So, after running my Toyota Tercel into the ground over the past 13 years, I finally got a new car. And in case you couldn't tell from the Subject, it's a Ford Escape Hybrid. I'm getting about 30 mpg. Only a couple over the Tercel, but something like double the normal SUV.
I even got the premium package. It's so much more fun to buy a car as the owner of a multi-physician practice than as a medical student. Even so, it really irked me to have to pay MSRP!
The best toy in it is the GPS. I'm dying to drive somewhere I've never been. It's dull to use it only on trips that you already know. Especially when you see it giving you a route that you know is NOT the best way.
Post by Chicago Jake on Jul 13, 2005 23:14:25 GMT -6
Jeremy, I knew there was something I liked about you. I have driven nothing but Toyota Tercels from 1981 (right out of college) until three months ago (middle aged and creaking). Four different ones, but all Tercels, all driven into the ground. Gotta love Tercels. You treat them like shit, and they keep loving you back for your trouble.
But, I finally traded in my final Tercel in April (they don't make 'em anymore) on a Scion xA, which is basically the guts of a Tercel with a different body. I love it too!......Jake
Four different ones, but all Tercels, all driven into the ground. Gotta love Tercels. You treat them like shit, and they keep loving you back for your trouble.
Oh, puh-leeeeze! Driven into the ground??? Your last Tercel was in excellent shape with the exception of a dime-sized rust spot on the trunk lid and all the dust on the dashboard because you never cleaned it!
BTW, the new Scion is cute.
"NO one can make you feel inferior without your consent." -- Eleanor Roosevelt
I find it ironic that you bought a gas sipping vehicle that makes you want to drive places you have never been. ;D ;D
Like ordering a Big Mac and a diet Coke
"Other than telling us how to live, think, marry, pray, vote, invest, educate our children and, now, die, I think the Republicans have done a fine job of getting government out of our personal lives."
Post by Chicago Jake on Jul 14, 2005 10:14:31 GMT -6
Joe, if I lived on the Ponderosa, I might drive a bigger car, too. But here in the crowded heart of Chicago, you need something you can shoehorn into the tiny parking spots and thread through the narrow streets......Jake
Post by Merlot Joe on Jul 14, 2005 10:19:55 GMT -6
admin said:
Joe, if I lived on the Ponderosa, I might drive a bigger car, too. But here in the crowded heart of Chicago, you need something you can shoehorn into the tiny parking spots and thread through the narrow streets......Jake
Post by Exildo Wonsetler Briggs III on Jul 14, 2005 19:00:55 GMT -6
admin said:
Joe, if I lived on the Ponderosa, I might drive a bigger car, too. But here in the crowded heart of Chicago, you need something you can shoehorn into the tiny parking spots and thread through the narrow streets......Jake
Joe, if I lived on the Ponderosa, I might drive a bigger car, too. But here in the crowded heart of Chicago, you need something you can shoehorn into the tiny parking spots and thread through the narrow streets......Jake
Get a Mini Cooper!
My ex drove a Tercel.
She traded it in for a broom! (THE WITCH!)
...........Bob
Bet you bought the next one a vacuum cleaner
"Other than telling us how to live, think, marry, pray, vote, invest, educate our children and, now, die, I think the Republicans have done a fine job of getting government out of our personal lives."
Joe, if I lived on the Ponderosa, I might drive a bigger car, too. But here in the crowded heart of Chicago, you need something you can shoehorn into the tiny parking spots and thread through the narrow streets......Jake
Here you go Jake, just what you need
.
Joe.
Last Edit: Jul 15, 2005 11:45:49 GMT -6 by Merlot Joe
"Other than telling us how to live, think, marry, pray, vote, invest, educate our children and, now, die, I think the Republicans have done a fine job of getting government out of our personal lives."
I have been thinking about getting a Hybrid for a while now. And with the crazy gas prices I now know my next car will be one - looking at the SUV's (just don't like the way the cars look).
So after 1 1/2 months, do you still love your Escape JDM??
Yes. My Escape Hybrid is great. Averaging about 27 mpg. I get about 400 miles per tank. It still sems a little weird sometimes when I pull up to a stop light and the car sounds dead. The pick up is pretty good, but I've become much more conscious of gas usage and often do real slow starts to watch the efficiency go up driving on battery only.
The real test will be in the winter. Running the air conditioner or the defrost requires the engine. Even at the hotest part of the summer I was able to use the airconditioner for a few minutes and then turn the condenser/compressor off. We'll see if I can do the samething with the defrost on those cold winter drives to work. If not, I expect my effeciency to drop through the floor.
"Other than telling us how to live, think, marry, pray, vote, invest, educate our children and, now, die, I think the Republicans have done a fine job of getting government out of our personal lives."
Is this common to all hybrids? You can only use the A/C when the gas part is running? Shoot, I'd die here in FL.....
............Bob
Yes, but you have it backwards. You can use the A/C anytime, but it turns on the engine and thus runs down your efficiency. You could run your A/C all of the time, but then you might as well have saved $8,000 and bought the regular (non-hybrid) version since you would be running on engine 100% and never using the battery.
My folks have a Prius and run the A/C all the time. They're getting over 50mpg.
That is the Scorpion's endpoint: to live with intensity, to burn away all pretense, to put nothing behind walls of fear, to make the unconscious conscious. The aim of the Scorpion, in a word, is to live every minute as if it were the last. - Steven Forrest, Astrologer
Post by Ardbeg... innit on Sept 30, 2005 6:02:57 GMT -6
jdmcowan said:
bobnrhonda said:
Is this common to all hybrids? You can only use the A/C when the gas part is running? Shoot, I'd die here in FL.....
............Bob
Yes, but you have it backwards. You can use the A/C anytime, but it turns on the engine and thus runs down your efficiency. You could run your A/C all of the time, but then you might as well have saved $8,000 and bought the regular (non-hybrid) version since you would be running on engine 100% and never using the battery.
Jeremy
Running the AC reduces the mileage on ANY car/truck on the road, whether hybrid, gas, or diesel.
HOWEVER, most new cars are so aerodynamic in their design that at highway speeds you will get WORSE mileage if you turn of the AC and open a window (air flow drag). Around town, yes, turning off the AC and opening the window will yield better efficiency.
Gordon
Editted to add: FYI- Drag is a function of the square of the speed... so if you double your speed you quadruple the drag. So if you drive 80 mph you have more than double the drag that your car enging has to work against than you do at 55 mph. Opening a window (depending on the model, increases drag between 20 to 40%, so a car with an open window at 80 mph may have over triple the drag it has at 55 mph with the window closed.
Of course at 55 mph you have the added efficiency assistance of the cars behind you pushing your sorry ass.