanding. No maintenance is required for them either. The auxiliary battery, on the other hand, has had some problems- mainly in colder climate regions like mine or with Prius' that sit too long or are in storage. This is a 'standard' (though different in shape/terminal size) 12 volt battery whose sole purpose is to power-up the computers,etc. to get the system operating. Toyota came out with a higher capacity reserve aux battery to solve the problem.

[TH&B]

Here in "America" we have the freedom to drive what we want , wich is great because I like to drive what no one else wants any more, I like to drive big crazy cars, but I don't like to need to drive. And the problem still remains that we gotta drive something and it uses gas (or dissel) and that is where the freedom ends.

[Anonymous]

This month's National Geographic magazine cover says it best: Cheap Oil is Over!

A person only has to look at NASA's night lights map to see where the consumption of energy is....half of it is burned in America, with less than 5 percent of the world's population....

As the rest of the world catches up to us in energy use, were done for.....

[daveklepper]

Buy a Hybrid Dave

[Modelcar]

...Since we've made trips to the moon and other scientific excursions in our Solar system and other complicated engineered programs it seems to me we have the engineering base to commit an aggressive program towards a way to use our aboundance of supply of coal for energy in this country to produce electricity and other energy uses and not pollute, There is no shortage of coal in our country.

[Anonymous]

We talk of protesting the cost of Gasoline as we as a generation buy the
biggest SUV,s avalable that burns the most gasoline.we never learned a thing
from the Oil crisis in the seventys and the Energy resouse short falls predicted
by many.we are a Free thinking generation but in our free thinking we forget
freedom to as we desire has a price and the pump is one place we pay up.

I worked at the Irving Oil refinery as a sub contracted employee
for Service Master cleaning and got to befriend many whom learned me the
truth of Crude purchased and cost unseen by the public and possable headaches
faced by the world stage of politics.we as the average joe see that sign on the
gas station lot and freak but wonder if we see the books of the station operators
or delivery companys or even the megga companys as even Irving.

DO SOMETHING..Leave that SUV ON THE CAR LOT and drive a car that not
spews tons per mile Atmospheric poisoning gas.we are so worried about our
pocket book but waste it anyway driving a post nuclear nightmare vehicle any
way.

my point of veiw
thank you
David Brown

[vsmith]

OK all you potential Hybrid buyers out there.

Yeserday I got to drive Honda's new hybrid Civic, and compared to the Toyota Prius...

GET THE HONDA![8D]

It rides better, drives better and doesnt have the "feels-like-a-panic-stop-every-time-you-appy-the-brakes" effect that the Prius has and always freaked me out.

Theres almost nothing different from the regular civic except that the dam gas guage never moves! A far easier to drive and understand car![:D]

The Prius does have more comfortable seats though...[;)]

[jchnhtfd]

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

OK all you potential Hybrid buyers out there.

Yeserday I got to drive Honda's new hybrid Civic, and compared to the Toyota Prius...

GET THE HONDA![8D]

It rides better, drives better and doesnt have the "feels-like-a-panic-stop-every-time-you-appy-the-brakes" effect that the Prius has and always freaked me out.

Theres almost nothing different from the regular civic except that the dam gas guage never moves! A far easier to drive and understand car![:D]

The Prius does have more comfortable seats though...[;)]

I got the Honda! (no, guys, I didn't trade in my K2500 Chev -- still need the truck around the farm[:D]). The above quote is exactly, precisely right -- the thing is a top end Civic (all the toys...[8D]) (well, no moon roof...[:o)]); looks like one, rides like one, drives like one[:)] -- except that I am getting a real-world (which means some pretty horrid commuting traffic, plus some long-distance freeway stuff) mileage of 45[:D], WITH the air conditioning running. And seats five in complete comfort. Highly recommended!

Only trouble is, they're a bit thin on the ground -- I was lucky, but you can wait a long time for one...

As to warranties, the whole thing is the usual 3 years/30,000 miles, except the battery and associated components, which is 8 years/80,000 miles. Good enough for me...[:)]

[Anonymous]

First of all: How about Methanol?

Secondly, if you didn't buy gas today, you hurt the guy at the local station who stays open late to fix a tire for you, or do work for nearly nothing. In thee long run itt also hurts folks who make their living doing other oil related jobs. It'll never hurt the big guys.


Methanol

[Anonymous]

I bought the Volkswagon Jetta GL TDI, a turbo diesel, which in its first tank gave me 439 miles for 10.1 gallons, both highway and city driving (mostly highway). When I filled up the tank for the first time I noticed in Dallas Texas Shell station: Premium-93 Octane $2.059, Super Unleaded-89 Octane $1.959, Unleaded-87 Octane $1.859, and Super Diesel $1.699..... I'll buy the cheaper gas, and get as far or nearly as far as a hybrid.....

[Train Guy 3]

We need more oil refineries and less EPA!

[Anonymous]

Todays gas protest was joke. I still alot of people fueling their cars./mrlove.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mrlove

Todays gas protest was joke. I still alot of people fueling their cars./mrlove.

Tell me more, tell me more, was it love at first sight?


sorry- couldn't resist.,


But seriously- be like me, Bus mero or Walk- I walk sometimes 7.5 miles to get somewhere (actaully RUN) and that could also explain why i am in such good physical shape. but irrelavent- Use 2 legs, what they were intended for.

[TH&B]

What is that a picture of, a dissel train?
I always wonder if you track mobile a DTI, of how much it could pull on rail.

[Anonymous]

Go to www.edmunds.com and compare the Prius against the Civic (both excellent cars) and you will see that they are very similar in most catagories. Click on comparison advantages and the Prius comes out ahead in EPA mileage estimates, warranty, engine configuration and displacement, safety features, and telematics- but then again I may be a little predjudice towards the Yoda!

[Puckdropper]

About the batteries in the trunk... (So this isn't exactly railroad related... but it is in a way... diesel electrics have been popular since the 1950s ;-)) How much cargo room do they take up? I need to fit a hockey bag in there...

[daveklepper]

Buy a Hybrid. Dave