ABC news report on Hybrids tonight

I just saw the segment by accident... same old whine about EPA figures. They said Consumer's Reports claimed 35 or so MPG. I can't get that low even in the Winter!

 

No doubt. I drove back from downtown denver last night. I had just filled up the tank and had a fresh trip ODO/MFD. It was 0 DEG F. On my drive home (which is uphill and somewhat hilly overall) I got ~46 MPG. Granted, I did keep the heating to a minimum but I had to run the defrost a lot just to see the bloody road.

 

I think Consumer Reports reported mileage on the Gen2 Prius in the low 40's.

 

...and regarding the appeal of Buicks. All they need to do is create more incentives and people will start trading in their Prii in droves. Hmm, maybe if they threw in a free hemorroid doughnut cushion...oh yeah, I can see the 6-month waiting lists for the 2006 Buicks now! :lol:

 

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=1387368&page=1

They're just rehashing the same crap that's been going around since Consumer Reports claimed to only get 35 mpg in the city with a Prius. They always neglect to mention that how you drive is a major factor, no matter which car you're driving. The news organizations aren't part of a conspiracy. I just think that their comprehension of the subject matter is superficial. Most people don't know because they don't want to know or don't care. Have you ever really watched an interview with some high-up mucky-muck? The so-called journalist never presses the subject to answer the question and the mucky-muck never gives a direct answer. It's all a dog and pony show and the reason it passes as journalism is because the public allows them to get away with it.

 

I think the Consumer Reports people managed about 35 MPG in the city or something, and a higher figure (in the 40s) on the highway.

That proves to me that they had no idea what they were doing driving the Prius around town.

They PROBABLY drove the car around for at MOST one tank's worth and drew their conclusions based on that one tank.

From my experience, initially, it's easier to get higher mileages (high 40s and low 50s) with highway driving on the Prius because there's not much technique to learn. Just keep the speed steady like on any car, and the mileage will be fine.

City and surface street driving is more tricky. Initially, someone will probably do much worse than highway driving around town... but once you learn how to drive the car correctly in town, maybe incorporating as much pulse & glide as possible, the mileage at lower speeds can easily exceed 60 MPG if done correctly...

I know it took me a few months before I figured it out and got the hang of the technique... these CR people clearly have no idea, nor do they WANT to... they're just car pundits, like everyone else, who are disappointed that the Prius isn't a sports car.

 

Double check that window sticker.

There's an EPA rating for the CAR, which is 51 highway/60 city. Then there's the COMPARISON, which says loosely "to give you an idea of where that is in the scale, other cars have gotten between 12 and 70 MPG"

Sort of like on an appliance. It will tell you that your new washer uses 20 kwh of energy per year. Then it will tell you, for comparison purposes, that the other washers they tested use between 12 and 50 kwh per year.

Read carefully. It's noone fault but your own that you only saw what you wanted to see...

 

CR quotes 44mpg and they seemed very impressed with the car giving it a recommendation and noting that reliability is outstanding. It was the strength of CR's review that helped me decide to go with the Prius.

 

Is it possible that that advertisement/sign was from a Canadian vehicle?

See, in Canada some manufacturers - Toyota included - still list the fuel efficiency in "Miles per Gallon" even though the country operates on the metric system.

The catch is that they use the imperial gallon (4.55L) instead of the US gallon (3.78L). Since the gallon is bigger, there is more gas to burn, which gets you further. Therefore, the Prius in Canada is officially rated 71MPG city / 67 MPG highway! B)

http://www.toyota.ca/cgi-bin/WebObjects/WW...40e%2ehtml#FUEL

Of course, I hate using a misleading MPG calculation, so I have learned to adjust to the L/100km system, where there is no confusion.

- Kevin

 

First of all CR drives the Prius like every other car and I guess that is fair. I can get EPA on my old Ford Explorer but I have to work on it. And I have to work on getting over EPA in my Prius, though it seems a bit easier in the Prius than in the Ford. The point is that the EPA is a laboratory test not a real world test. Compare one test on one car against an other car in the same test,

 

I just looked at Consumer Reports site. Their Road Test was done May 2004 and was a 2004 Model.

Tested model: 2004 4-door hatchback, 1.5-liter Four hybrid, CVT
Tested tires: Goodyear Integrity, size P185/65R15 86S

Even though they do have 2005 Ratings. They rate the 05 Model "Excellent" in nearly every catagory. The '04 rated "Fair" in Fuel economy and Electrical, and only VG in Power equipment. That uped to "excellent" in the '05

Toyota's second-generation Prius is unbeatable for its combination of economy, acceleration, and interior room. It couples a 1.5-liter gasoline engine with an electric motor, and it automatically switches between them or runs on both as needed. The car shuts the engine off at idle and runs on electric power only at low speeds. We got an excellent 44 mpg overall in our tests. Shifts are automatic via a responsive continuously variable transmission (CVT). Regenerative braking recharges the battery while coasting or braking. Ride and handing are competent, though the steering feels vague. Access is easy and the hatchback body style adds versatility. Reliability continues to be outstanding.


Thats right from CR's site.

OUscarb

 

Its all about money.... what ever will make a story.... they write!

Its common knowledge that the EPA overshoots real mileage!... very few "ever" beat epa estimates!
Folks don't realize that percent is percent!... if epa estimates are 3 percent off at 20 mpg, that amount will be magnified 3 times when comparing with 60mpg.
To make it simple, if you are off by 4 miles a gallon at an epa of 20, the same difference would be off 12 mpg at an epa of 60.... much more unforgivable!..

the higher the efficiency, the more obvious the epa error.

We as a public forgive a loss of 4 mpg, but not 12?
Yet is not fair to toyota, to tell them they have to give epa ratings that are 1 percent accurate from real mileages, when Ford and GM can get away with 3 percent off?

I have a novel Idea!.... why not make them ALL own up to their ratings?.... even then, its never a perfect science. Some will attain epa because thier car is tuned and not modified, and others will suffer due to cold, tires, etc etc.

Its not cost effective for the NEWs media to show the true story... that doesn't make a good story, because poeople will say "oh, ok" and the story will be over.

They want to milk it as far as it can go with doubt, controversy, and discussion.... hide the truth as long as possible until the money tree has been picked clean.

Sorry, but thats the good ole media!

 

Heres what I learned about the world tonight reported by ABC World News.

The job market and stock report, the war on terrorism, Isreal and the Palestinians, the nightly U.S. drug industry report, Katrina and the weather report.

If I went on a vacation and came back two weeks later and decided to watch ABC, NBC or CBS, the news around the world would be the same.

Oh! and the commercials make me want to go out to my local pharmacy and pop some pills into my 33 year old body.

The world is much bigger than the Middle East. I think I now know why most Americans have no knowledge about geography, world affairs and politics. Most Americans get their world news from ABC World News Tonight.

Now how can I trust ABC World News with their reports on the Toyota Prius.

 

I'd like to know how many of those folks paid over sticker, what you gave them on the trade and how they feel about it now. Can you imagine falling for the hyped price inflation, paying 30-35K and then trying to trade it.

 

Go in and test drive a Lucerne or Lacrosse. I think you will be impressed and we have customers getting 35 mpg on highway trips. The same as a few of you get with your Prius. I have never claimed to know why but Buicks always get better than their EPA ratings on the highway. By the way, the average age of a Buick owner is approaching the average age of a Toyota owner. Bet you didn't know that.

 

No waiting list for Prius in this area right now. And as I told mystery Squid yesterday, used values have dropped 2000 bucks in the last month in a half.

 

I am not sure what they paid for them. I did some checking yesterday and three were mileage related and one just found the car too uncomfortable to drive. They were not tickled about trading them, but who is about trading a car owned for less than two years?

 

Has anyone contacted ABC news? I don't feel like sending the same links as everyone else.
While I don't get quite EPA*, I've never got 35, even with a kayak on top of the car!
I got 49 on a long trip, mostly interstate.

Brian
* I have a roof rack, so that reduces milage
* Most of my driving is a 10 mile commute, about half at highway speeds

 

I have average 46 mpg (measured and on the display, within 2%) driving from 8600 ft to 6000 ft and back every day and I drive the car hard, as hard as I drove my V6 Camry and it got 23 mpg. I don't care what anyone says or does with or about their Prius I'm happy. It is the best car I have ever owned and I've owned more than 20 cars & trucks. Even my wife loves the car and she doesn't really get into cars.