Overview of Hybrid Cars
This is NOT a promotion for any particular car, BUT it is a blatantly, shamelessly vociferous endorsement of one particular car: the PRIUS. Toyota's goofy-looking little bug thing that can be seen scooting around the myriad highways and byways of the American landscape is a modern-day marvel. It really is.
The PRIUS is "where it's at" these days in terms of automobile excellence. It is not just "on the cutting edge" - it is the cutting edge. As an entrepreneur in the automobile business for a long time now, I am coming at you with a vast background of having looked at, scrutinized, bought and sold, and yes - DRIVEN - thousands of cars. I have seen them come and go (no pun intended!) in all their various forms and iterations over an adult lifetime. I could write a book on it. Maybe I will. In the meantime, suffice it to say, the PRIUS is the automobile's version of a good receptionist: IT ANSWERS THE CALL.
So, what is the call? Gas. Not the kind that we get from eating too much chili, but the kind that your car uses. What else? Ecology. Not to be confused with ecoli, the bad bacteria that comes from bad meat and makes you sick - but the science of the environment. More: Your wallet! True, resale on these things, hybrids, particularly Priuses, gets a little nuts, and you have to pay premium prices for them on the used car market, but they are worth it. You get back the high price you pay up front, new or used, when you go to resell it. It's sort of an investment. Not many things are in investment when their primary function is usefulness. Investments are investments. Useful things are useful things. Use comes at the expense of value; or the other way around. No matter, Priuses hold their value.
These are all good things, but, have you heard they're ugly? Ugly, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Priuses are different-looking, goofy-looking, and perhaps ugly. Perhaps not. Perhaps the correct word should be: unique. They look like a duck-billed platypus driving down the road. The reason for the odd configuration is functionality. The Prius looks that way because it was designed to have a minimal resistance to the increased air flow effect of driving. The car has what is called a low 'drag coefficient.' What that means is that the air flow into the front of, and against, the car is minimized as an obstruction, and is maximized in having the effect of rolling across the top of the car and then dropping off the back sharply. That keeps the car from being sucked down into the road, thereby slowing it down and consuming more gas. It has the lowest drag coefficient of any non-race car in production except for the the Honda Insight, which is only a hair better.
Quickly now, what other accolades can be heaped on this little beauty of design engineering and construction? How about the patented Toyota Synergy electric/gas engine(s) system? This one is the best. They are so good, other car companies are paying license fees to Toyota just to use it in their vehicles. Honda has a good version also, but Toyota's is the best. The battery is warranted by Toyota for 100,000 miles, except in Colorado and California, where it is upped to 150,000. Toyota engineers say the battery should not need replacement until at least 8-10 years. Most other cars don't even last that long.
Finally, how about convenience and practicality? The car has more interior room than most other mid-size cars, and as much as the Toyota Camry. Head room is surprisingly vast, and the inside feels, overall, spacious. Driving is typically Toyota-effortless. Correct power delivery is strong and more than ample, and the transmission is smo-o-o-oth. There is no shifting between gears as in a typical "automatic" because the Prius has what is called CVT, "constant variable transmission." The car knows what to do and when to do it. Ditto for the transfer of power from the gas engine to the electric motor, or the sharing of the two as needed. Marvelous! as Fernando, late of the old Saturday Night Live show would say.
Here's another little tidbit of likableness in the Prius that hasn't been mentioned in reviews or even by the Toyota people themselves: with the gas engine being used only sparingly, in favor of the shared use of the electric motor, the wear-and-tear on the engine and other related mechanical components is greatly, greatly reduced. This means lower maintenance across the board, and a longer life for the car overall. In other words, back to "investment". You get more for your money up front with the Prius, regardless of what you pay, and you get a lot more at the back end when you eventually sell or trade it.
They say "Prius" is from a Latin derivative, meaning something in the neighborhood of: "before", or "comes first." What is really means is original, unique, practical, and superb. Maybe that's why Priuses accounts for 78% of the the current hybrids on the highway. Whether you do it to 'go green,' or not, go buy yourself one of these things. The green you pay will make others green with envy.
