I was talking to someone today who was opposed to buy a hybrid car.

I asked her why and she said that when people get into accidents, it's extremely hard for firefighters, if they have to use the jaws of life to get in there because they could potentially kill themselves?

Apparently, GM came out with a Hybrid Escalade (55,000) and when they service those cars, a guy has to wear a special suit when he does work on it and put yellow cones around the area.

Does anyone else know anything about the bad things about Hybrid cars??

I personally would LOVE one, but a few people I have talked to said they weren't safe.

I've never heard of that...be interested to see the reasearch...here is what I found...
http://www.hybridcars.com/faq.html

i like the idea of a hybrid car, but i would have to do some research before buying one...the only person i've ever talked to about it says that the production of a hybrid car makes a bigger carbon "stamp" on the world so to speak than the gas you are saving by driving one. i have NO CLUE as to the validity of that, hence i need to read up on it. but that's all i've ever heard about hybrids:shrug

I will have to ask my Dad about that he is a car mechanic.

My main issue would be power.. if the car has enough pickup to keep up on the freeway and doesn't make me feel like we're lagging, then I'd be up for purchasing one... that is IF they were truly affordable to EVERYONE in the general public. I know we personally can't afford a $40,000 car. We're not in the market for a new vehicle just yet, so I haven't priced them recently.

dh and i both like the idea of hybrid cars but the batteries wear out fast and they are SUPER expensive

I'm not sure if it's because Gas and Electricity are being used so closely together that when a crash occurs, then there could possibly be an explosion? :dunno

It could be because 30 years ago the NiMH (Nickel-Metal hybrid) batteries that were used in the development of the fuel systems were extremely toxic.. We had to do some coursework on them in college..

That's the only thing I can think of, they aren't like that anymore..

My dad the batteries cost 1,000 dollars when they run out.

Then they have to be disposed of specially because they could potentially harm the environment

If we had done more research, we would've probably purchased the Civic Hybrid versus the Civic Si...

I'm not too fond of the Prius hatchback design....

http://cars.about.com/cs/familysedans/a/hybrid_explain.htm

For Some, An Uncomfortable Reality
A jackass, someone once said, is a cross between a donkey and a horse. A hybrid, in plainer words. Translated to the auto world, there are those who would put hybrid and jackass in the same sentence, believing the costs outweigh the benefits. They claim that manufacturers are losing money on each one, while prospective buyers could be in for a big bill a few years down the road. It's also been suggested that projected fuel savings are exaggerated.

In the interests of viewers who might be considering the purchase of a hybrid vehicle, or may be confused by what it means, we'd like to offer a few words of explanation. But first, a little background.

The cleanest and most efficient energy source is electricity. That's why, since the turn of the century, engineers and entrepeneurs have attempted to develop a practical electric automobile.

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Getting the power on the road is not the problem, however. To date, no one has created a lightweight, compact battery capable of covering average driving distances without recharging from a stationary source. In plainer words an electric car can do the job but it won't get you far.

If there's one great hope for the future it is the fuel cell, which combines hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity. The only exhaust a fuel cell produces is water, so clean it's fit to drink. Every car manufacturer is working on fuel cell concepts; several prototype vehicles have already been demonstrated. But the problems of hydrogen distribution plus onboard storage are huge. Best estimates are that it will take another eight years before fuel cell cars can be produced and sold at a reasonable price.

Demands for clean air plus a need for reduced oil consumption have caused some automakers, particularly in Japan, to look for an interim solution. Thus was born the hybrid. In simplest terms, a hybrid combines a gasoline engine and an electric motor to provide adequate power with minimal fuel useage and low emissions. Hybrids do not need to be plugged into an electric outlet in order to be recharged. They charge themselves by using energy normally lost during coasting and braking, and can also be charged by the car's gasoline engine.

The advantage is that the gasoline engine can then be quite small, since power is obtained from not one but two sources. When you consider that at highway speeds the average car requires only 20 horsepower to keep it running, a large gasoline engine makes little sense except for pulling heavy loads.

Driving a hybrid is like any other car except for one thing. When the car is stopped for more than a few seconds, the gasoline engine is shut down automatically. This can be a little eerie at first, as you find yourself sitting in silence. But step on the accelerator and the electric motor gets the car underway until the gas engine cuts in. There is no starter in the conventional sense since one isn't needed.

Some critics have questioned whether hybrids will be durable over the long run. Perhaps they should ask Vancouver BC's Andrew Grant, the world's first Toyota Prius taxi cab driver. After three years of daily use his Prius had logged over 180,000 miles with only a handful of minor problems. Grant has now purchased a new-generation Prius and more of these remarkable vehicles are being used by cab owners willing to take a chance on the technology.

Those same critics have insisted that if you replace the batteries after the warranty expires, it will most likely cost several thousand dollars. Toyota claims prices will drop as hybrids become more popular; battery packs currently run around $4900. However the pack contains 38 modules that can be replaced individually for $138.00 each. Honda's Insight and Civic hybrids have an 8-yr./80,000-mi. warranty on most of the powertrain, including batteries, and a three-year/36,000-mile warranty on the rest of the car. The Prius has an 8-yr./100,000-mi. warranty on the battery and hybrid systems, plus a three-year/36,000-mile warranty on everything else. The electric motors and batteries don't require maintenance over the life of the vehicle.

Now to that legendary fuel mileage: EPA figures for the Prius are 60 mpg city, 51 mpg highway. See something strange there, folks? Better city than highway numbers! Well, that's because the Prius system relies more on the batteries in the city than on the highway. Real life mileage can be very different than EPA's computer-based figures, of course, and will vary according to driving style, weather, and the number of hills and valleys in your area.

At this writing, Toyota dealers have a waiting list for the Prius. Still, it would appear that you've much to gain, as has mother earth, if you buy one. It's those stubbon old mules in the automobile journalist community for whom high performance is the Holy Grail, that may end up looking like jackasses.

Buuut I also found this..

http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article52333.html


Despite their growing popularity, there are some problems with hybrid cars that manufacturers need to overcome to gain a wider acceptance. While the technology is in place for seamless transfer of power from the electric motor to gasoline engine, the low power perceptions of hybrid energy vehicles remains one of the biggest problems with hybrid cars. Coupled with spotty service availability and warranty information, tales of horror from some of the first HEV owners may make decision-making tough for some potential buyers.

One of the biggest problems with hybrid cars that many people have is the reported gas mileage of 50 to 60 miles per hour. While gas consumption of all gas powered cars is determined by tests conducted to standards established by the Environmental Protection Agency, virtually no car lives up the to results of the tests when used in real life under every day driving conditions.

With hybrid vehicles, the gas mileages becomes even more of an issue with drivers who spend more time of the freeway than in city driving conditions, under which the problems with hybrid cars’ gas mileage seem to disappear. When driven in stop and go traffic at low speeds, most hybrids operate mostly from battery power, using the gas engine to maintain the battery charge, vastly improving a car’s mileage.

Minimum Service Availability Poses Major Issue

Once people understand the concept of hybrid vehicles and how their use in city driving saves more money, the lack of numerous service opportunities may raise their hackles. Many of the oil change businesses are reluctant to perform this simple maintenance procedure on hybrids. Strict specifications have them turning the business away and many people consider the problems with hybrid cars as having to take them to the dealer to have any service work performed.

The batteries, large units usually hidden in the rear of the vehicle can overheat and give off an unpleasant aroma under certain conditions. The feeling that the batteries will be expensive to replace and could possibly start a fire or create an explosion, is one of the problems with hybrid cars that manufacturers have to deal with. Real or not, it is the perception of the potential consumer that makes the choice.

The idea of using less gas is attractive to many people, especially when the price of gas goes through the roof. However, gas tanks in many hybrid vehicles are smaller than in most cars, about 10-gallon, and even with better gas mileage stopping frequently for gas may give the perception the vehicle’s mileage is worse than it really is. This is one of problems with hybrid cars that only the owner, by tracking their gas usage, can overcome, but one they discuss with others.

Very Interesting...

i don't know that i dislike them, but i have heard they come with warnings for emergency personnel so they know they are hybrids because, unlike gas/diesel powered cars, a hybrid could be powered on & they would never know. i think i've also heard there are some specifics concerning the jaws of life.

one of my former seattle co workers has a prius & she told me she lets her husband drive it & drives their old car because it really lacks power on hills.

http://www.nbc4.com/safeandsecure/5078972/detail.html

ETA
I found this article too
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080519/NEWS/805190331

my mom was looking into getting one and our mechanic said DONT DO IT...they cost a LOT more to replace parts and can cost more to fix than buy them in some cases.

The batteries aren't biodegradable, for one.

i don't purchase anything as soon as it comes out be/c there is ALWAYS something wrong with them. Maybe in about 5 years i would think about having one but not right now, not until they can work out some of the bugs.

i don't purchase anything as soon as it comes out be/c there is ALWAYS something wrong with them. Maybe in about 5 years i would think about having one but not right now, not until they can work out some of the bugs.

:agree The prius has almost been out for 5 years....

how fast do those things get? how long can you go until you need to charge it again.. and if i dont have the money to get food, theres no way in hell we are gettin a car that is suppose "to be good for the earth"

The prius has decent power to it and is surprisingly roomy. My Huband's bestfriend has a prius and he happens to be a firefighter/paramedic. :dunno

If you mainly drive on the freeway at freeway speeds, the hybrid won't save you much more than a regular fuel efficient car. The best thing for those commutes is a manual transmission. If you mainly city drive and stop and go, then a hybrid woulld be beneficial.

I think the key everyone needs to remember is that anyone that wants to help the environment is NOT saying to ditch your current car and go get a hybrid. That is wasteful, as part of saving the Earth is recycling, and cars play a big part in that. What it is, if you are in need or are shopping for a new car, then look hard at the hybrid.

As far as the footprint arguement, even if it did take more energy to produce a hybrid, over the life of the car, it would make up for that. Also, the whole hybrid issue isn 't just the environment, it is finding ways to use less oil that for one, is mostly foreign, and two, is a finite resource that will likely run out in your child's lifetime.

As for the battery, I found this:

How often do hybrid batteries need replacing? Is replacement expensive and disposal an environmental problem?
The hybrid battery packs are designed to last for the lifetime of the vehicle, somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000 miles, probably a whole lot longer. The warranty covers the batteries for between eight and ten years, depending on the car maker.

Battery toxicity is a concern, although today's hybrids use NiMH batteries, not the environmentally problematic rechargeable nickel cadmium. "Nickel metal hydride batteries are benign. They can be fully recycled," says Ron Cogan, editor of the Green Car Journal. Toyota and Honda say that they will recycle dead batteries and that disposal will pose no toxic hazards. Toyota puts a phone number on each battery, and they pay a $200 "bounty" for each battery to help ensure that it will be properly recycled.

There's no definitive word on replacement costs because they are almost never replaced. According to Toyota, since the Prius first went on sale in 2000, they have not replaced a single battery for wear and tear.
."


All batteries are supposed to be recycled, ALL of them. It is up to the consumer to responsibly dispose of them.

Also, there is doubt as to the energy used to make the hybrid as opposed to the traditional car as the makers of that report have a huge stake in the game:

A well-refuted study by an auto industry analyst claims that it takes more energy to manufacture a hybrid than a regular car. The study claims the energy consumed by a Hummer is less than a Prius over their entire lives (due to higher design and manufacturing energy costs for the Prius and a shorter projected life span). The study, of course, has been attacked by environmentalists and those who read the Dept. of Energy fleet report, INL/CON-05-00964, where the first generation hybrids went over 160,000 miles with no appreciable loss of performance. But this study raises interesting questions if you like to consider ridiculous assumptions, such as how all SUVs got unusually high lifetime mileage. Another flaw from the study is that it charges the design and manufacturing costs to a car, while it is claiming to compare energy expressed in cost, so it makes the illogical choice to consider design (thinking) and being payed for that activity equal to buying and burning energy, which makes no sense.

Here is a link to a summary of the study's findings:[5].
The original study is available from CNW Marketing at: [6].
A critique of the study is at GreenHybrid.
A white paper written by the founders of Tesla Motors, showed that hybrids ranked quite high in efficiency. Electric cars ranked highest, and the study can be found at Tesla's website.

If you mainly drive on the freeway at freeway speeds, the hybrid won't save you much more than a regular fuel efficient car.

I heard the exact thing from one of my engineers yesterday. :yes I wonder why that is.

I don't dislike them....I just can't see buying another car just to save gas $$ when my car is already paid for.

Now, when I AM in the market for a new vehicle (in the next year or two) I will take gas mileage into consideration. I may look into a hybrid.....

I've heard they don't tow. We have a boat so we need something that will tow.

I saw some priced at 50,000 and well that alone makes me look elsewhere :giggle

I saw some priced at 50,000 and well that alone makes me look elsewhere :giggle

Wow! The regular model must be pricey too, then....
For Honda Civic hybrids, the MSRP is $22,600 where as the MSRP for the Civic Si we bought was $21,310.

I heard the exact thing from one of my engineers yesterday. :yes I wonder why that is.

a LOT of new cars (not SUVs or trucks, cars) get about 30 mpg anyway. Murad's 2007 v6 Accord gets like 32 and it's not a hybrid.

Wow! The regular model must be pricey too, then....
For Honda Civic hybrids, the MSRP is $22,600 where as the MSRP for the Civic Si we bought was $21,310.

No they weren't hondas- i was just looking on GM's website bc we might need to upgrade and they had some hybrids on there for that price.

My car was getting 35 MPG on the way back from Maryland.
When I need to get a new car I might think about a hybrid. That is a long way off though hopefully
I am going to ask my brother about the danger to first responders, from what I have read though as long as they are careful and know it is a hybrid it isn't much of an issue.

Right now for us the size hybrid I want is out of our price range and I still feel they are too new to purchase if that makes sense.

I just won't go back into something really small.....I just won't. Our friend looked at the hybrid version of the ford escape and ended up being talked into a regular escape. She was asked point blank if she planned to keep the escape for a long time and she said no.....so the salesman said the difference in gas mileage between the two was negligable over time and that she wouldn't recoup her money.

Now if they work out the kinks, lower the price and make something like the ford explorer a hybrid I might look into it.

But we're a way off from buying a new car. When we move in a year and a half we won't buy a brand new one........we'll see what happens.