Prius owner whining

[exbass94]

seems like most of you guys find excuses to hate hybrids, using incorrect information and hearsay to validate your hate, all because of the stereotypical douchey hybrid owner hippy. It's ok to hate people like that asshole lady (who fits the stereotype perfectly) but don't blame the car. There's nothing wrong with hybrids.
Stupid hicks. Everyone knows only ignorant rednecks drive Ford trucks.

 

[nb11]

It's ignorant to talk crap about hybrid vehicles. It would be like 40 years ago talking crap about disk brakes, fuel injection, curtain airbags, keyless entry, and all the other newfangled technology on current cars. Green engineering is growing by leaps and bounds.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

It's ignorant to talk crap about hybrid vehicles. It would be like 40 years ago talking crap about disk brakes, fuel injection, curtain airbags, keyless entry, and all the other newfangled technology on current cars. Green engineering is growing by leaps and bounds.

I know a lot of people today that cuss a lot of that...

 

[Mac]

That video is insane. I would have punched her in her fat ****ing face. Being a student in the petroleum field, I get to hear about what a bad person I am on a daily basis. My favorite thing is when I get to tell them why their wrong.

Congrats! Just spent 10 years in the oil/gas and water industry as a mech designer. Sure a lot that most people have no idea of what's really happening. Water is going to be the next big topic out West but no one wants to bring it up. Ought to read about the old water compacts. That Fat B---- sure looks like she doen't care for her own body much. Saw a bumper sticker that said "buy a Prius, I need your gas and oil".
Dave

 

[Mcleary316]

Congrats! Just spent 10 years in the oil/gas and water industry as a mech designer. Sure a lot that most people have no idea of what's really happening. Water is going to be the next big topic out West but no one wants to bring it up. Ought to read about the old water compacts. That Fat B---- sure looks like she doen't care for her own body much. Saw a bumper sticker that said "buy a Prius, I need your gas and oil".
Dave

I'm majoring in Petroleum Engineering right now. So to the hippies I might as well be the angle of death in training.

 

[upnsmoke]

As far as disposing of the battieres, they get recycled or resold as junkyard parts. Look under the hood of your truck. There's a *gasp* battery in there! OMG your truck is so bad for the environment!

That is a lead acid battery under the hood of the truck. The Prius uses a lithium battery. Recycling them is a problem. Edit: recycling the lithium batteries is a problem, I mean.

Actually the battery has an 8 year, 100k mile warranty. And they have no problem lasting 200k miles. Last I heard new batteries from a dealer are less than $3k. Used batteries from a junkyard are only a few hundred.

All true.

There's nothing wrong with hybrids.

Except that their supposed advantage over combustion engine vehicles is based on the concept of getting power for free. Putting a wind mill on top of the car would make it look sillier, but in concept and practice is no different than charging a battery with a gas engine that also drives the car.

It's ignorant to talk crap about hybrid vehicles. It would be like 40 years ago talking crap about disk brakes, fuel injection, curtain airbags, keyless entry, and all the other newfangled technology on current cars. Green engineering is growing by leaps and bounds.

It is wrong to talk badly about an idea just because it has been put into practice? I talk bad about hybrids because they are more complicated than combustion engine only vehicles and inferior in performance and efficiency. What is ignorant is people running the piss out of a Prius in traffic, as I see them do all the time, thinking they are getting good gas mileage when they are not. Atkinson cycle engines are not efficient under heavy load. All of the other technologies you mentioned have been around as long as they have because they work, not because people were nice and didn't talk badly about them. Green engineering is doing fine, but that doesn't mean we have to line up 100% behind every idea that is said to be "green". A dead end is a dead end, a bad idea is a bad idea, and overcomplicated is over complicated.

Those are just my views. I have no intentions of offending anyone, feel free to disagree.

 

[TheBobmanNH]

I'm not a fan of hybrids as they stand today, however they are important in that they are forcing technology to move forward. The internal combustion engine has stayed remarkably stagnant for a long time.

The idea behind a hybrid isn't necessarily getting "energy for free," it's using energy more efficiently. An electric motor is AMAZINGLY efficient, and a gas engine just isn't, though it can be made much more so with certain constraints. Using the electric motor as a drivetrain and the gas engine to simply charge a battery results in less loss because there's less energy wasted.

In theory.

I wouldn't drive a hybrid because I don't think they're worth it quite yet, but at least someone is trying something new and different. The woman in the video that started this conversation is awful, but so are people like the truck above with the "Prius Repellent" stickers. How are they different? They both think they're better than the people disagreeing with them, and they're both being obnoxious. You just happen to agree with one.

 

[88B2EB]

What I do like about electric cars is when they're plugged in they draw their power from the grid; so it becomes easier to use renewable energy to power cars. You wouldn't put a windmill on a car but plugging it into the system is no problem. Not that our power grid is any better currently, but it opens the door for more renewable sources in the future.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

What I do like about electric cars is when they're plugged in they draw their power from the grid; so it becomes easier to use renewable energy to power cars. You wouldn't put a windmill on a car but plugging it into the system is no problem. Not that our power grid is any better currently, but it opens the door for more renewable sources in the future.

Electric isn't a cure all either, they have a rather pathetic range and take too long (IMO) to recharge. They are getting better but I can still fill my 24 tank in my truck and be back on the road a whole lot quicker with fewer stops along the way.

The plug in hybrids are a very good idea IMO, you can do what you can on the battery around town (which is great for city dwellers) but you still have a gas engine for long drives.

For me a regular hybrid would be a joke, too much on the highway.

 

[robertc1024]

+1 My sister has had several Prius' and never had any issues. My driving is more like 8 miles to work and back every day and about 10 800 mile trips a year. A plug-in would never make it a fifth of the time to suit my needs. If they did, I'd consider it, but they are just not there yet.

 

[97ranger xlt]

all this crap about mpg's is old news. my '79 diesel vw rabbit 5spd could get close to 50mpg on the highway .. and that's back in '79!!
the newer cdi diesel cars built in europe get even better than that, but they sure won't import them here.

http://www.hybridcars.com/environment/lusting-europe-illegal-high-mpg-cars-25323.html

 

[richlands55]

I would have asked her, "If I go in the store and buy you some doughnuts and a diet drink, will you go away"?

 

[upnsmoke]

I'm not a fan of hybrids as they stand today, however they are important in that they are forcing technology to move forward. The internal combustion engine has stayed remarkably stagnant for a long time.

The idea behind a hybrid isn't necessarily getting "energy for free," it's using energy more efficiently. An electric motor is AMAZINGLY efficient, and a gas engine just isn't, though it can be made much more so with certain constraints. Using the electric motor as a drivetrain and the gas engine to simply charge a battery results in less loss because there's less energy wasted.

In theory.

I wouldn't drive a hybrid because I don't think they're worth it quite yet, but at least someone is trying something new and different. The woman in the video that started this conversation is awful, but so are people like the truck above with the "Prius Repellent" stickers. How are they different? They both think they're better than the people disagreeing with them, and they're both being obnoxious. You just happen to agree with one.

Direct injection, variable cam timing, well designed combustion chambers, camless valvetrains, and like advances tell me that combustion engine technology is far from stagnant. The hybrid drivetrain is efficient when driving a vehicle operated at a snail's pace. As soon as you attempt to keep up with traffic, the gasoline engine must be used to assist the electric motor, and then you are left with a heavy car driven by an inefficient engine. It's good that people are trying new and different things, but not every one can be a winner. I don't agree with either of the people in your example. There are no anti-hybrid stickers on my truck.

 

[upnsmoke]

What I do like about electric cars is when they're plugged in they draw their power from the grid; so it becomes easier to use renewable energy to power cars. You wouldn't put a windmill on a car but plugging it into the system is no problem. Not that our power grid is any better currently, but it opens the door for more renewable sources in the future.

The plug in deal is the best thing going for them. Battery technology will be there one day, but it is not yet. Just look at the Nissan Leaf. What a joke. Then there is the fact that, as we all know, power from the grid is not free either.

 

[matticus420]

Screw the environment and HYBRIDS especially!!!