Bad Hybrids

I looked through the hybrid automobiles out. The good news is that there is more than one. The bad news is that most companies are using it as a marketing tool without there being significant advantages.

The Toyota Prius is the best, mostly from being the oldest and having time-tested benefits. It has good interior and luggage room but is standardly lacking a couple selling points such as mp3 playback, but with an estimated 48 mpg local and 45 mpg highway, it's a good buy.

The only other competitor is the Honda Civic hybrid, I expect them to be fully competive with Toyota soon. Slightly less interior and luggage room than the prius, it does come with a built in mp3 playback system. With an estimated 40 mog locally and 45 mpg on the highway, it is only slightly behind the prius.

Both of these cars employ CVTs, and I wonder how they will fare in the area of repair. The original CVTs in autos were replace only rather than repair. I'll have to inquire with these companies at some point.

I expected something at the more expensive levels, and you would think that Toyota would have at least optioned the prius system in a luxury body. Nope, not that bright. I guess they figure that the rich won't balk at making money for the oil companies and ruining the environment.