Tag: lexus

Interview: Swapping an Suv for a Prius

  • Micky Maynard in her Prius (Photo courtesy of Micky Maynard)

Micky Maynard is a reporter
for the New York Times. She’s been keeping a
diary of giving up her Lexus SUV for a hybrid
gas-electric car. She’s taken her readers on
a ride through her reasoning for switching
and her on-road experiences. The Environment
Report’s Lester Graham took a ride with Maynard
in her Barcelona Red Toyota Prius:

Transcript

Micky Maynard is a reporter
for the New York Times. She’s been keeping a
diary of giving up her Lexus SUV for a hybrid
gas-electric car. She’s taken her readers on
a ride through her reasoning for switching
and her on-road experiences. The Environment
Report’s Lester Graham took a ride with Maynard
in her Barcelona Red Toyota Prius:

Micky Maynard: “Okay, so, to start it, you push this button. You see
the little ‘ready’ button, and you hear a little sound, and that’s
essentially the battery starting the car. And, off you go.”

Lester Graham: “I recall, when I was younger, I went from a pretty
powerful car to a little car, and the one thing I really noticed was
that it felt like I was driving a toy. What’s the difference between
driving the Lexus and driving this one?”

Maynard: “A difference is that in the Lexus, or in a SUV, you’re sitting
up above the ground. This car, you’re right back down on the road.
And it took a lot of adjusting. I was driving from Detroit to Chicago,
and I heard this ‘thump, thump, thump,’ and I thought I had a flat
tire, but it was just the road surface. Because I was used to sitting
up high, I never would have noticed the road bed before.”

Graham: “I know that some newby Prius drivers that when they
come to a stop, like we are now, there’s almost no sound
sometimes.”

Maynard: (laughs) “That’s right. In fact, my postman was telling me
hybrid cars will come up behind him, and he says, ‘they’re sneaky
little cars.’ He said, ‘you can’t hear them.’ (laughs)

Graham: “What’s it like going on to the on-ramp on the interstate?”

Maynard: “I haven’t had any trouble yet, because I generally try to
give myself enough space between myself and the person behind
me. You know, when you’re in a luxury car, a Lexus, you hit the
pedal and you get all this acceleration. This car’s quite peppy, but it
doesn’t have that rrrrrrrrrrrr that you get in a V8 or a V6. And that is
something to get used to.”

Graham: “I keep hearing from Prius owners that the consumption
meter really changes how they drive. How has the feedback from
the car affected how you drive?”

Maynard: “It affects how I drive tremendously. There’s a
consumption screen in the car, and it will show you exactly the kind
of miles-per-gallon you’re getting. So, if you don’t floor it, you can
get 100 miles-a-gallon – at least that’s what the car’s telling you. And
you have another meter that shows you what you’re averaging over
your trip. My pride and joy was driving a long trip and getting over
50 miles-a-gallon. And you kind of feel this little shot of pride when
you see the 50 or the 47.”

Graham: “So, you’re encouraged to take it easy just so you can be
rewarded with the feedback?”

Maynard: “And I don’t want people to think that Prius owners are all
out there going 17 miles-per-hour. We’re not. What’s going on is
we’re trying to drive smoothly, we’re trying to drive in a steady
fashion. Although they tell you that you get better gas mileage in
town, driving around city streets, I’ve actually gotten fantastic gas
mileage just driving steadily on the highway. You do keep the
consumption meter up on the screen, and you do watch it. Now, I
did have one reader write in and say, ‘stop watching the screen and
watch the road,’ and I assured her that I absolutely do watch the
road. But you do sort of glance over and kind of check how you’re
doing.”

Related Links

Faster Payback on Hybrids

  • High gas prices cause some hybrid vehicles to recoup prices faster (Photo by Ben VanWagoner)

Hybrid cars are generally more expensive than their gasoline counterparts. But as Lisa Ann Pinkerton reports, high gas prices mean several hybrid models are recouping their costs faster:

Transcript

Hybrid cars are generally more expensive than their gasoline counterparts. But as Lisa Ann Pinkerton reports, high gas prices mean several hybrid models are recouping their costs faster:

Hybrid cars like the Nissan Altima and Toyota Prius take around 4 years to pay back their premium. That’s according to the automobile research firm Edmonds.com. The GMC Yukon hybrid has the shortest payback period of the SUVs – almost five years. The hybrid that comes in dead last is the Lexus 600H.

John O’Dell at Edmunds.com says the Lexus could take over 80 years to recoup its premium.

“In that case you have a v8 engine that’s hybridized you’re really using the hybrid for some additional power and performance. You’re not using it – well you are using it for a little bit of gas savings – but we compute those saving to be a mere $192 dollars a year.”

That’s compared to more than a thousand dollars a year in gas savings for the Yukon and the Prius.

For The Environment Report, I’m Lisa Ann Pinkerton

Related Links

Cutting the Hybrid Tax Credit

When you buy a hybrid car or truck you’re eligible for a credit on your taxes, but starting in October, the tax credit for all vehicles made by Toyota and Lexus will be phased out. The GLRC’s
Dustin Dwyer explains:

Transcript

When you buy a hybrid car or truck you’re eligible for a credit on your taxes, but starting
in October, the tax credit for all vehicles made by Toyota and Lexus will be phased out.
The GLRC’s Dustin Dwyer explains:


If you buy a Toyota Prius in the next two months, you can get the highest hybrid tax
credit on the market, but if you buy after October 1st, you’ll only get half the current
credit, and the credit for all hybrids made by Toyota and Lexus will be phased out
completely within a year.


That’s because Toyota reached a total hybrid sales mark of 60 thousand vehicles in June,
and, according to rules that took effect in January, carmakers that have sold more than 60
thousand hybrids can no longer offer tax credits to their customers.


Bradley Berman is editor of hybridcars.com:


“This cap creates confusion in the marketplace. And that undermines the intent to send a
clear message that consumers should try out hybrids.”


Berman says Detroit carmakers pushed for the cap in an effort to catch up with Japanese
carmakers on hybrid sales.


For the GLRC, I’m Dustin Dwyer.

Related Links

Rolling Out Mainstream Hybrids

  • Like this Honda Insight, the new hybrid Accord will have electricity and gas working in harmony. What's different is that it will have a V6 engine. (photo by Paige Foster)

As gas prices hover around two dollars a gallon, auto manufacturers are starting to roll out more environmentally friendly hybrids that appeal to mainstream buyers. Hybrids conserve fuel by using both electricity and gasoline to power the car. The latest offering comes from Honda. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Julie Halpert filed this report:

Transcript

As gas prices hover around two dollars a gallon, auto manufacturers are starting to roll out
more environmentally friendly hybrids that appeal to mainstream buyers. Hybrids conserve fuel
by using both electricity and gasoline to power the car. The latest offering comes from
Honda. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Julie Halpert filed this report:


Honda is bringing a hybrid engine to its best-selling car, the Accord. Unlike other
hybrids on the market, like Toyota’s Prius, this one will be roomier and higher performing.
Anthony Pratt, with J.D. Power & Associates, says those features may woo buyers who typically
have nixed the tiny hybrids currently on the market.


“What they’re trying to do is break the conception that if you’re going to drive a hybrid,
you have to sacrifice performance. in this case, you don’t. They use a three liter, V6 that
has 240 horsepower, so it’s just as powerful as the non-hybrid V6 and you get the fuel efficiency
of a Civic.”


The hybrid Accord hits dealer showrooms in December and will cost $30,000. It will join the
ranks of another hybrid adopted in a popular model, the Ford Escape. And next year,
Toyota’s Highlander and the Lexus RX400H.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Julie Halpert.

Related Links

Enviros List Greenest and Meanest Cars

A Canadian environmental group has released a list of the greenest and meanest vehicles on the road. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:

Transcript

A Canadian environmental group has released a list of the greenest and meanest vehicles on the
road. The Great lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:


It’s no surprise that hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius, the Honda Insight and the Honda
Civic hybrid topped the list of environmentally-friendly cars.


As for gas guzzlers, Environmental Defence Canada rated the Volkswagen Touareg, the
LandRover Range Rover and the Lexus LX 470 as the worst.


Jennifer Foulds is with Environmental Defence Canada.


She says traditionally, the green list has been dominated by Japanese automakers.


“The big three hasn’t really cracked the green list yet. They tend to have vehicles that aren’t quite
as fuel efficient, don’t have the same level of tailpipe emissions as some of the foreign made
vehicles.”


This year, the Ford Focus did qualify for the green list.


Foulds says it may soon be joined by other American cars as Ford, GM, and Daimler Chrysler
prepare to release their own hybrid vehicles.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.

Related Links

Hybrid Suvs Roll Into Showroom

For the past few years, people who have wanted to buy a more energy-efficient car have had to think small. That’s about to change. The floor of this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit offered a look at several new energy-efficient models due out later this year or within the next few years. The auto industry hasn’t sold very many of the cars carrying one type of new technology so far, but officials hope more choices will boost sales. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Michael Leland has more:

Transcript

For the past few years, people who have wanted to buy a more energy-efficient car have had to
think small. That’s about to change. The floor of this year’s North American International Auto
Show in Detroit offered a look at several new energy-efficient models due out later this year or
within the next few years. The auto industry hasn’t sold very many of the cars carrying one type
of new technology so far, but officials hope more choices will boost sales. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Michael Leland has more:


At the Toyota display at this year’s auto show, a small crowd formed around the newest version
of the gasoline-electric Prius. Toyota’s sold the car since 1997, and has made it bigger for this
year. What makes this car different is it’s powered by a gasoline-electric hybrid engine. A few
months ago, Denny Jones of Toledo, Ohio ordered a new Prius. He’s still waiting for delivery, so
he drove to Detroit to sit in one at the auto show.


“First of all, I’ve had other Toyotas, so I like the quality. They’ve made improvements on this
one. There’s hatchback. On the first style you couldn’t have a hatchback. They get better
mileage than the first one. And, overall it is a larger car.”


Gasoline-electric hybrid engines have lower emissions and get better mileage than cars with
standard gasoline engines. Toyota says the Prius gets about 50-miles per gallon. But the only
hybrids on the market so far have been small cars like the Prius and the Honda Civic.


Later this year and next, larger hybrids will roll into showrooms. Honda will offer a hybrid
Accord. And Ford will sell a hybrid version of its Escape SUV. Jerry Bissi braved an afternoon
snowstorm to come to the auto show, and was checking one out.


“I prefer to have an SUV-type vehicle for driving back and forth, all-wheel drive, the weather
conditions we have today outside. So I prefer something like that rather than the car.”


There will be several hybrid SUV’s available by next year. Toyota will sell a hybrid Highlander,
and its luxury division Lexus will offer its own model.


“Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce the world’s first luxury hybrid vehicle, the
Lexus RX-400-H.”


Denny Clements is a vice-president at Lexus. He says there seems to be a pent-up demand for
larger hybrids.


“Our dealers have taken a huge amount of orders just off word of mouth about Prius, I think. I
think what we have when you talk to our customers is there is a lot of very affluent people who
would like to make a statement about Middle East oil, would like to make a statement about who
they are, but they don’t want to make the sacrifices in terms of luxury amenities.”


Toyota says Americans bought about 21-thousand hybrid Priuses last year. But that’s a drop in
the bucket compared to the almost 16-million vehicles sold in the U.S. last year.


“If you added up all the hybrids that have ever been made since the beginning of time, they don’t
equal the production of one high-volume auto plant in one year.”


That’s David Cole. He heads the Center for Automotive Research. He says some people have
shied away from hybrids because they’ve only been available as small cars, and others have been
wary of the new technology. But mostly, Cole says a lot of people aren’t willing to pay more for
a hybrid.


“Where it is going to be in the future is dependant on one thing in my judgment and that is
economics. Can it be done at a cost that consumers will pay for?”


So far, Toyota, Lexus and Ford aren’t saying what their new hybrids will cost. Right now a new
hybrid Honda Civic costs about two-thousand dollars more than the most expensive gasoline
model. The federal government offers a tax deduction to hybrid-buyers to help close that gap, but
it is being phased out during the next few years. Some automakers and environmental groups say
it’s not enough anyway. They want Congress to pass a federal tax credit for people who buy
hybrids.


David Friedman is with the Union of Concerned Scientists. He says the automakers’ decision to
offer hybrid engines in more models is an opportunity for the country to become less dependant
on imported oil – if enough people can be persuaded to buy the vehicles.


“If automakers put some of their 10-to-15 billion dollars of advertising muscle behind this, and if
the government is willing to get these tax credits out there, I think we can see hybrids grow into a
significant portion of the market.”


Back at the auto show, Jerry Bissi says he’d consider buying a hybrid SUV. He says he thinks
others will too, if the price is right and they prove to be reliable.


“I think there are a lot of people sitting on the fence. They’re going to watch the first one, see
how it does. If it does prove to be good, they’ll jump on the bandwagon and be late joiners.”


Buyers might need some convincing, though. On this afternoon at the auto show, Ford’s hybrid
version of the Escape SUV drew only a few visitors compared to the crowds surrounding the
standard gasoline-engine Escape and the company’s larger Explorer SUV.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Michael Leland.

Related Links