Who here is getting a Hybrid car someday? It'll be a Toyota.

[MrAngryFace]

Honda to discontinue hybrid Accords
Move cedes Toyota dominance in segment with Prius model
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19049079/

TOKYO - Honda will discontinue the hybrid version of its Accord sedans, the company said Tuesday, ceding Toyota’s dominance of the market with its Prius hybrid.

Honda Motor Co., Japan’s No. 2 automaker, will continue to make gas-and-electric models of its Civic sedan, but stop offering the hybrid Accord with the new model expected to go on sale later this year, company spokesman Yoshiyuki Kuroda said in Tokyo.

The Accord hybrid, which is sold only in North America, was a dud, selling just 25,000 since going on sale in 2004, and just 6,100 last year.

[Cyanista]

I already drive the echo. so this will probably be the next step. 

[brawndolicious]

the prius sells so much more anyways.  public transit would be a lot better for the environment but everybody here basically wants to drive themselves around.  tons of hybrids and even a couple of those cart things that they sell in costco.

[MrAngryFace]

I want a Prius, but I need to finish paying off my Focus. Maybe next year or the year after.

Also sprawl created by suburbs is why things are the way they are. People constantly reference Europe or Japan as good examples of public transit, but these places are inviting environments for such systems. As it is, most public transit can only really operate within the inner city limits while being effective for everyone. Anyone who takes public transit from a suburb into the city is either trying to save on gas or cant afford a car.

Having lived in Arizona, a state that almost victimizes its citizens with sprawl, it would take a lot to convince me that the lack of mass-adoption of public transit is what holds it back.

[bluemax]

My girlfriend wants one of those Scion Hybrids. When she told me it was smaller than a mini cooper I said no thanks. There is no way I'm driving the mean streets of LA in anything smaller than a sedan.

the prius sells so much more anyways.  public transit would be a lot better for the environment but everybody here basically wants to drive themselves around.  tons of hybrids and even a couple of those cart things that they sell in costco.

Because public transportation takes 3 times as long to get anywhere. It takes about 20 minutes to drive to Culver City or and hour plus on the bus. Meh.

[Van Cruncheon]

I already drive the echo. so this will probably be the next step. 

you FAIL at TEXAS. i had you pegged as a CHEVY MOM behind the wheel of a big-ass v8 4.0L+ silverado with a child seat on the right and a dreamcatcher hanging from the rear-view mirror.

[Cyanista]

Oh ye of little faith.  I drive a toyota echo with a bumper sticker that says "Oh, well.  I wasn't using my civil liberties anyway."

I get lots of comments.

[Van Cruncheon]

no gunrack?

[brawndolicious]

yeah but hybrids apparently make more sense mileage wise in city traffic than in freeways.  it's pretty much for the same market and if you do changes (radical) it could be as convenient.  US is pretty shit when it comes to saving gas, being economical, maybe carpooling.  hybrids are a stopgap solution that people want because they don't really want any change in how they drive.

scion's look bigger than they are on the outside.

[Mupepe]

I drive 4.6l F 150 and i drive to check my mail right down the block.

[MrAngryFace]

There is a point that switching to hybrids at this point simply stops the bleeding; we're guaranteed consequences of global warming for the next 40 years or so at least.

[brawndolicious]

how do you reverse global warming in 40 years?  and I'm saying competition for this market (hybrids) doesn't matter.  the US has taken the responsibilities to have the most cars, lowest gas prices outside of the middle east, and constantly increasing home energy needs.  Either you have to have public transportation or socialism.

where everybody drives a scooter.

[MrAngryFace]

Im saying the impact we've made cannot be reversed, we are set for 40 years of climate change, and thats not counting additional years tacked on as we make the required adjustments. In the end even cutbacks will not be enough.

In short its too late, all efforts made are simply made to LIMIT damage.

[hyp]

once my globalwarming-inducing mustang chokes up, i'm gonna buy a hybrid.   hopefully the selection will get better 2-3 years from now.  i hope mazda goes the hybrid route, my other car is a 3 that i love ever so dearly.

[MrAngryFace]

Markets not big enough for competition sadly, but on the upside the Prius is a well built machine.

[hyp]

Im saying the impact we've made cannot be reversed, we are set for 40 years of climate change, and thats not counting additional years tacked on as we make the required adjustments. In the end even cutbacks will not be enough.

In short its too late, all efforts made are simply made to LIMIT damage.

i agree.  it's all downhill from here.  i'm already preparing myself when shit hits the fan.  it's like 68 degrees in california right now on a june 5th.  wtf is that.

[captainbiotch]

The hybrid shit was put in there to help 0-60s, not mpg.  It gets 28/35 or something like that, only a couple over the regular trim. 

If the civic hybrid isn't selling, then honda has a problem.

[Scurvy Stan]

The hybrid accord was a highend V-6 model with lots of bells and whistles. They still sell the Hybrid Civic which is quite popular, a new version of the Insight Hybrid comes out next year in California and hybrid versions of the Fit/Jazz and CR-V are in the pipeline for Europe and then the US. Honda is also prepping Low Sulfer Diesel engine options on Civic and Accord for the US as well. Way to spin it Fox style there.

[xnikki118x]

My girlfriend wants one of those Scion Hybrids. When she told me it was smaller than a mini cooper I said no thanks. There is no way I'm driving the mean streets of LA in anything smaller than a sedan.

Small cars scare me as well. I go to a college where quite a few of the kids have rich mommies and daddies, so there are some Lexus models and the like in the student sections of the parking lots. There are 2 or 3 Mini Coopers and I always look at them like "wtf?" If someone in a midsize car hit you, they'd run right over you.

My grandparents drove one of these [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Festiva] for a very long time. Ford Festiva. It was this tiny, tiny red car. One of my earliest memories is when my little brother was born. My dad's mom didn't drive and I think his dad was working, so my gram and pop went to pick up my other gram to go to the hospital with me to see my parents and the new baby. Both my maternal grandparents are pretty small (besides pop's pot belly) but Daddy's mom was a pretty large woman, and I remember her like struggling to fit into the car.

Here's a quote from that wiki page:
In Australia, the 1987-93 and 1994-1997 Ford Festivas were assessed in the Used Car Safety Ratings 2006 as providing "significantly worse than average" protection for their occupants in the event of a crash.
Well of course, it's like riding a Barbie 4-wheeler!

Pop told me once that the Festiva's engine was the smallest possible that could power a car, and it was only a small step above the engine of a ride-on lawn mower. I always thought that was pretty amusing.

[etiolate]

Festivas were rebadged korean put-puts.  .8 liter engines I think? The size isn't an issue much in any country other than America. It's funny seeing all the huge SUVs here in the valley of California, but in Oregon where you're climbing mountains and hills everybody drives a Subaru because they accomplish the same thing but with less waste.

[G The Resurrected]

Festivas were rebadged korean put-puts.  .8 liter engines I think? The size isn't an issue much in any country other than America. It's funny seeing all the huge SUVs here in the valley of California, but in Oregon where you're climbing mountains and hills everybody drives a Subaru because they accomplish the same thing but with less waste.

As someone who lives in the central valley i dont understand the SUV usage around here. Every damn neighbor has a huge truck or suv. All i want is a good sedan with a nice boot.

i also dont understand why the gm electric car died. That thing was awesome. i'm looking forward to seeing tesla motors sedan when it comes out. toyota wants to make all of their cars hybrids by 2012 which is a huge step forward. That a company has set a date for the future of automotive mechanics.

[MrAngryFace]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19030555/

Despite a rush to offer them the smallest fuel-sipping cars, it seems one aphorism is likely to ring true for some time when it comes to Americans and their cars — size matters.

Persistently high gasoline price have spurred automakers to make plans to introduce tiny cars into the U.S. market, beginning early next year, when Mercedes Car Group plans to begin selling tiny, two-seater Smart models. At the New York auto show in April, General Motors unveiled three small Chevrolet concept cars aimed at young car buyers in urban markets.

But research from consulting firm CSM Worldwide shows that American consumers are not very big on very small cars, which are popular in many markets around the world because they are so fuel efficient and easy to park.

[Van Cruncheon]

if you get blindsided at 70+ mph on the interstate, size will not matter -- the only question will be how much debris they have to sort through before they find all your major body parts.

you are no safer in a large vehicle, which a) tend to have far worse fields of vision; b) can roll more easily; and c) are larger targets overall. protip: learn to fucking drive. quit using your driving paranoia as an excuse to fuck up the roads and environment we all share.

[Fragamemnon]

I want a basic AWD Impreza hybrid wagon-Subaru, make it happen!

Bigger cars don't help safety, as Drinky points out. The only way to be safe is to learn to drive defensively and assume everyone on the road is a total shitwit and can't drive at all.

[MrAngryFace]

I like my 2000 ford focus sedan, perfect size really. My first car was a Geo Metro and that just felt too small to be practical. The Focus can at least haul a FEW things.