Posted by mrv@kluge.net on April 10, 2007, 9:21 pm
> > Wonder who has the mightier car love club: Saturn owners or Prius
> > owners.
> I used to own a Saturn; now I own a Prius.
Hubby's previous car was a Saturn, too, before he got his Prius. He
would've kept his Saturn if the new pioneer-ordered 2004 Prius wasn't
so tempting...
When I was looking in 2000 for a new car, it was either a Saturn or
the Prius. Both were no-haggle pricing, direct order the vehicle you
wanted. With size, pricing, maintenance and insurance costs being
equal, I went with the Prius because it had lower emissions, was more
fun to drive, and had better fuel economy. Now when I look at the
used prices for the same vehicles (depreciation costs), my 2001 Prius
is worth about 2x as much as the Saturn that I had been considering
back then.
Posted by mrv@kluge.net on April 4, 2007, 1:41 pm
> On Tue, 03 Apr 2007 19:32:10 -0400, "u...@nowhere.com"
> >>Any way to automate the shifting from d to b and back?
> >why in the world would you want to do that? only use "b" when going down long
> >mountains to keep from riding the brakes.
> So you have to live in Colorado to use the b? Sheesh. I guess you
> don't like recharging for free that much. Any whoo, love my Prius.
Under the vast majority of circumstances, you'll regenerate LESS
energy in B mode than in D mode.
B stands for engine braking (like a jake brake in a truck, but
somewhat like downshifting to 2 or 1 from D in an automatic). B does
not stand for battery.
The owner's manual warns that you'll have lower fuel economy if you
drive around in B. (The engine spins to help slow you down, so you
coast less in B than in D.)
Posted by Michelle Steiner on April 4, 2007, 3:38 pm
> >why in the world would you want to do that? only use "b" when going down long
> >mountains to keep from riding the brakes.
>
> So you have to live in Colorado to use the b?
Nope, parts of California, Nevada, and even Arizona too. (Those are the
only states I've driven my Prius in, but I'm sure there are other states
as well, where you can use "b".)
> Sheesh. I guess you don't like recharging for free that much.
You don't recharge for free. Using "B" in other situations lowers gas
mileage.
--
Support the troops: Bring them home ASAP.
Posted by Tom Ricostronza on April 4, 2007, 3:59 pm
On Wed, 04 Apr 2007 08:38:32 -0700, Michelle Steiner
>> >why in the world would you want to do that? only use "b" when going down long
>> >mountains to keep from riding the brakes.
>>
>> So you have to live in Colorado to use the b?
>Nope, parts of California, Nevada, and even Arizona too. (Those are the
>only states I've driven my Prius in, but I'm sure there are other states
>as well, where you can use "b".)
In the other states, I carry my Prius in my backpack. Saw a Fourtwo
at the grocery store the other day. Small crowd around it.
>> Sheesh. I guess you don't like recharging for free that much.
>You don't recharge for free. Using "B" in other situations lowers gas
>mileage.
I don't use b unless I'm coming to a long stop off an incline or it
isn't worth the hassle to shift...and remember to shift back. I'm
scared I'll shift into R and all my savings will be undone. :-)
Posted by mrv@kluge.net on April 5, 2007, 2:08 pm
wrote:
> I don't use b unless I'm coming to a long stop off an incline or it
> isn't worth the hassle to shift...and remember to shift back. I'm
> scared I'll shift into R and all my savings will be undone. :-)
Why? If you do an improper shift (such as R<->D while moving), the
NHW20 Prius will just beep at you and put the car into Neutral. No
harm done. (Other improper shifts are listed in the owner's manual.)
It's kinda eerie shifting my NHW11 Classic Prius from R<->D while
moving (which requires you to press a button before sliding the
traditional gear shift in that direction). You'll start slowing down,
and then start speeding up in the opposite direction!
> > owners.
> I used to own a Saturn; now I own a Prius.