Hybrid/Electric Vehicles: Should I Buy?

nissin writes "I'm ready to buy my first vehicle, and would like to hear your experiences with either hybrid or electric vehicles. Are they a good alternative to conventional vehicles, or just a geek toy? Do they perform well in the city? How about on long road trips? I am also interested in hearing about other alternative, yet practical, forms of transportation that I may have missed."

We are american...

[Anonymous Coward]

we do not buy ecological vehicles!

Electric vehicles

[RelliK]

Electric vehicles can't go very far or very fast, and when you drive one people will think you're gay.(*)

(*)Sponsored by the gasoline industry of America.

Re:We are american...

[Anonymous Coward]

My SUV runs on baby seals!

Re:Not me but a friend..

[Anonymous Coward]

Pet Peeve #843288: Econocar drivers that whine about accident death rates. You bought that undersized penis extension, learn to live with the consequences.

One word, ...

[burgburgburg]

Two humps:

Camel

Nuff said.

(Note: Don't go dromedary. Lazy as can be. Uncomfortable. Spend a little extra for the second hump. It's worth it.)

Re:Not me but a friend..

[Mr_Silver]

Pet Peeve #843287: SUV drivers that whine about the price of gas. You bought that overpriced penis extension, learn to live with the consequences.

Pet Peeve #1: All Americans who whine about the price of gas. If you really want to whine, come to the UK where our Government has turned taxing petrol into an art form.

Re:We are american...

[Thud457]

Lissen hear, bub! I didn't claw my way to the top of the technology tree just to drive an electric car!

If you electric car panseys were smart, you'd start promoting EV dragraces. You're sure to get BillyBob onboard when an EV starts winning at "NASCAR".

Re:buy a motorcycle

[Gr33nNight]

you're part of the road

You have no idea.

Re:Not me but a friend..

[CaseyB]

Pet Peeve #843289: The fact that ALL SUV owners have a canned speech to rationalize the fact that they needed to buy their overpriced penis extension.

You better be careful

[CausticWindow]

Remember the Total Infomation Awareness project?

Don't you think they read Slashdot?

And what about your neighbours or the mail guy, have you already forgotten about the Terrorism Information and Prevention System?

Better be a good citizen and get that SUV.

Re:Segway!

[Trigun]

It's gyromoscopimic. We're talking about the president!

Re:Honda Civic

[Wiener]

Other advantages of the Civic include:

• Looks great with addition of a few stickers with Japanese characters on them.
• You can get some big-ass wings and spoilers for them.
• You can cut the springs down enough that your undercarriage drags the ground when you cross a seam in the road. This improves handling under extreme driving conditions ;)
• You can get some killer-looking neon lights to put underneath them!
• You can tell all the local riceboys that it's got 750 hp and they'll probably believe you...after all, what the hell do they know.

Re:Electric vehicles

[SheldonYoung]

A note for future reference:

When posting on a family site please don't put gay and (*) in the same sentence. Thank you.

Re:Not me but a friend..

[Anonymous Coward]

Newsflash: Nobody cares if bman08 has a "beef" with what car they drive.

Re:Getting a lot better

[Golias]

If you are considering a hybrid vehicle, there are two words you need to examine closely before going through with it:

repair costs

What makes hybrids affordable is that there are massive government subsidies reducing the price of the car. This masks the fact that many of the parts for these cars are enormously expensive. A hybrid Civic that gets into a minor city-street collision with a minivan or SUV is probably going to be so expensive to repair, that the insurance company will want to total it out.

If the long-term potential costs of maintenance and parts doesn't scare you off, and you don't expect to haul a boat trailer or something, then the hybrid cars can be a terrific way to go. Fantastic gas millage and a super-quiet ride. The inventor of regenerative breaks should get a medal.

Personally, I'll stick with my Crown Victoria for now. It may drink gas, (I get about 20 MPG from my highway and city driving combined) but it's safe, it seats six, and has a trunk big enough to easily fit three dead hookers. More, if you chop 'em up and put them in bags. Plus, the V8 is powerful enough to tow a lot of stuff when I need to, and the suspension is so smooth, it's like driving a hovercraft. Best of all, the reputation for being an "old man's car" means cheap insurance in spite of being almost the same car that the cops are tearing around town in.

The Crown Vic LS is like a Lincoln town car for half the price, and is the most under-rated car of the last decade, IMHO.

If you really want to get a hybrid car, consider looking for a used Toyota Prius, perhaps sold by some Yuppie asshole who only bought it to be trendy, and wants to trade up to a Mini Cooper S now that Minis are considered the New Hotness.

Re:Let's stop this before it starts

[Jace of Fuse!]

Pet Peeve #843290: The new trend of prefixing comments with "Pet Peeve #i+1"

Pet Peeve #i+2 - I fed my Pet Peeve today. He ate everything. I was so proud. Then I shaved him and took him outside to play, where he was suddenly run over by some insensitive clod in an SUV.

I prefer hydrogen.

[GMontag]

I prefer my hydrogen powered Jeep [franceisoc...ermany.org], but maybe that's just me.

Re:Prius rocks

[geekoid]

"I'm not too hot on the looks, but the mileage rocks, and it's been very reliable so far"

um, I dont think this is the place to put your personal ad.

Environmental Mafia

[ElectricMayhem]

Trunk space? ... Plenty of space for normal people.

And with the 500 miles off of a single tank of gas, there is no credit card trail at gas stations on the way to drop off the body. Efficient and practical.

Re:Not me but a friend..

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah!
I thnk I xaw you hiding under a bridge during the last rain! :)

Buy a Motorcycle

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a fuel efficient penis extension...

Re:Electric vehicles

[Misch]

Sorry, Car Talk has already named the VW Jetta [cars.com] as the number one gay mens' car.

I passed on the Jetta and got a Honda Civic Hybrid instead.

Re:Only 45mpg?

[Xerithane]

Where am I supposed to shit? If I can't shit on my environment (well, more properly, IN my environment), what am I supposed to do with my poop?

Washington.

Re:Not me but a friend..

[Quasar1999]

Except that it costs us $87 Billion up front for the cheap gas...

Why I read Slashdot

[JonTurner]

>>it's safe, it seats six, and has a trunk big enough to easily fit three dead hookers. More, if you chop 'em up and put them in bags.

Chop 'em up? Why, I never would have thought of that!

You know, it's just that sort of practical use-it-every-day knowledge that keeps me coming back here to Slashdot! Thanks, guys!

Wimp!

[TheConfusedOne]

You need the Hydrogen BOMB powered Jeep Orion. :-D

Re:Getting a lot better

[Randatola]

by Golias (176380) on Friday September 12, @03:32PM (#6945874)
Personally, I'll stick with my Crown Victoria for now. It [...] has a trunk big enough to easily fit three dead hookers. More, if you chop 'em up and put them in bags.

by Anonymous Canard (594978) on Friday September 12, @04:23PM (#6946844)
Funny you should mention the Crown Victoria, since it is one of two commercially available alternative fuel vehicles. [...] As alternative fuel vehicles go, these are pretty easy to use -- they handle like gasoline engines, are easy to refill (in California) at many PG&E stations in the area, at the cost of about half your trunk space

So you're saying if I get a natural gas Crown Vic, I can only fit one dead hooker in the trunk without chopping up? When will they make an alternative fuel vehicle with no compromises?

Re:Let's stop this before it starts

[Diamon]

Pet Peeve # i +1? Sorry, your peeves are irrational.

Americans are pansies

[Moderation abuser]

That's the only conclusion I can come to after reading this thread. America is a country of scaredy cats.

No wonder the Iraqi's are kicking your arses now that it's down to the nitty gritty.

Re:My geo metro

[Anonymous Coward]

Had a Chevy Sprint (which became the GEO Metro, which became the Chevy Metro), put 120K on it then sold it. Never had a problem, and I got 45+ mpg. It was small, but not appreciably smaller than a Civic, and as reliable as a car can be.

If you think a Civic is normal sized, you must drive yours in the circus, filled with seven other clowns. Its a very small car indeed.

Look don't get all defensive over your small car. Chicks don't really like bigger cars anyway. No, really they don't. Honest. Size doesn't matter. Really.

Re:Getting a lot better

[Lawbeefaroni]

My 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis had that. It was a sticker on the dash that said "Bad."

Re:Americans are pansies

[Moderation abuser]

I'm drunk and can't be arsed. Does that make you feel better?

Re:Getting a lot better

[Anonymous Coward]

Cool is rattling the windows on the surrounding houses when stopped at a light because your engine is so powerful and you've removed your muffler and replaced it with aftermarket equipment.

Does having a loud car make your penis larger?

Breaking?

[FireballFreddy]

lets the car re-capture the energy wasted in breaking

Then you should buy an American hybrid. American cars break all the time. ;)

Geek car? you want an RX-8

[Schmucky The Cat]

If you want a geek car, you want the Mazda RX-8.

Slate posted an article explaining why it's the geekiest car on the road a month or so ago, so I won't re-has the articles.

http://slate.msn.com/id/2087172/

Of course, if all you want is a slug car then go all out with your bad self and those hybrids. Hybrids are for suburban mommies, not geeks.

Put a poster up of the cutaway for a rotary engine - then watch your workmates come talk engineering with you.

Re:Getting a lot better

[E_elven]

Generally speaking, large cars make 'penises' louder.