We've got two hybrids now... Ask me anything!

[evil_orange_cat]

yay, we bought a 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited!!

This thing is awesome. And now I can feel morally superior to other SUV drivers!!!

It's got:

leather
6-disc changer
jbl sound system
electronic climate control
sunroof
navigation system (with this annoying woman who's like 'turn left one quarter mile' omfg stfu)

it's around the same performance as our 2005 highlander limited was (we traded it in)... 215 HP i think... down from 230HP, but oh well...

but it gets an estimated 30-35 mpg (less for highway though)

Also, we get a $2,000 tax credit for buying a hybrid.

Our other hybrid is a 2004 Toyota Prius. It's getting around 45-50 mpg.

[Sanity Claws]

1. Two of them!

Can you mate them and make more? Not sure? Make sure you turn the lights off on the garage at night and see what happens.

[getmeouttahere]

2. Wouldn't that be MORE for highway?

I applaud you for going hybrid. And trading in the gas guzzler now, because in 3-5 years it might be a lot tougher to trade those puppies in.

[MelissaB]

5. No, that's correct from what I've read. I was surprised, too.

[Dem Agog]

7. no

hybrids (except the honda civic hybrid) usually get worse mpg on the highway because the lack of brake use doesn't allow the hybrid to recharge the battery as much, hence it uses more gas.

[demzilla]

11. Worse compared to what?

We have a 2004 Prius that gets around 48 MPG on average -- highway mileage is still at 44, 45 or so, which is pretty damned good compared to anything else on the road.

The car also uses more gas on the highway because, at higher speeds, it relies more on the gasoline engine. You can "stealth" in electric (drive in electric only) up to about 40 - 45 mph. After that, the car needs the gas engine also just to run (unless you're going downhill, of course).

[Dem Agog]

14. worse mpg compared on freeway compared to city driving

not talking about worse compared to other cars. i am talking about worse compared on the same car. the highlander gets better mpg in the city than it does on hwy, that's all.

[MelissaB]

3. We are interested in both cars.

How does the tax credit work?

[evil_orange_cat]

19. pretty simple...

buy a hybrid, pay $2,000 less taxes. :D

at least that's the way it is in Illinois... I'm not sure if it's a state or federal thing

[thereismore]

21. Praise Bush* for the tax credit??? That would be a first. nt

[Dem Agog]

4. ...

I have the regular Highlander. I was in the mkt for the Highlander Hybrid but my old car died before they brought them out so I got off the waiting list (had been on it for a year).

alas most my driving is highway miles... so standard hybrids don't do that well for me... no braking to recharge the batteries. i am working to get about 25-26mpg on my current Highlander though. i use cruise control exclusively and drive 55-65 and not a mile more in the right hand lane. i love pissing off red staters who speed by in their gas guzzler. sorry "patriots" but i'm not giving any more money of mine to terrorists than i have to...

[LostinVA]

35. Me too! I drive an interstate to work

The speed limit is 65. I got about 60, maybe 63, not a mile more! And yeah, I stay in the right hand lane. I also try to not use my brakes on all the back roads I also have to drive. It scares my partner to death. hehehehehehhehe...

For you young folks: we 40 and over people remember when the speed limit was 55 for a reason -- it helped save on gas. Remember that! Every mile over about 60 sucks up the gas, and over 70? Forget it!

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. Morally superior? How nice.

[evil_orange_cat]

18. =P

yes...

and I chuckle when I fill up gas and I see people in their Suburbans and Navigators and Hummers...

[MelissaB]

8. How long have you been driving it?

What do you like about it the most...aside from the gas mileage?

[evil_orange_cat]

13. I like playing with the computer screen

the audio, climate control and navigation is all controlled through the computer screen in the dash

[still_one]

9. I have two Toyota Prius, first and second generation

the MPG that the highlander hybrid gets did NOT justify the MSRP price in my case.

The second generation Prius is awesome. 45 MPG without even trying

[Beaverhausen]

10. Don't you get a $2000 deduction? The tax credit isn't good until 2006

at least that's how I understand it. You have to buy the car in 2006 to get a credit.

I got a Prius in May and love it.

[evil_orange_cat]

15. yes I think that's it...

I'm not sure exactly what it is, all I know is we get $2000 off our taxes for the year...

[Beaverhausen]

20. The way I understand it through 2005 you deduct it from your income.

Next year you can deduct $2000 from your taxes. I could be wrong.

My employer gives me $60 a month under their rideshare/carpool plan. DO you get that where you work?

[MelissaB]

12. What size car is the Prius comparable to?

We haven't gone to look yet.

[evil_orange_cat]

16. the Prius is about the same size as our camry

although I think it's closer to the size of a corolla

[TahitiNut]

17. No air conditioning?

:dunce:

[lectrobyte]

37. I know A/C is standard on the Prius, and I can't imagine they even

make a Lexus *without* A/C. The Prius has a nice automatic A/C system, at least the 2005 I looked at did.

[Orsino]

22. Prius + hybrid Accord here.

In fact, two hybrid Accords, as we just replaced the one totaled by two semis on the Interstate.

This should mean three hybrid tax credits this year.

[Lefty48197]

23. What are the list prices for hybrids vs. non-hybrids?

Did you have to get on a waiting list? How long?
What is your experience with hybrids on highway miles vs. city miles? I drive a lot, but 95% of it is on the highway.
The more hybrids people buy, the more the automakers will make. I think I heard that Dodge is going to make a small hybrid pickup in 2007. That when my lease is up, and I'll have to consider the hybrid.

[maxsolomon]

24. is it 4wd?

because we MUST HAVE 4wd. skiiing, remote trailheads. i don't believe the Escape comes in a hybrid w/ 4wd.

[Jacobin]

25. What kind of batteries does it take?

double A or triple A

:-)

I test drove a Prius a couple of months ago and it was great.

[Balbus]

26. Sounds like a nice car - eom

[LeftyMom]

27. Wouldn't the moral superiority angle be a bit better w/o

the dead cow seats? Even if you don't buy into the animal rights aspect grazing, slaughtering and tanning cattle does a number on the enviornment.

That said (and leather seats are a pet peeve of mine, so I had to say it) congrats on a new hybrid! I'm hoping to get one when the Sienna comes out w/ the hybrid engine, although I'd probably have to rob a bank or bump off a wealthy relative to afford it.

[friesianrider]

30. Exactly my first thought, LeftyMom :)

But kudos to anyone who buys a hybrid!

[shockra]

33. Just call me Killjoy.

Leather: No Friend of the Earth

Raising animals for food and leather requires huge amounts of feed crop and pastureland, water, and fossil fuels. Animals on factory farms produce 130 times as much excrement as the entire human population, without the benefit of waste treatment plants. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has even acknowledged that livestock pollution is the greatest threat to our waterways.

Although some leathermakers deceptively tout their products as "eco-friendly," turning skin into leather also requires massive amounts of energy and dangerous chemicals, including mineral salts, formaldehyde, coal-tar derivatives, and various oils, dyes, and finishes, some of them cyanide-based. Most leather produced in the U.S. is chrome-tanned; all wastes containing chromium are considered hazardous by the EPA. Tannery effluent contains large amounts of pollutants, such as salt, lime sludge, sulfides, and acids. The process of tanning stabilizes the collagen or protein fibers in skins so that they actually stop biodegrading so that leather doesn't rot right off your feet. Additionally, to raise the animals whose skin eventually becomes leather, trees are cleared to create pastureland, vast quantities of water are used, and feedlot and dairy-farm runoff create a major source of water pollution. Huge amounts of fossil fuels are consumed in livestock production. (By contrast, plastic wearables account for only a fraction of the petroleum used in the U.S.)

People who work in and live near tanneries suffer too. Many are dying from cancer caused by exposure to toxic chemicals used to process and dye the leather. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the incidence of leukemia among residents in an area near one tannery in Kentucky was five times the U.S. average. Arsenic, a common tannery chemical, has long been associated with lung cancer in workers who are exposed to it on a regular basis. Studies of leather-tannery workers in Sweden and Italy found cancer risks "between 20% and 50% above expected."

Wearing leather hurts animals, the environment, and the people who produce it. The only ones who benefit are the people who profit from the misery and suffering of others.

http://www.cowsarecool.com/environment.asp

“…our dependence on foreign oil may force us to become militarily involved in the Persian Gulf” -John Robbins in Diet for a New America

Factory Farms and Fossil Fuel Consumption:

Far surpassing gas guzzling SUVs, the largest consumer of fossil fuels in the U.S. are the animal factory farms which produce flesh, dairy, and eggs for human consumption. The production of any kind of food, and its eventual transportation to our dinner plates, requires energy. The modern factory farm is an extremely wasteful user of energy. The production of animal flesh, dairy, and eggs accounts for 1/3 of ALL raw materials used for all purposes in the U.S. (note vegetables and fruits use less than 5%). In order to maximize the animals’ growth on the farms, which lack bedding and shade, temperature must be regulated throughout the year and this requires energy. Energy is required to bring food to the animals and even more is required to remove their waste. Within every process of factory farm production, human labor is minimized and replaced by machines which require fossil fuels to operate. (1)

http://www.vegsandiego.com/veg/59/CFA_Exposes_the_Connection_Between_Veganism_and_Stopping_War.htm

It is quite astounding how much energy is wasted by the standard American diet-style. Even driving many gas-guzzling luxury cars can conserve energy over walking -- that is, when the calories you burn walking come from the standard American diet! This is because the energy needed to produce the food you would burn in walking a given distance is greater than the energy needed to fuel your car to travel the same distance, assuming that the car gets 24 miles per gallon or better. This remarkable fact does not arise because our cars deserve a gold medal for energy efficiency. They don't. They burn up energy to blow up a bridge every four miles. But today's meat production systems are an energy conservationist's worst nightmare come true. --Diet for a New America pg. 375

[Nobody]

28. Congratulations! I love my hybrid too

I have a Honda Insight.Mine gets better mpg on the freeway than city driving and the battery recharges whenever I take my foot off the gas. I've yet to drain the battery even half way.

Not only are you saving gas, you are polluting far less than the people driving gas-only cars.

Last week as the gas prices rose, the local rag had a feature on the Hummer H3 and how it's "only" 30k and gets 11 mpg on a good day. (not official EPA estimate, EPA doesn't rate Hummers)

Any time I pass a Hummer, I grin and wave, mouthing "I'm getting 6 times your gas mileage" (EPA rating is 66mpg hwy for an Insight, I'm actually getting more)

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. Let me know

when we replace the truck looking for ANOTHER hybrid

[RummyTheDummy]

31. I'd like to have two hybrids but.....

I have major issues adding 36-40k in debt for cars. As it is now, neither my wife or I have car payment. I'm not a big believer in going into debt over things that deprciate -- rapidly -- in value, like cars.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

32. I just got one, too...

It's the Lexus RX400h, which is similar to your Highlander. Lots of bells and whistles. The main difference I think is that the Lexus has more power, something like 270hp, and the tradeoff is fewer MPG. I don't know yet what my mileage will be like, I just got the car about a week ago and have been out of town. I am hearing some reports that it's not as good as Lexus advertises (the EPA rating), but it's certainly better than the RX330 I traded in for it.

I also get the tax credit, which is nice.

One thing that was cool driving it the first time was when I was stopped at a light and the engine shut down. Also getting in and starting it, you have to get used to the fact that the engine doesn't really start. It's quiet as a mouse.

BTW, you can probably turn the annoying woman off. I have that in mine, too, and I always turn the sound off. She is incredibly annoying. You could also probably have her speak all in French if that interests you. :)

I do feel morally superior to other SUV drivers; but they don't really notice because the only sign this is a hybrid is the little "h" after the 400. Oh well.

[LostinVA]

34. My Golf TDI gets at least as much as a hybrid on the highway

And runs on biodiesel. After the engine is broken in, it should get about 48-50 mpg. If I lived in a city, I would definitely get a hybrid, but 95% of my driving is highway. Great car, great price, and it even has heated seats and mirrors!

[Deja Q]

36. Can I have some money?

I want one too!


:rofl:

[PowerToThePeople]

38. Ask you anything? WInning Lotto numbers please.

:-)