Just wondering what YOU think is the most impressive hybrid car..

I personally was moved by one of our own by Toyota. The '08 Lexus LS 600h.

The car was most recently shown in NYC I believe at a car show. It looks mediocre at best but does have some style.

What impresses me is the performance specs. Boasts a V8 5.0 ltr engine. Max 430 hp - thats absolutely crazy! also expected to match or beat fuel economy of many current V6 autos in its class.

Click below and scroll to 2nd row.
[/img] http://autos.msn.com/as/minishow/pho...tentid=4023946[img][/img][/b]

 

http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/future/volta.html

 

That is one amazing car! It brings up an interesting point though. Will automakers use Hybrid technology to make cars that typically have lousy gas milage more friendly, or will they continue to make ultra-high milage cars like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight? Personally, I hope they focus on the later. If they keep using hybrid technology to make SUV's that get 35 MPG instead of their usual 26 MPG we (in my opinion) aren't making any real progress in the right direction. I'd rather see smaller cars that get 60 MPG.

 

What do you think would bring a higher retail? Hybrid SUV's are just another way of jacking up the price .
If we really cared about the " environment" do you think we'd be buying all these SUV's and 400+HP sportscars.

 

Yeah, but have you priced a loaded Prius? If you get it with Nav, HID's, Bluetooth and leather, it's $30,000!!!!!!!!

 

By "automakers" I assume you mean Toyota. Toyota's hybrid technology is alien compared to everyone else's and yes I am including Honda in that. Toyota will continue to push the envelope because they can. More money, more resources, and more focused than any other maker to get the job done. They are introducing the technology accross the platform. They are using to get insane milage (Prius), bringing it mainstream (RX 400h, Highlander, Camry), and now using it to increase performance (GS 450h).

BTW, going from 25 to 35 mpg is significant in several ways. First, proportionally, it is 36% better, and second it was like a light switch. In otherwords, a 36% jump overnight. Remember, the Highlander Hybrid project began before $3.00/gal gas.

Things to expect in the future: 3/4 ton trucks that get 25mpg. 40mpg minivans. 30 mpg sports cars. and I'd wager dollars to doughnuts that Toyota will introduce the first 100mpg sedan.

 

No, I'm not only talking about Toyota. Granted, Toyota is waaay out front, but the trend I am referring to has been picked up by Ford and Chevy as well. Chevy has already introduced a hybrid Silverado (full-size). I agree with you that the increase in milage is significant. I just hate to see them all focus on making huge vehicles that get 35 MPG and be satisfied with that. It seems to me that if they would concentrate on smaller (more realistic) cars, we could all be driving 80 MPG cars in the next decade. We need to break the habbit of thinking we need vehicles that are 9000 lbs and a block long.

 

Ever notice how many Hummers, Tahoe's, and Expeditions are sporting Bush/Cheney Stickers? These people are under the impression that their families are safer in these vehichles than in a sedan. What they fail to realize is that their rollover rates completly negate their crash worthiness.

Don't worry, people vote with their wallets. When they see the $55k hybrid Sequoia that gets 25mpg vs a $40k hybrid Sienna that gets 40mpg, they will all of a sudden realize that they have never had 7 people in their car while towing a boat up the mountains. Which is one of their validations for buying such an exhorbanant vehicle.

Oh, and the Silverado "Hybrid" offers very little in the way of mpg improvements, and costs about $6k more. Although it does have a pretty cool feature, you can run powertools off of it.

 

I wouldn't mind having a LS600h!

 

Now there's no need to get political. John Kerry isn't driving around in a Corolla. I voted for Bush and I used to own a BIG full-size Silverado 4x4. I sold it to buy an xA and I have never regreted it. You shouldn't stereotype people like that. I would love to see us do more to lower fuel consumption across the board.

 

Repost:

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...highlight=600h

 

Stereotype? Nope, just an observation that there are a lot of those vehicles sporting those stickers. A lot differs from "all" or "most" in that it doesn't quantify or judge. In order to be a stereotype some quantity in comparison to the whole must be mentioned. Nope, no stereotype, just an unverifiable observation. Oh, and it obviously only refers to my geographical local, because I haven't been everywhere, I'm not Chuck Norris for Chuck's sake

 

Thanks for posting guys. Hey, lets not get too political here...

Matt a - I hope they use hybrid tech to build onto ALL cars. No reason why they shouldnt

scionof PC - I would 'automakers' to be all auto makers, including the big 3. Also, its hard to generalize who sports these bumper stickers. I personally notice more people who drive little lemons (or dont give a damn about the look of the car) sporting ridiculous numbers of stickers.

Brent - wow, nice hybrid. I wonder how much??? have yall seen this?

Blover - I hear you! Owning one of these would be cool.

 

Eh, don't take it so seriously, I'm just foolin around for the most part, that's what the little smiley is for ;)

Look for Toyota Synergy Drive at your nearest Nissan dealership next year. That's right, Nissan has given up, and they are just going to license Toyota's tech for the Hybrid Altima. Porsche has also looked into as well for the Cayenne.

Hybrid reaserch is very costly so the money must be spread over a very large number of cars. GM and Ford won't be able to keep up in the future because of rising health care costs. Their best hope is that all of their retirees spontaniously combust. VW, and Hyunai are going to be about the only companies that are going to have a chance to compete dollar for dollar, but they are jumping into a marathon 3 hours after the race started. Honda is about the only company that has a shot at competing in the Hybrid market, but they don't sell near the number of vehicles Toyota does, so they have to be very careful with how the spend their dough and can't really afford to take a big risk.

Buy Toyota stock. They are creating a monster here and in 10 years may very well have an effective monopoly either by selling units or licensing their technology.

I mean seriously, just look at this thing:


Toyota is playing with a stacked deck, loaded dice, and an Ace up their sleeves. It's not even close to a level playing field anymore.

 

Yea I read about this car. Toyota is being prosecuted for exploiting the hybrid technology to boost the power on their cars rather than create extremely efficient cars.

 

There are 3 variable they can adjust: emmissions, performance, and milage. Emmissions are off the table, they will be the cleanest vehicles they can produce. Right now, they are only giving the public what they want. In the future, they are toying with the idea of letting the buyers adjust the performance/milage mix with a dial on the dash. No kidding.

 

i was at lexus today ordering a car for my wife, and i was looking at the 430h.....its about time they make a hybrid that does not look like a bubble, i think as they put hybrid technology into mainstream looking cars they will sell more, Toyota is doing it right....

 

That is awesome! Go Toyota

 

With my luck, I'd buy a ton of Toyota stock banking, on their Synergy Drive to be the industry leader for years to come, then GM will release a perfected Hydrogen Fuel Cell car that will be even better. This whole hybrid thing could end up like the Beta vs. VHS thing or the DVD format battle. Someone could invest billions in one platform, only to have someone else come out with a totally different type that sells better. Right now though, Toyota is the undisputed king. And that's good because I'd rather own a Toyota over a GM anyday.

 

I've thought about that, but 2 things prevent that from happening w/in 15 years: a)Hydrogen is still produced from Natural Gas, and NG is going up in price too, just ask anyone with a gas water heater. b) There is no hydrogen distribution network, i.e., where will you fill it up at?

Three things are very important about the GS450h and upcomming LS600h. First, you can't buy anything like either one of them w/o giving Toyota your dough. Second, you can buy the GS now. Third, nobody has anything like it ready to hit market anytime w/in the next 2-3 years. By then, the GS will be on it's second generation, and the next LS will be available shortly.