Don't buy Jet tools at WW

[Luigi Zanasi]

On 8 Jan 2004 10:07:18 -0800, [e-mail] (Michelle Vadeboncoeur) scribbled:

Yeah, but they're really cool. :-) I guess after a while, I would get used to them & only check them when needed, like a speedometer.

Compared to what it costs using other small cars owned by workers at the Yukon Energy Solutions Centre, according to them. The calculations were done how much was paid for the gas needed to drive between Whitehorse and Dawson City - 538km each way in very little traffic on a two lane highway. Probably driving between 100 and 130 km/h. So not a rigourous scientific test, but nevertheless indicative of what to expect under those conditions. Basically, they found that the electric motors hardly came on at all; the Prius was running on the gas engine practically all the time. We're talking about people who have a professional interest and expertise in energy efficiency, so I'm inclined to believe them.

indication of my point, which was that they are not all that economical for highway driving. But I should have added a bunch of caveats: i.e., I was talking about the Prius (not the Hondas), constant relatively high speed driving, etc. This is one case where the YMMV acronym is literally true. :-)

Luigi Replace "no" with "yk" for real email address

[George]

How are they in the slush and snow? I've seen a few up here, but they were driven by snowbirds, and they looked mighty low. Dealers don't carry 'em because they don't want to be the first to find out they're inadequate.

[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

My inlaw's Prius is excellent in slush and reasonable snow. If it's deep snow, they are like most other cars. The snowpack may cause clearance problems.

If there's DEEP snow, they have a Subaru Outback as their other car, which is the best winter vehicle I've ever seen. The inlaws picked up their Subie after seeing what mine did for two winters. Our other car is a Jeep Wrangler Sport with 31" tires, and the Subaru is easily our first choice in major snow!

Barry

[George]

Big worries about the wet and salt and electrical connections, I guess.

Best thing we've found for slush driving is on the wife's Focus wagon. Four wheel stability computer keeps it in a straight line even when one wheel dips into the puddles.

[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

Have you ever owned a Toyota or Honda?

Their attention to engineering detail is remarkable, hence the longevity of many of their cars. I wouldn't worry. The Honda hybrid has been around longer, and the examples I know of here in CT are holding up just like the IC Hondas. I'm 20 miles from the coast, and we get a decent amount of snow and slush.

Now, if GM or Chrysler built the Prius...

Barry

[George]

Unfortunately, yes, I have. It was a number of years ago, when they were made out of steel that was so crappy that they rang when the door closed, and rusted so fast that big pieces began falling off after only four years! Sold mine at 4 1/2 years for the value of the battery I had replaced three months before. Kid's feet went through the floor next season, IIRC.

[Silvan]

Yeah, Dad's '70-something Honda was like that. It just disintegrated.

He got rid of his '83 Honda in around 1990 or so. Seven years old, and it was all to hell, but hadn't disintegrated.

They fixed all that though, I hear.

[Michelle Vadeboncoeur]

The Honda Insight was released in the US (and Japan) in 1999 (2000 model year). The Toyota Prius was released in Japan in 1997 (1998 model year), and released in the US in 2000 (2001 model year). The Honda Civic Hybrid was released in 2002 (2003 model year) in the US.

(Toyota also has the Estima minivan (2001), the Alphard minivan (2003), the Crown sedan, and the Coaster bus available in hybrid versions in Japan...)

Any electrical lines are well shielded and protected, so they're not a big worry. The hybrid battery performs best in what humans consider "room temperature", so the cabin air is run over the hybrid NiMH batteries.

Stock tires are OK for most snow/ice/slush driving, but snow tires would probably be best (as can be said for most any car).