Posted by Michelle Steiner on June 17, 2007, 8:45 pm
> >>The Prius has some reputation as being tiring to drive on freeways,
> >>but I don't find that particularly so.
> >
> >
> > I've driven mine from Chandler, AZ to Las Vegas (once), to
> > Sacramento (three or four times), to San Francisco two or three
> > times, to LA once, and to San Diego once or twice. I didn't find
> > it to be tiring at all, no more than driving an Acura TL was.
>
> Is this highway behavior what various references to aftermarket front
> suspension mods refer to?
I have no idea; I haven't seen any of those references. And the highway
behavior is OK in my experience.
--
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Posted by Mike Rosenberg on June 17, 2007, 9:59 pm
> > Is this highway behavior what various references to aftermarket front
> > suspension mods refer to?
>
> I have no idea; I haven't seen any of those references.
I don't recall having seen any, either. Do you have any links we can
take a look at?
--
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Posted by News on June 17, 2007, 10:15 pm
Mike Rosenberg wrote:
>
>
>>>Is this highway behavior what various references to aftermarket front
>>>suspension mods refer to?
>>
>>I have no idea; I haven't seen any of those references.
>
>
> I don't recall having seen any, either. Do you have any links we can
> take a look at?
>
Various references to "BT Tech" chassis stiffening mods (several) and
"Tom's lower body brace" with same intent, integrated approach.
Posted by Elmo P. Shagnasty on June 17, 2007, 6:58 pm
> We are looking to acquire a 4 door hybrid in the fall, and are now entering
> the research phase, prior to the dealership visit phase.
>
> We are long time (30+ years) Honda owners, but hybrids are sufficiently
> different to dispense with blind marque loyalty.
>
> Can anyone contrast the pros and cons of Prius versus Civic Hybrid?
I love my Hondas. I, too, am a 25+ year Honda owner. I have a superb
Honda dealership with the only technician I've allowed to touch my Honda
cars, ever. Honda cars have never let me down.
That being said, I recently got a company car--a Prius. (The other
choice was a GM; no thanks, buddy, no thanks.) As I drive the car and
look into it further, I am convinced that Toyota put some serious genius
into this entire situation. They look at it as a system, found the weak
spots, exploited the technology, and built one helluva package.
It's so good, both my wife and I have decided that we'd spend our own
money on one.
Honda's system isn't bad, but Toyota's is so good, it makes Honda's
system look all the worse.
Toyota's system leads to less maintenance. It has no starter, no
transmission (those are expensive repairs nowadays), a straightforward
efficient engine tuned to the task, the engine is disconnected from the
wheels by the very ingenious Power Split Device (which replaces your
transmission), the air conditioner is run off the battery and not off
the engine, and so on.
In fact, disconnecting many accessories from the engine is part of what
makes a hybrid good. When you choose not to disconnect these things
from the engine, as Honda chose not to, you're giving up efficiency.
Imagine crawling through downtown during summer rush hour, the engine is
completely off, you're idling from light to light using only the
batter--and you're staying perfectly cool because the AC is running at
full blast. It's not running at that half-blast that a normal idling
car gives because it can't turn the compressor fast enough and power the
cabin fan enough.
Imagine getting full power out of the system on demand because the
engine isn't running the AC compressor directly.
The Prius is a large car, surprisingly so. Yet it turns on a dime. Try
it. I don't know how they violated the laws of physics, but they did.
I just wish the Prius came with a trunk instead of a hatchback--but
that's just me and my particular situation. For my own non-work
purposes, a hatch would be fine.
The Prius is available with more high-tech goodies. If you're a geek,
you love that.
s
Posted by News on June 17, 2007, 8:24 pm
Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
>
>
>>We are looking to acquire a 4 door hybrid in the fall, and are now entering
>>the research phase, prior to the dealership visit phase.
>>
>>We are long time (30+ years) Honda owners, but hybrids are sufficiently
>>different to dispense with blind marque loyalty.
>>
>>Can anyone contrast the pros and cons of Prius versus Civic Hybrid?
>
>
> I love my Hondas. I, too, am a 25+ year Honda owner. I have a superb
> Honda dealership with the only technician I've allowed to touch my Honda
> cars, ever. Honda cars have never let me down.
>
> That being said, I recently got a company car--a Prius. (The other
> choice was a GM; no thanks, buddy, no thanks.) As I drive the car and
> look into it further, I am convinced that Toyota put some serious genius
> into this entire situation. They look at it as a system, found the weak
> spots, exploited the technology, and built one helluva package.
>
> It's so good, both my wife and I have decided that we'd spend our own
> money on one.
>
> Honda's system isn't bad, but Toyota's is so good, it makes Honda's
> system look all the worse.
>
> Toyota's system leads to less maintenance. It has no starter, no
> transmission (those are expensive repairs nowadays), a straightforward
> efficient engine tuned to the task, the engine is disconnected from the
> wheels by the very ingenious Power Split Device (which replaces your
> transmission), the air conditioner is run off the battery and not off
> the engine, and so on.
>
> In fact, disconnecting many accessories from the engine is part of what
> makes a hybrid good. When you choose not to disconnect these things
> from the engine, as Honda chose not to, you're giving up efficiency.
>
> Imagine crawling through downtown during summer rush hour, the engine is
> completely off, you're idling from light to light using only the
> batter--and you're staying perfectly cool because the AC is running at
> full blast. It's not running at that half-blast that a normal idling
> car gives because it can't turn the compressor fast enough and power the
> cabin fan enough.
>
> Imagine getting full power out of the system on demand because the
> engine isn't running the AC compressor directly.
>
> The Prius is a large car, surprisingly so. Yet it turns on a dime. Try
> it. I don't know how they violated the laws of physics, but they did.
>
> I just wish the Prius came with a trunk instead of a hatchback--but
> that's just me and my particular situation. For my own non-work
> purposes, a hatch would be fine.
>
> The Prius is available with more high-tech goodies. If you're a geek,
> you love that.
>
>
> s
>
Very informative and helpful. Thanks!
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> >>but I don't find that particularly so.
> >
> >
> > I've driven mine from Chandler, AZ to Las Vegas (once), to
> > Sacramento (three or four times), to San Francisco two or three
> > times, to LA once, and to San Diego once or twice. I didn't find
> > it to be tiring at all, no more than driving an Acura TL was.
>
> Is this highway behavior what various references to aftermarket front
> suspension mods refer to?