Hybrid car + EMF

Maine Doug_74

switch to miles per dollar. A more scary number. Like buying fancy dancy coffee in strange size cups that require a paragraph to order and then have "Caution, Coffee is Hot" printed on the cup for Stupid.

Try miles per dollar, it will make you think as the odometer clicks over.

bovide_4

In an effort to

be green and use less energy, I opted to purchase a Toyota Highlander Hybrid instead of a conventional car. Now I see a NY Times article raising the subject of cancer risks from electo magnetic fields from the motors and batteries. What would you do?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/automobiles/27EMF.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

bigugh_4

EMF radiation!

Drive your car! the wires overhead, the cell phones, the radio and TV transmissions Even the space station will still be there! We all are imersed in more radiation than we can think of. Its too late for worry at this point!

Maine Doug_74

You are more

likely to be hit by another driver or a drunk driver within 5 miles of your home. You are more likely to have an on the job accident. You are more likely to die from a mistake in medication at the hospital. You are more likely to die from a doctor's mistake.

In the meantime, don't go near transformers, power lines, microwave ovens etc. And be sure to wear your special foil hat, easy to make here:
http://zapatopi.net/afdb/

Oh, and enjoy your new vehicle!!

Rich L.

Toyota Camry Hybrid here..

In that same effort to both save green and be green I bought a hybrid Toyota Camary last November. I have almost 11,000 miles on it now and my last 5 tanks or so are all over 40 mpg. I love it! (Very conservative driving BTW) Filling up any car isn't cheap any more but it doesn't hurt near as bad as the 4WD truck that I traded in. And actually goes almost twice as far on a tank thats way less than half the size.

Worried about emf radiation, nah, just give me the good mpg's!

tim smith

2008 Camry hybrid here also, 40 mpg??? in my dreams

We get 28 mpg here in seattle. We do have alot of hills to navigate so maybe that is why? 40 wowwwwwwwwwww!

joe lambert_2

Hills

I would have guessed a hilly terrain would improve mileage; recharging batteries on the downhill side of the slopes.

Pete

J.C.A._3

And dopey me.....

Bought a Pontiac Vibe, a 2004 model.... back in Oct. 03.

I couldn't get 15 dollars worth of gas in it if I tried...back then.

I just made a trip from the coast, to almost the Canadian border...up and down hills and through valleys, while posting 37 MPG.

I'm pretty sure that my foot wasn't as light as it could have been at some points...yet I have to question if I had spent the money on a hybrid, would it be paying for itself in all the highway and over 40 MPH driving that I do?

I like the green thinking...but also question what will become of the batteries when the hybrid cars life is done? How much of a penalty is the weight of the battery pack posing to the cost associated with the slight mileage gains? I don't find them to be even a wash yet, compared to some of the high mileage, clean burning conventional cars available right now.

Maybe I'm wrong...but show me the numbers. They must also include the cost to rid the environment of all the add on features that make the car "green" when it hits the pit.Does anyone know that cost yet?

I've alway believed in doing something similar...but that using flywheels and clutches and/or some sort of "de-coupling the engine from the drivetrain during breaking or coasting", and letting the stored energy in the flywheel continue charging a storage unit, would be the way.

My shop teacher thought I was grasping at straws....but he remembered me talking to him about it when I spoke with him last...and gasoline was around 62 cents/gal. when I asked him in High School.

Any thoughts? Chris

hot_rod

Honda Civic hybrid

in our drive way as of last week. Still on the first tank, expecting 45- 50 mpg perhaps. hard to come across any hybrids in this ara. Long waiting lists for prius's.

hr

RianS

08 Ford Escape

We bought a Ford Escape last May and have over 24000 miles on already. 31 mpg around town and 29 highway. Traded in an 03 GMC Envoy (loved it) with 89000 miles on it and never got more than 15 mpg in town and 21 highway. Not bad mileage for an SUV and performance is as good as the big gas guzzler.

ChasMan

Claimage.

Some people claim to get 90MPG in their Prius rated at 44 MPG. The Vibe is rated at 27 and you claim to get 37. I dont think we can make comparisons accurately that way. In any case, at 4.00 gas, It will take a long time to justify the 10,000.00 difference in price between a Prius and a Vibe that gets 37 MPG. Honda Fits dont get that and they are smaller, lighter, and more aerodynamic.

Ruthe Jubinville_2

And I love my

Toyota Matrix conventional engine. Get 33-35 MPG most of the time. I believe Hybrids are best in city driving not for hilly country roads. The electric cuts in at stops not on highway driving. Correct me if I am wrong. Ruthe

Larry Weingarten

Ruthe...

... you've got it right. Another possibility is to go out and get a used Yamaha 650 which gets 45 mpg. At least I'll be less likely to die of EMFs.

There is an interesting article on turbines and how to make your Hummer get 60 mpg AND leave rubber on the road ;~) http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/120/motorhead-messiah.html

Ruthe Jubinville_2

Larry

I do have a 250cc Honda Reflex scooter. Gets me about 60 mpg and will do 65-70 on the interstate and cruises with traffic on regular roads. Love it

J.C.A._3

Chas.

I have a witness if you need verification.

380 miles, 10.3 gallons of 87 octane gas.

Smaller, lighter and more aerodynamic don't mean squat until you punch the button and figure the mileage.

I also don't see the payback on a hybrid YET. I'm sure it will make a difference when driving in the city ALL THE TIME, but that isn't where I live.

BTW, this is the twin brother of Ruthies Matrix. She claims 35 and is driving in mostly the same type of environment that I am. Chris

bill_97

Dunno about the hybrids

I bought my pop a Hemi Charger a few months ago . It gets 28 mpg highway ( verified ) . If he can get those numbers with a 4000 + lb. car with a 5.7 engine , I believe a conventional car can be built that gets just as much mpg as a hybrid ( if they aren't on the market already ) .

bill_97

Did that

while filling up my work van Friday . I'm at 40 cents a mile .

Unknown

I'm not sure what I'd do, but I probably wouldn't post about it on a computer with an electronic screen a foot from my face if I were worried about it

Maine Doug_74

Geesh, now I have to modify

my tin hat to include eye flaps.....

Darin Cook_5

My gas pig

I am a couple payments away of paying my truck off. I have moved away from my initial plans of buying a new box truck and trading in my present work truck ( 2004 GMC Sierra 2500HD six litre engine - 9 mpg or 56 cents a mile) to keeping this truck for the days when I actually have to haul large loads or deliver pipe and getting a small pickup around 25 mpg with the four cylinder or perhaps a Toyota Scion "box" 26 mpg. I often do not need the capacity of the big truck. I have looked at the Sprinters but the price tag was daunting.

I saw in the new P&M that a company was using a Mini Cooper for going on estimates and parts running. Kind of cool except for the price tag on the Cooper.

It is hard to talk about high efficiency heating and cooling with a customer when you pull up with the gas pig - granted it is a work truck and is needed but not all the time. I may even buy a small trailer to leave at a job site or buy multiple sets of tools and start using job boxes on projects.

The bottom line is that all of the extra money spent on fuel has no benefit to me, it only raises my overhead. I would rather put the money saved back into the business or my pocket!








Darin

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Wayco Wayne_2

I've been

thinking the same way. Last weekend I had an emergency call to change a thermocouple on a boiler. I took my 1 ton Chevy Van. I figured the whole trip cost me 20 bucks in gas for one emergency call to and fro. If I could have taken my civic with a tool bucket in the trunk it would have cost about 6 dollars. The only drawback is my pourous brain. Being able to project what i need to take and stock is the challenge. The Van is set up with fall back stocking items that sometimes save extra trips which would cost extra and wipe out the savings of a higher mileage vehicle. What to do, what to do. WW

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Rich L.

HHR

A friend of mine who owns his own electrical contracting business did just that with a new Chevy HHR panel truck. He has his business name splashed all over it. Gets lets ov favorable comments and says he's getting over 30 on the hwy. He still has the big trucks parked at the shop and uses them as necessary.

Rich L.

43.3 this tank full

I am going by my trip computer so it may be off but I've heard that they are actually quite accurate. This is without air or heat right now also. I'm sure it will drop some when it's time to turn on the air.

Like I said though I am a very conservative driver. I've made it a personal goal to stay at or below the speed limit. Gets a little exciting on the way to work. I feel like I'm going to get run over! In fact it amazes me the people that fly past me from a stop light, that I catch up to at the next, I'm sure are the some of the same ones complaining about the rotten mileage they get!

My commute is 16 miles one way, 7 of those are on the hwy - 65 mph. I stay below the 65 limit. Where the hybrid really shines though is when it can run on electric only. This is below around 42 mph and on relatively flat ground.

The hills would cut into that I'm sure. Going down is great of course but you have to use the energy saved to get up the next one.

The other way to save with the hybrid I've found is with slow easy braking. This gives you maximum gain from regenerative braking rather than giving that energy up to heat at the brake pads.

My mileage was not so good this past winter with lots of snow and cold. When traveling through 4 or 5 inches of snow with the heat running full blast my mileage dropped to the low 30's.

As far as the cost for disposal when it comes time, I honestly don't know. I'm assuming that the batteries can be recycled much like lead acid, or cordless tool batteries. Aside from those there's not that much different from a regular car to recycle. Speaking very generally of course! Lots of different controls, the electric motor (recyclable)and such.

Driving style has a tremendous amount to do with the MPG's you're going to get out of any vehicle, 3/4 ton work truck or hybrid car. The easier we go the greater the returns.

Best regards, Rich L

Rich L.

Go easy..

If you go easy on it HR, It should live up to expectations. If you drive like your name implies, you may be disappointed!

My wife sold her Honda Civic that she bought new in 1990 just last year. Yes, 17 years with the same car! One of the best cars we've ever owned.

The only reason we went with the Camary over the Civic is the interior room. We have 2 young boys that are growing way too fast!

Best regards, Rich L

Roland_13

EMF Protection

http://www.lessemf.com/personal.html
For complete protection.

ChasMan

No..

I don't need any witnesses, Im just remarking about how we can not compare this way. If you get 35 on a car rated at 28, your driving style and fuel availability may produce 60 in a car rated at 44. There is no way to know and thus produce a rough payback figure. There is a HUGE variance between fuel BTU output at the pumps. In my area, depending on the station, I can get anywhere between 22 and 28. I understand that Sugar Cane based Ethanol in a Flex vehicle produces much higher mileage numbers than regular gas.

Rich L.

Sugar beets

I just read last week that some local farmers are researching raising sugar beets for ethanol production. Supposed to be lots of energy potential in those.

With Iowa being a huge corn and soybean state this is really thinking outside the box! And I applaud it.

lownox

I am getting...

... 9.43 mpd

35/3.71

Not bad, for a ford focus hatchback. My v-star gets about 12.13mpd

What is the target mpd number? It seems to be dropping lately.

Rich L.

moving target

Unfortunatly with the way gas prices are going it's a moving target!

Maine Doug_74

Mile per dollar

is an instant reflection of fuel economy and fuel prices.

J.C.A._3

Roland,

How much does the EMF suit weigh...and would I have to lose the spare tire to make up the difference?

Tough choices to make in these times...but I think Darin could be on to something. When doing a long term job, a trailer might be a good way to cut back. Tow it to the sight with the big truck, and use the smaller vehicle to do the commuting and parts runs.The big drawback is the initial cost of the smaller vehicle. How long till it has paid for itself? In the 4+dollar a gallon fuel cost....I'm thinking that it might be something to look at.

What could you carry in the small vehicle to cover your butt on service calls VS. what you know you're carrying on the big truck....etc.

Someone posted a great link at another site recently. Lets see if I can get it here. http://www.fordvehicles.com/transitconnect/

I saw this and thought almost the same thing....but I know I feel comfortable driving the "rolling Stock Room" to and from jobs. Chris

Larry Weingarten

That's it!!

Wear the EMF suit while tooling around on a 250cc scooter like Ruthe's. You get no electro-magnetic confusion AND great mileage. The only problem might be finding that extra big helmet.

;~)

[Deleted User]

i'm converting my f250 diesel

to run on used cooking oil. it doesn't change the mpg by much, but it certainly changes the mpd and wear on the engine

Diciocco

Batteries...

...where do the batteries (in the car) go when there spent?

Rich L.

Recycled I assume,

I hate to assume anything, but I don't know why you wouldn't recycle them.

Art M.

2003 Honda Hybrid

I have 144,000 miles on this car and have consistently gotten 55 MPG in warm weather, upper 40's in the wintertime. I get almost 700 miles a tank.