Will you buy an electric or hybrid car next?

H is keeping his Volvo limping along. It’s a 1998 and I have warned him that wait times for hybrids can be 12-18+ months in HI, per rumors I’ve heard. He’s not in any rush to part with his car or put in a reservation for a new one, so we will go to mechanic on Monday for more servicing.

I’m happy I have my Prius Prime plug in hybrid. It meets my needs well and we only put maybe 20 or so gallons/year. Yup, I don’t notice gas prices much.

1 Like

@Creekland thank you for your kind words. That driver you just described should be thrown in jail for a long time.

1 Like

I hope so. The lady he killed was in her 30s - totally innocent in the crash. I feel for her family/friends, but didn’t know her myself. It just makes me cringe knowing such drivers are out there. They did catch this guy after the second crash.

Saw another piece on how gas stoves make us sick and remembered the research paper on indoor air pollution I read a while ago. Anyone who parks their ICE car in a garage attached to the house likely exposes themselves to a much higher level of pollutants than a gas stove might produce. All of that exhaust seeps into the house air… Here is how this ties into our EV discussion: there are no exhaust fumes in your garage. Of course, one can always park the ICE car in the driveway. :slight_smile:

1 Like

We have an open air carport, no attached enclosed garage here. We have only hybrid car and one aging ICE car.

H was despairing because the one mechanic on the island that was willing to track down parts and repair his aging Volvo retired. The mechanic he referred H to was not nearly as good and honestly ready to retire himself. Fortunately for H, the mechanic came out of retirement and helped repair H’s car, so H is deferring purchasing a new car for a while longer.

1 Like

My work-a-round has always been to put the car in neutral and push it out of the garage before starting. :grinning:

Although not an ideal solution for everyone.

What exhaust? When I had ice vehicles, I open the garage door climbed in, turned on the ignition, and backed out. Time of engine running inside the garage 10-15 seconds, with the 16’ x 7’ door completely open. Garage also has two large vents, one on either side. We pull in forward, so the exhaust pipe was always inches from the outside world.

2 Likes

Those 10-15 seconds are apparently plenty.

Although I can’t seem to find the paper I had in mind, there are plenty others. See this, for instance.

Additionally, lawnmowers and other tools powered by gasoline and stored in the garage can contribute to the indoor air pollution from attached garages.

2 Likes

I think this shows how ridiculous the ban on gas stoves is.

I’ll take my chance and keep my gas stove.

4 Likes

12 posts were split to a new thread: Gas Stove Pollution

Maybe we need a new thread about the issues with gas stoves or whatever. This is way off topic here!

2 Likes

Please stay on track. The thread is about cars so anybody who wishes to start another thread about gas stoves is free to do so.

1 Like

I’m in the market for a hybrid SUV. H and I keep our cars going forever; my current car is a 2009 with 225K. I was hoping to get to 250K, but that’s not going to happen. Wondering if there are any SUV hybrids that get that kind of mileage. Anyone know?

I would look at Toyotas (Lexus, too).

2 Likes

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/electric-vehicles-could-match-gasoline-cars-on-price-this-year/

I have a Prius Prime for which the first 25 miles are totally off the battery. After that, it operates like any other hybrid. I’ve just learned that I can add an extra battery so that the first 100 miles are totally off the battery. That seems like the best of both worlds.

3 Likes

A friend has a Toyota Venza hybrid. I really like the size, seems to be around the same size as my Subaru Outback. She claims she gets good gas mileage. It rides well.

2 Likes

That was exactly my opinion until the past few days. I recently had a tour of a friend’s Tesla which might have figured into my thinking.

What I had been thinking is that most of my driving is very local. A plug in hybrid with even a 25 mile range would cover 90% or 95% of the trips that I take – but not 90% of the miles. On the rare occasions that I was going further than 25 miles, I would have the gasoline engine and be able to fill up at normal gas stations. Probably 2/3 of the miles that I drive are on the less than 10% of my trips that are long.

The thing that is making me think twice is that electric cars are supposed to last a lot longer than gasoline or hybrid cars. Our first Prius after 150,000 miles was losing oil – either burning it or leaking it (we never figured out which). The electric engine and battery were still fine. It seemed like a pity to trade in the entire car when the electric part could probably have gone at least another 150,000 miles.

The longevity thing is making me wonder whether my next car should be just straight electric. This will depend upon the right model being available at the time.

I was under the impression that electric and hybrid cars didn’t last as long as gas cars. Someone who used to own a hybrid told me the batteries only last about 10 years, and it costs so much to replace them that you might as well get a new car. He went back to gas-powered cars.

I have driven a Prius a few times on long trips and really liked it. I get a kick out of seeing that I’m getting more than 100 mpg at times.