You said it buddy, its like comparing a bicycle to a dirt bike

 

My 2001 saturn sl1 gets 35-37 on the highway, but holy **** I want an RX8! I've wanted one for 3 years now. And of course not 2 weeks after I get married, theres one just like I want, just cant afford it....then theres esuvee on the forum thats got a better deal on practically the same car. I've got a car and guns that I'd get rid of to get this car! Sorry about the rant...just thought I'd throw in my .02 about my mpg and the fact that I NEED an 8.

 

The one missing factor here is the fact that in most cases people are trading in their current vehicle for a hybrid instead of buying a new hybrid as a second vehicle.

A new 2008 Prius is between $21,000 and $24,000 MSRP. Since these are good sellers I doubt you'll see much flex in the price.

It's different for each owner, but I'm pretty sure that if I traded in my RX8 on one of these cars my payment would be the same or higher and that's only cause I have a fair amount of equity in my vehicle. Quite a few people will face being upside down $3000+ in their vehicles cause of poor domestic trade in OR the vehicle being bad on gas. Either way, a $22,000ish car is now $25,000.

There have been a few studies to show that you don't actually start seeing a return on your hybrid until approx 5 years of ownership. Even then, you don't see serious returns until many more years of ownership. How many of you out there keep a car for 5 years or longer?

Yeah the RX8 can be expensive to fill but you gotta pay the piper some time. I see my car expenses as the same as money used to go out to the bars, see movies and other fun expenses. I just get to enjoy it behind the wheel!

I'm curious to see what happens when these hybrids start to age. I think a lot of first adopters are going to be very surprised when stuff starts breaking.

 

If you're worried about that, your cell phone is probably more of a threat than driving a Prius.

 

Good info..those Prius's are so fugly, i dont think i would like to own one, here in MD it's funny, Prius drivers are always speeding.

 

I definitely bought my RX8 for the gas mileage...

 

That's funny cause I've seen a few of them around Phoenix and yeah they are almost always doing 10 to 15 above the limit.

So does everyone else but I doubt they see much savings working that 73 hp motor over.

 

A car like The Prius could kill me. All those batteries would interfere with my pacemaker. I like my 8 alot. It's a pleasure car and good for my heart. I fill up every 2-3 weeks so gas is not a big problem.

 

That article has been debunked gazillion times. Hummer is in no way more environmentally - friendlier than a Prius. And Toyota recycles/reuses batteries to make new ones.

However, one thing's for sure, Prius is one boring and ugly looking car.

 

I'm thinking of getting the next Fit. Much cheaper than the prius and gets close enough mileage to it. Come on Mazda where is the mazda2?

 

I'm writing to Mythbusters A hummer may be a stretch, but I still think the tree huggers don't see the full picture when it come to manufacturing and diposal of those batteries.

 

I noticed on my recent trip out to west Texas that they are ramping up land drilling for oil reserves but also was told by a local that capping the existing wells and new finds is the norm. I also noticed the expansion of tall wind powered generators east of the Fort Stockton area,off I-10, originating and coming in from our Texas gulf ports,( wonder where they are being built) anyways, crap, there's got to be hundreds of them out on the flat mesa hill tops out there....are we holding out to use up overseas oil or what.Some factual imput to the situation by people in the know would be benificial.....weak dollar?

 

People don't buy the pirus to help earth. they buy it to save money.
What they don't realize is that it takes along time for a return on their investment. themn the batteries will fail in 5 to 7 years.

They say the cost is 2500 but by the time you replace them it will be 3000 or more.
No one will make those archaic batteries anymore as the technology is changing to fast.

The CEO's will make sure the new tech is not backward compatible.

It's called planned obsolesence.

Then at the 5 yr mark you replace:

batteries 3k
brake pads & rotars 1k
new water pump & hoses
and the list goes on and on.

It becomes impracticle to replace keep the car.
Much cheaper to put 2k down on a new car.
The dealer gets the car and selles it on auction. It may be junked repaired for another 5 years by some poor sole who doesn't know better.

 

that 73hp motor is no joke..

 

You know the Prius is no beauty not one I like driving, but it is a good car and my wife absolutely loves hers to death.

I don't understand what about it makes people so upset and starts them making stuff up and pulling crap out of the thin air to make the car look bad.
You should really do your research before making statements you know nothing about.

The battery pack has a 8 year 180,000 mile warranty on it. So there goes your 5 year theory out the window.

Toyota has already made sure the battery packs are forward compatible. The new packs that are stronger and smaller can be and have been placed in the older gen 1 models. And there is talk that the new plug in generation can be retro fitted to the current models.
There goes your planned obsolescence theory.

The new battery pack has actually dropped in price from the first version gen1 by over $600.00 thanks to new technology that makes it cheaper to produce.

My wife did a spread sheet since she bought hers and she is realizing a $3000.00 a year savings in gas at current gas prices. That will only increase as prices at the pump go up. So there goes your not seeing any return on investment statement.

Sometimes if you don't know what you are talking about you are better off not saying anything.

 

The only thing fun about the Prius was viewing that centre LCD screen that shows how power is being transfered around during braking...

 

Most of us already own an RX8... therefore the absolute best option for us is to invest in the ROTARY which we all love.

HYBRID our own cars. Make the conversion. Start the revolution.

If you could increase your mileage 33% or more while still keeping the RX8... would you? yea probably.

I'd do a hydrogen conversion if the kits where pre-made and easy to install. If there was a Mazda hydrogen kit installable, i would. I could use a tax write off too.

Sure there isnt much infrastructure in place for a hydrogen economy yet, but lets get the ball rolling.