News on hybrid vehicles, fuel cell cars, and the future of automobiles

Does it make sense to buy a 2008 Tahoe Hybrid for $50,000 to save on gas, or would I pay less getting a different vehicle for a lower initial price, but higher gas cost? I need a vehicle that seats 6, any make or model, just looking for best overall value for buying it and cost of gas. Minivans are cheap, but the hybrids get about twice the miles per gal. of gas, so my gas cost is split almost in half. We drive about 20,000 miles per year. Any suggestions appreciated!

No Hybrids.
You need to change the Hybrid powertrain every 3-7 years. It costs $3000-5000 to fix.
Saturn Vue seats 6 and gets good gas mileage for an SUV.
Honda Odysee is best Minivan in its class.
Honda Pilot is a good car.

could you translate theese words from english to italian? (i’m italian)

- you’re dark and brooding
- you’re braizen
- you’re crunchy
- dykey (lesbica?)
- to take shots
- to do a keg stand
- you wear ripped jeans and wife beater
- you wear hoodie and ked
- an hybrid car
- an escalade car
- a minivan

then a question with answers (i suppose this is a funny..and a little hot quiz..but some american friend of mine they said that i have to answer so i write you the words that i didn’t understand…lol!!!)

question: are you "Top" or "Bottom"?
answers:
- i’m already packing
- i don’t wear uderwear just in case
- it doesn’t where i’m as long as i’m getting some
- i’m a member of the mile high club
- ready..set..switch

thank you thank you so much!!!
thak you mistress..i’ve tried yet but…the online translator are wrong

It is difficult to translate these as they are colloquial, but some Italian equivilents might be:

- you’re dark and brooding – sei bello scuro e coraggioso
- you’re braizen – parla chiara
- you’re crunchy – no idea what this means in English!
- dykey (lesbica – yes!)
- to take shots – di sparare a qualcuno
- to do a keg stand – no idea what this is
- you wear ripped jeans and wife beater – ti vesti come un stronzzo
- you wear hoodie and ked – ti vesti come un coato
- an hybrid car – una macchina ecologica
- an escalade car – no idea what this is
- a minivan – macchina multi-posto

The question and answers at the bottom don’t make any sense.

Is a very slow sale sport car, with a no-earth friendly V8 engine.
The world need hybrid cars or alternative fuels, not selfish 2 seat cars.
Thats the way GM will survive the Japanese challenge ? With the Camaro ?
Why they dont build real cars for everyday, to compite againt the 300,Camry,Altima,Accord,
Civic,Sentra,Corrola, etc.
Why GM doesnt invest in a new minivan design, since the Quest,Sienna,Odyssey are far better that the Uplander-MontanaSV6,Relay,Terraza.
I know GM build crapy cars, but they must start making only Zero or Ultra Low Emission cars, and no V8 engines

I love the Camaro & it is not a 2 seat car

can someone please help me to; identify the fallacy, explain why the identified is representative of the fallacy, and how you would correct the fallacy so that the claims logically represent the truth.

1. The incredibly clean and fuel efficient civic hybrid from Honda

2.The 3rd generation of the best selling roadster in the world has been beautifully designed, thoughtfully engineered and meticulously crafted to let you touch the sky and feel the road. from its leather-wrapped steering wheel, to its sport-tuned suspension, to its performance-rated tires.

3.A healthy car depends on a healthy engine. and a healthy engine depends on the right motor oil.

4.The 2008 entourage was recently named best new minivan by the automobile journalists association of Canada. No small feat considering each car is subjected to the close scrutiny of 74 journalists and four days of rigorous testing. And now we can say without hesitation that the entourage is the best vehicle in its class as voted by Canadians, for Canadians.

1. The Hond Civic Hybrid is clean when it operates in electric mode. The Civic is dirty when it operates in fuel mode.

Correction: The Civic Hybrid from Honda … clean and efficient when it’s operating in electric mode … filthy and inefficient when it’s operating in fuel mode.

2. ??? lame example of logical fallacy. A leather wrapped steering wheel, a sports tuned suspension and performance rated tires don’t let you touch the sky (literally). ???

3. Fallacy of mono-causation: all healthy cars are healthy because they have the right motor oil.

Correction: One factor to having a healthy car is to have a healthy engine. One factor a healthy engine depends upon is the right motor oil. Therefore, the right motor oil is one of many countless factors to having a healthy car.

4. Premises do not support conclusion at all. 74 journalists said that the 2008 Entourage is the best new minivan. There was no vote by the Canadians as a whole. We also have no idea whether the journalists were Canadians by virtue of belonging to the association. Also, these same journalists may believe that older minivans are still better than the best new minivan of 2008. So, conclusion that the 2008 Entourage is the best vehicle in its class is not supported by the premises.

Correction: … the 2008 Entourage is the best new minivan according to 74 journalists of the association …

I’m a High School student looking for a CAR, or a car-sized vehicle. I’ve been saving 2/3 of my reasonable income for about a while now, and I’m thinking about getting my first car. I also should be able to pay for it without much financing (parental or otherwise). Optimism is one of my qualities; I’m aiming for a NEW car. That should prevent nightmares of hellish repair bills, and sharky salesmen. But I am open to opinions and facts on the subject. How much less is a used car? Are used car horror stories really that common? What would you recommend?

My three priorities for my car in this order are: PRICE, DURABILITY, and INTERIOR SPACE.

PRICE:
Being a High School student, anything over $20,000 is unreachable without loads of help. Of course, I’m not sure if that’s even a realistic limit, since the "starting at" numbers on the commercials, and the price you actually pay are probably very different. Apparently, freaking power locks are not a "standard feature" in most cars. Extra features are really nice (schnazzy stuff is cool in High School), but I think I can hold myself back on most of the non-essentials.

DURABILTY:
I know nothing about mechanics, therefore I will be taking my vehicle to a garage to get fixed when it breaks down. I don’t want to have to do that every month.These kinds of things keep the price down in the long run, so I’ll certainly pay a little more now to avoid the hassle and cost of a mechanic. Warranties are also important to me. What’s a "powertrain" warranty?

INTERIOR SPACE:
Let’s face it, I’m 6′4, and 200 pounds. I don’t want to drive to work in a lunchbox. I can live with a small car, but I cannot live with a small space inside that car. I also have friends of the male teenage variety, and wouldn’t mind some space in the back seat so carpools aren’t painful. But I am NOT in the market for an SUV or minivan or anything. I’m just looking for a CAR with a lot of interior space.

A few things I DO NOT care about:

Fuel economy. It is not at all economical, despite it’s name. It would take me half a century for a hybrid to save me enough money to be worth it over a normal car. I calculated that a car which needs one less L per 100km would only save a light driver (250 km/week) only $117 per year. That’s certainly less than I expected. Better fuel economy is a bonus, but it’s not an economically advantageous bonus as I see it. Then again, I’m probably missing something. What kind of tax incentives does driving a fuel efficient car have in Canada?

I also don’t care much about "safety". It shouldn’t cost me an arm and a leg to slim the chance of me bruising my arms and legs. A lot of times, I think that safety and "crumple zones" are just excuses to make the car total in a minor accident. More wrecked cars means that companies sell more cars, and I don’t care to be decieved by that. I’d rather drive safe than just spend more money. Of course, this is not to say that I care nothing about safety; it’s just that I don’t need a 5 star safety rating to get me to buy. The average car’s safety capabilities are fine with me.

Given the above information, which cars should I be looking at buying.

Some additional questions I have are:
What miscellaneous/unexpected costs are involved with buying and owning a car?
How much money do you spend on reparing your car per year?
How many km will a car last, and how many km have your past cars lasted?
What else should a new car buyer like me know?

Honestly, any information you have is greatly appreciated.

It should be 4-door, 4-cyls, not sporty. I would prefer Honda or Toyota… First time drivers usually have much more expensive car insurance, and it depends from car. You should compare insurance rates while choosing the car – for example here – carquotes.sinfree.net

We’ve recently sold our three cars and bought my husband a small hybrid to commute with. We’ve been using a friends SUV to get myself and our three car-seated children around while we make a decision on our family car. Hoping you can help us!?!?

We’ve got two Britax Frontier Car seats, a Britax Advocate CS, and I’m expecting in the spring so we’ need room for the Britax Chaperone.

I would like to go more the SUV route, rather than go for a minivan, but we need an SUV with a path in between the middle row, or a removable seat there, and not one with a middle row seat that leans forwards because we will have car seats there… Thanks so much!!!!!!

The Honda Odyssey.. Simply the nicest looking minivan on the market… it has a removable middle seat in the second row… My family has an 2009 Odyssey Touring and it is just a really nice all round van.

we have a mini van that is desperatley outdated thinkin of 7-8 seater SUV like Pilot Highlander or Santa Fe but Dad (lets call him phil) phil has to travel 60 miles a day! He has to drive this huge minivan! Wife (lets call her Sarah) wants a compact (another story) then i saw some midsized car reviews that are realy roomy(camry and accord) its so hard! no camry v6 hybrid highlander is TOO expensive i need help we love long trips and hour long trips feel really long cause we live in rhode island

can u imagine sitting in between 2 fat kids for like 3 hours!

Hunt around. You should be able to get a good deal on a car now as people are not buying, plus the new ones will be coming up for sales in August. Lots of car fit your criteria.

I currently have a fully loaded Escalade ESV that is totally paid off, and has a Blue Book Value of $42,000. I am really unhappy with the gas mileage of 13mpg.
We have been talking about getting a minivan, or maybe a smaller SUV, and to do this and continue to not have any payments, we would have to do it soon.

I really like the new Toyota Sequoia, but would really like a Hybrid, or something that does really good on gas.
Yes, I need a 3rd row. I already have a pickup truck, so we can’t have 2-five passenger, gas guzzlers, that would be extremely impractical.
I am also looking to buy something new.

Go with a Honda Odyssey van. Big and roomy, good gas mileage.

I am going from 7 passengers to (reluctantly) 5. I have driven a minivan for about 12 years and am ready to move on to something else. Don’t get me wrong – I love the spaciousness of a van and how well it drives, I’m just tired of vans and the last one has been a lemon.

Although I really wanted a hybrid, I haven’t found any that make me want to do cartwheels so I’m going to buy one more "regular" and by the time I want to get rid of that, hopefully the hybrids will be in full swing and supply.

My daughter just turned 15 and is learning to drive, so safety is obviously a concern. Although she won’t be driving this car very much, I do want her to be able to manage it.

So, I have narrowed my search down to 3. Please don’t suggest any different ones because I have looked at every brand from Hyundai through Jaquar. I have had this search going forever and have finally found peace in these three: Mercedes GLK, Audi Q5, Volvo XC60.

I have kind of decided no on the Mercedes – a bit too much chrome and maybe too young for me (I’m 44 with 2 kids).

I like the Audi and Volvo for different reasons. Both are 2010 models. The Volvo has great safety features like City Safe, but the Audi is just cool. I don’t like the Audi’s back seat "hump" in the middle – only the smallest of kids could fit there. Both have decent room in the trunk area. In the Volvo, you only have to have the key on your person, but in the Audi you stick the key in the hole.

I figure the Volvo would be around $46000 with what I want on it, and the Audi maybe $51000 (Prestige version). Both are similar in gas mileage, I believe.

The Volvo includes service until until 30000 miles.

Motor Trend and Car and Driver (July issues) both ranked the Audi better than the Volvo, but they were like 1 and 2 or 1 and 3, so very close.

Does anyone have experience with either of these cars and could recommend one over the other? I’m wanting to buy in the next month or so, but could extend that to up to 3 months, I believe.

Please help – I don’t buy cars very often (every 4-5 years) and now I know why – I hate it!!

Thanks so much for any insight you can provide to sway me one way or the other.

i would say the Audi Q5 would be best out of those

have you researched the Toyota Highlander? it was rated best by consumer reports for 3rd row s.u.v.

Maybe they deserve their fate. I say, build on a single platform, eliminate all the many types of crappy vehicles and make fewer models that are top quality. Good handling, nicer interiors, responsive brakes, better engines, reliability, versatility. I would eliminate Pontiac, and many other brand-lines, why make 3-4 versions of the same crappy vehicle when you can just make 4 cars total. A sedan (convertible version as well as 4cyl, 6cyl, hybrid), a truck (multiple trims), an SUV/crossover (multiple trims, engines, packages) and a minivan/van/wagon (family or commercial trims, as well as youth segment) Why not make fewer cars and have them be the best, than lose money and just get dominated and embarassed by higher quality imports?
I agree with all of you though some state different points. I wrote this question after I researched a Pontiac and saw that braking, handling were dismal. Also these cars don’t hold their value. I wanted to trade my Civic in for a Pontiac because of the lower APR and 3000 cash rebate.

People blame the auto workers but I say its the design. GM dropped the S10 which was a great truck for the Colorado which is uglier than sin. They over style too much. They 350 V8 was the greatest motor ever made and they stopped making them. As for the financial woes Japan,Canada and Germany have free health care so auto makers over there have lower overhead in that aspect. The Japanese transplants will have the same woes 25 years from now when their workforce ages.