SUV hybrids-your experiences, thoughts

[rb_in_va]

I don't think that hybrids will ever take over the work truck market (but who knows), but I can see the day when there will be many hybrid passenger vehicles on the road. The times are a changin'......even if slowly.

If by hybrid you mean alternative fuel vehicles I agree with you. Just not sure about the electric battery/gas vehicles. Has anyone ever priced what the replacement cost would be on those things? Also what sort of environmental impact will it have? These are things that no one seems to be talking about. A lot of hype for hybrid vehicles that get no better mileage than a 20 year old diesel!

 

[Chris J.]

12guns, did you get a chance to ask what your company found out regarding the hybrids?

 

[12guns]

No, I'll ask around tomorrow and see if anybody has an update. I'll let you know.

 

[asb151]

Before you go and buy a vehicle like that and pay an extra premium you need to understand the business case. How many miles a year do you drive? Based on that figure out how many years of driving it will take to make your money back (plus the extra maintenance cost). You might find you need to be driving 40,000+ miles a year for it to even come close to making economic sense.

 

[Chris J.]

So, how's everybody doing? I hope that you and yours are well.

I'm starting to get more serious about replacing my Nissan Frontier, am tired of the 4 cylinder & stick. So here's a bump...

I hope to spend some time tomorrow speaking with a Saturn VUE owner, althought it's not a hybrid. Paul, if you read this, I'd like to hear some more about the diesel Liberty (I'll take into account your Chrysler bias :biggrinbounce2.

 

[Paul61]

Sorry, my bad..........didn't read the Hybrid part
(duh).

 

[hornett22]

avoid the saturn vue at all costs.

people i know have them said they like them for the first week and then you start hating it fast.i'd avoid a hybrid unless you plan on getting rid of it before the warranty runs out.i used to be a toyota mchanic.when there is a failure on a hybrid,it's expensive.they aren't gonn give great warranties on them forever.americans cannot build smaller vehicles like the japs.don't bother trying to convince yourself they compare.i drive daily an 84 tercel 4wd wagon,an 85 toyota pickup,and an 88 4runner.i'd love to buy american,just ain't gonna till they start caring and take some pride in their work.the 4runner i offroad hard
and it always gets me home.not to mention i can't count the jeeps i've pulled out with it.
hybrids are a bunch of hype.we are not running out of oil.not now,not ever.it's another gimmick to justify the EPA.

 

[turnkey4099]

O.K. Chris, my girlfriends best friend has an escape, I think it is an 02, not sure. She likes it, I like the color (black) other than that it look about as solid as a bran muffin. I would never take it into the bush, low hanging stuff (looked like an oil cooler) would get ripped off quick. Good vehicle for a woman I guess but think of the old Bronco you could buy for the same money!

I was looking forward to the production Bronco back when it first came out. Thought sure Ford would put out a good off-road rig. Walked across the street toward it, turned around in the middle and departed. Why? The rig was up on a ramp and clear as day the lowest thing, and the first to contact anything, was the tierod. Real good off-road engineering...not! I hope the changed that later.

Harry K