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Are Hybrid Vehicles Worth the Price?
For instance, the Ford Escape Hybrid has a combined output of 196hp from its I-4 engine and electrical motor. The regular I-4 Escape has 171hp.
Are Hybrid Vehicles Worth the Price?
If it fails within the warranty period, the cost of replacement is FREE.
That is assuming you didn't do anything stupid to void the warranty, like crash the car, tamper with the hybrid system, etc.
Failure of the battery pack in the 2nd-generation Prius within warranty terms is virtually unheard-of.
Brand Names: Important, But Not Key to Investment Decisions
This year it's history repeating itself-- People buying Toyota Corollas that can get 30mpg COMBINED (not just highway as GM and Ford have been advertising) because of $4/gallon gas.
Ford and GM needs to realize that not only do they need to build cars that are put together well, they also need to make cars that are MORE FUEL EFFICIENT than the Japanese if they want to regain market share in North America.
The situation in Europe for Ford is not applicable here in North America. Ford is doing well in Europe because they have less-stringent emissions laws, which means Ford's fuel-efficient diesel cars are a big hit there. They can NEVER sell those diesels as-is here, because they don't meet the EPA's Tier2 emissions standards.
The situation for GM in China is also NOT applicable for the North American market-- GM is doing well in China because gas is still cheap there at $2 a gallon, and the noveau-riche Chinese middle class don't mind buying gas-guzzlers because of that.
Until one of the Big Three can produce a 50mpg car that is street-legal in the U.S. with comparable reliability and cost about the same as the Toyota Prius, they are not going to gain back market share in the era of $4/gallon gas.
(Don't bother mentioning the Chevy Volt. Sucker is going to cost $40,000 and by the time it comes out Toyota will have its 3rd-gen PHEV Prius with similar 40-mile-electric capability in the showrooms for $30,000.)
Chrysler's Rebadging Plan: Strategic Blunder for Nissan?
Agreed. Toyota has left the door open for Chrysler to introduce a hybrid minivan for the past 5 years. And Chrysler has not taken advantage of it!
The window of opportunity is closing fast. Toyota has been selling their Estima Hybrid minivan in Japan for years, and in the next couple years they plan to bring it to the U.S. as the Sienna Hybrid.
The opportunity is there.. It's just Chrysler is doing everything they can to flub it!
The Electric Car Battery Battle
Objectivity is right. Imagine the amount of power needed to compress that air to 4500PSI. When you buy a fillup of that air at 4500PSI, you are paying for the gasoline to run the compressor to compress that air to 4500PSI. Sorry air-car fans, there is no such thing as a free lunch.
GM Goes Lean to Stay Ahead of Toyota
The 3rd-generation completely-redesigned Prius coming in 2010 will have Lithium-Ion batteries just like the Volt, with similar capabilities-- 40 miles on one charge.
You don't expect Toyota to rest on its laurels, do you?
That's what got GM in trouble in the first place.
GM Goes Lean to Stay Ahead of Toyota
And the EV1 could have prevented GM's current predicament had they developed it further.
GM Goes Lean to Stay Ahead of Toyota
The really scary thing for GM is, at about the same time Toyota will be coming out with its 3rd-generation plug-in Prius with about the same capabilities as the Volt (40 miles on one complete battery charge), and the 3rd-gen Prius is expected to cost around $30,000.
GM Goes Lean to Stay Ahead of Toyota
Unless GM can get back into positive equity territory, remember the stockholders are going to be the ones left holding the bag if things don't improve.
Not only do I want to see them have at least 2 consecutive profitable quarters, I also want to see the debt load decrease below equity value before I would consider buying any GM stock.
General Motors: General Malaise
Chevy's commercials say they have a line up with more cars that get 30mpg than other makers, but that's misleading. 30mpg HIGHWAY only. If you factor in city mileage, even the Chevy Aveo (which is made by Daewoo in Korea by the way, not here in the U.S.) gets only 25mpg.
Meanwhile, Toyota has Yarises and Corollas that can get 30mpg COMBINED, ditto Honda with their Civics and Fits.
Why should the American consumer keep buying GM cars if they can't match the fuel economy of foreign cars to prop them up so GM has no incentive to change? That's corporate socialism at its very worst.
Is There Any Hope for the Big Three Auto Makers?
Considering how the Fed handled the Bear Stearns crisis (arranged for JPMorgan Chase to buy them out), I think more likely Uncle Sam would probably try to arrange for some private equity firm to take over F or GM if they should fail, though I have a feeling a lot of private equity firms have looked at Cerberus's experience with Chrysler and would probably politely refuse. :-P
F does have a takeover candidate lined up though-- Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. Uncle Sam would probably guarantee a loan for Kirk to take on the unsavory job of salvaging Ford's collapse if that does come to pass.
Don't know about GM..
Some Consequences if Oil Prices Stay High
I think the chief objection to using a rocket to shoot nuclear waste into space is that rockets are only 98% reliable. Which means for every 50 launches, there is going to be 1 failure where the rocket blows up in the atmosphere during its booster stage.
A rocket filled with nuclear waste blowing up during its booster stage would not be good for the folks living in Florida. :-)
Is There Any Hope for the Big Three Auto Makers?
Some Chevy spokesman had said the Volt is going to have an MSRP of $40,000. People are already whining about the price premium of current hybrids like the Toyota Prius, and the Prius costs only $21,500 MSRP. If those prices are true, the next generation Prius is going to absolutely KILL the Volt in sales.
Things look grim for GM.
Is There Any Hope for the Big Three Auto Makers?
Will Toyota Lose Its Edge?
The atkinson-cycle engine in the Prius is different from the Otto-cycle engines in a regular car. It does NOT have a timing belt because the valves work differently. The engine does NOT have a starter either because the normal starter/solenoid system because it relies on the Power Split Device to crank the gasoline engine to speed on-the-fly.
Also the Prius does NOT have an alternator. The Power Split Device switches the traction motors between electrical generation and torque generation depending on need.
The Toyota Hybrids are mechanically LESS complex than a normal car, including your mother's HyCam. It's the electronics that are more complicated, not the mechanicals.
Like I said, no timing belt, no alternators, no starters, and the transmission has just a single gearset. It's LESS components to maintain. You might be impressed about your mother's HyCam, but apparently you don't know much about it.