More Hybrid Insanity

[bronsin]

There was an item on the local news last night about the Honda Civic Hybrid. Theres been a class action lawsuit where large numbers of owners are complaining about the mpg they are getting. The woman involved claimed she was getting 29 mpg. She held up the sticker that claimed the car was rated by the EPA for 51 mpg.

Apparently this disparity is not uncommon.

So if you have an idea you want a hybrid it would be worth your while to do some research before buying. Look at the forums for the car. Check if there are problems. Ask questions about the mpg people are getting.

Beware the hybrid/diesel industrial complex!

[eTiMaGo]

could really be down to driving style too, a hybrid can help when driven sensibly, but can be about as wasteful as an equivalent engine if you drive like aggressively... *shrug*

[bronsin]

The segment said Honda had been sued by large numbers of people. They "settled" by offering discounts on the purchase of a new Honda.

Apparently this cheesed off the claiments no end.

So they have taken to sueing Honda individually in small claims court for fraudulant advertising. The maximum you can sue for (in NJ) is $10,000.

The first case has yet to be decided by the judge.

But everyone involved is waiting with baited breath.

[daf62757]

I think if you really want any kind of car, you should rent one and get an idea of how well you like the car after driving it a couple of days. My daughter had a Yaris and I had driven it quite a bit and like it enough to want to buy it.

I rent many cars while traveling and these rentals form my opinion of how well I would like or not like a car. Dodge is not very high in my book and I would never buy one. Nissan has some good cars and I drove a Sentra that got over 40 MPG in mixed driving so that is high on my list.

You need to research your car purchase and drive it! Its the only way!

[bronsin]

If that lady thats sueing Honda had rented a Civic Hybrid and found out how bad the mileage was she would get ahead of time it would have avoided a lot of trouble for everybody.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/garag...-over-mpg.html

[Captain Slow]

hybrids are dumb in my opinion. buy an old Geo Metro 3-cyl and you'll get the same gas mileage plus won't be creating a huge carbon footprint.

[jpmck03]

I saw that on the TV last night and kept saying to myself, "Wait, she's suing Honda because she doesn't get the great mileage that the EPA estimated that she would on the window sticker?"

[bronsin]

Hyundai, Kia, and Ford are all claiming they sell vehicles that get "40 mpg".

Do any of these cars have EPA numbers to back them up?

If not it would seem THEY are opening themselves up for lawsuits too.

[Highway Star]

You know when I was looking for a car to buy, I spent a lot of time on the forums for different vehicles, where all the manufacturers that claimed 40mpg. Only the Yaris forums had satisfied customer who were getting 40+mpg. Also the Yaris's were the most trouble free cars, so I went on the hunt for one, and got it. I'm good for 5+ years now, so I'll see what's available then

[RABYARIS]

I owned a Toyota Prius for three years. I average 49.6 MPG. In order to get the high mileage you have to drive it like the proverbial "little old lady from Pasadena".

[BEEF]

on the ford website, it states "up to" 40 mpg. the caveat being that you have to buy a particular package (in ford's case, the SFE package).

I remember a while back when the cobalt was rated really high if you got the XFE package and it came with low rolling resistance tires and other such things that were intended for higher mileage.

I would think that in this case, the fault would lie on the EPA and not on Honda. the EPA are the ones that rate the vehicles. if they were purely fictitous numbers that would be one thing.

an interesting side note: there was an article once in car-and-driver magazine that pitted a prius against a bmw m3 (or similar) it was a mileage competition of sorts. the prius had to go balls out around a track as fast as it could go. the other car (m3 I think) just had to keep up. not surprising, the m3 (or similar) got better mileage. it was a true test in driving style and how it affected overall mileage.

not knowing the womans situation, route driven, miles driven anually, or her driving style I can't really make any assumptions on whether her claim is infact warranted. I would assume that if there were other factors that she could prove (if she rented another one for a month and could show that the different one got much better mileage without any changes) that she would actually have a case.

[Kioshi]

the lady and the rest of the people following in her footsteps are idiots....IMO.

Has Honda engineers seen how these people drive? pedal to the medal (**metal). That's the only thing they know about their car.....everyone likes to smash in the carpool lane yet when a turn comes or when merging...they slow down to a halt.

In America....you can Sue anyone for any stupid little thing even if it is your own fault.

[WeeYari]

Originally Posted by RABYARIS

In order to get the high mileage you have to drive it like the proverbial "little old lady from Pasadena".

The proverbial "little old lady from Pasadena" drove it like she stole it. Al least according to the Beach Boys she did.

Just sayin'...

Back to your regular schedule programming...

[bronsin]

Hmmm I drive my Yaris like a old man and I get pretty much the advertised numbers.

Im thinking maybe I should accelerate harder and drive faster and see what happens?

[mazilla]

Originally Posted by Kioshi

the lady and the rest of the people following in her footsteps are idiots....IMO.

Has Honda engineers seen how these people drive? pedal to the medal. That's the only thing they know about their car.....everyone likes to smash in the carpool lane yet when a turn comes or when merging...they slow down to a halt.

In America....you can Sue anyone for any stupid little thing even if it is your own fault.

It's "pedal to the metal"...


met·al (mtl)n.1. Abbr. M Any of a category of electropositive elements that usually have a shiny surface, are generally good conductors of heat and electricity, and can be melted or fused, hammered into thin sheets, or drawn into wires. Typical metals form salts with nonmetals, basic oxides with oxygen, and alloys with one another.
2. An alloy of two or more metallic elements.
3. An object made of metal.


med·al (mdl)n.1. A flat piece of metal stamped with a design or an inscription commemorating an event or a person, often given as an award.
2. A piece of metal stamped with a religious device, used as an object of veneration or commemoration.

[cali yaris]

100% driving technique.

The EPA results are from a very specific test that does not reflect how most of us drive.

Beware the hybrid/diesel industrial complex!

Nothing wrong with hybrids?

[Kioshi]

Originally Posted by mazilla

It's "pedal to the metal"...


met·al (mtl)n.1. Abbr. M Any of a category of electropositive elements that usually have a shiny surface, are generally good conductors of heat and electricity, and can be melted or fused, hammered into thin sheets, or drawn into wires. Typical metals form salts with nonmetals, basic oxides with oxygen, and alloys with one another.
2. An alloy of two or more metallic elements.
3. An object made of metal.


med·al (mdl)n.1. A flat piece of metal stamped with a design or an inscription commemorating an event or a person, often given as an award.
2. A piece of metal stamped with a religious device, used as an object of veneration or commemoration.

I really need to stop laying in bed and being on YarisWorld on my phone

Originally Posted by bronsin

Hmmm I drive my Yaris like a old man and I get pretty much the advertised numbers.

Im thinking maybe I should accelerate harder and drive faster and see what happens?

Haha, never know, you might still get good results. I dont know my mpg numbers, but they didnt seem bad at all, accelerating gradually to 75mph and keeping it steady there for 40 mile straight for a week.