Prime overtakes Clarity

Short memories with respect to the price of gas. Remember in 2003 when it went over $2 for the first time? People were crying we would all go broke with the high price. Eventually hit $4 and people started buying smaller vehicles that got better MPG. Went back to $3 and here come the SUVs and full size pickups again. And with gas in some areas < $2 and < $2.50 in most places, that large vehicle buying spree continued. Wonder what will happen to Ford if the price of gas goes back to $4 again.

 

I think there will be always SUV and full size pickup buyers no matter how high the gas price gets. That said, people have such a short memories and nearsightedness, if it looks good NOW and they can afford it NOW, it will sell.

I looked for our second car for over a year that is affordable, fuel efficient, big enough to be able to haul all of stuff, have AWD with high ground clearance and a car my wife likes, but could not find one in a new car market. I ended up buying a SUV (used 2014 Pathfinder Hybrid) to satisfy our needs. It's not as fuel efficient as I would like it to be, but it was affordable, big enough to haul all kind of stuff, 4WD with high enough ground clearance and, most importantly, my wife likes it, despite being a used car.

Yeah, I thought about fulfilling our needs by owning both PRIME which I already had and adding Clarity or second PRIME, as well as several options of available BEVs, as a second car. But, in the end, it just was not practical nor economical solution to satisfy our needs even with big rebates and incentives on Clarity or on a second Prime. If gas price tops $4 again, we will use less and less of SUV and more and more of PRIME.

 

Hopefully, into the toilet with Ford: Found On Road Dead, or Fix Or Repair Daily = FORD.
Maybe the poor folks they'll lay off can find jobs at GM! Things change and remain the same.

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AChoiredTaste.com

 

They'll stop giving the Fusion hybrids away, delay the end of the Fiesta, and sell more hybrid versions of the Explorer and Escape.
Their pick ups are already more efficient than Toyota's, but maybe push up the intro of the F150 hybrid and/or Mustang. Meeting Explorer demand will be a factor there.

 

tons of swagger

 

One item hurting the Honda Clarity is Consumer Reports most recent Automobile Ratings where the Clarity reliability is rated "much worse" than other vehicles. On their 1 to 5 visual scale the Honda Clarity got a 1 ( the lowest rating).

Speaking as someone who is now considering a possible plug in vehicle purchase, this immediately eliminates the Clarity from consideration. With the cost of new vehicles now approaches $30,000 - $40,000, I wouldn't begin to consider a vehicle with this type of reliability rating.

 

i would want to know why

 

I don't know how CR can accurately assess the reliability for a totally new model of a car that has been out on the market for only a year now. I have a suspicion that their numbers are based on consumer's impression and past experience about Honda hybrid cars, namely Civic Hybrid. That said, Clarity in my region had fantastic lease options, that you could test drive a car for three years with as little as $159/mo ($1717 down, tax, fees included) and still have an option to buy the car at lease end for mere $14K, making the total cost to own @ ~$22K. Similar lease deal was unheard of on PRIME.

 

I'd argue that the rating is probably a legacy of the issues they had with the architecture of the Civic hybrid and their propensity to kill hybrid batteries. To be fair, the more recent Honda hybrids have a completely different system design which is closer to that of the HSD than the old IMA system.

Honda seems to be focusing their Clarity deals on the CARB states like Toyota. In CA, the federal and state tax credits bring the cost down about $8500 (I believe ~$1500 is from state tax credits). However, the Prime had the $4000 Toyota cash rebate deal on top of the ~$4500 federal tax credit.

Here is how Consumer Reports derives predicted reliability:

 

CR's reliability verdict for new models opaque, and seemed to be biased.
Remember an issue with three new models in it. The Honda and Toyota got the "reliability such be good", but the Nissan was branded "too new to know".

 

Had a killer deal lined up for a base Clarity. But the wife changed her mind and said no.


Ohh well next PHEV model year.

 

Sounds familiar.
Yeah, my wife was not keen on EV range but wanted a bigger car with more cargo room. She use to drive Sienna minivan.
Ended up buying a used Pathfinder Hybrid SUV. Huge cargo, but no EV range, and measly 27 mpg in the city.