'They stretch "as far as the eye can see," Jackson remarked at The Wall Street?s Journal ECO: nomics conference. He estimated he had some 600,000 hybrid cars "that no one wants."'
tinyurl.com/c73vdw
Interestingly, I was reading last week that you pay a premium on insurance in the States for driving a small car as they are considered unsafe.
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That's amazing.
If he's got 300 franchises he's averaging 2000 hybrids per site. Are these all new? Why would anyone be mad enough to carry that much stock?
And hybrids are a bit special and so only of interest in the more chic parts of the US, as I understand it.
There's no way a good ol' boy from Texas is gonna be fastenin' his gun rack on a faggy Toyota Prius.
I just don't understand.
Edited by Optimist on 07/03/2009 at 19:02
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I did a google a few months back and found loads of posts online from US Prius owners complaining about the lack of height inside the car, not enough room under steering wheel, bad backs from the seats, etc. With so many Americans being very tall and very, um, large in the weight dept I wonder how on earth many US people can fit in them - no wonder they go for their huge trucks and mini-vans!?
I wonder if the reality is that all those Hollywood stars who have bought them are in fact a lot shorter in real-life than their Publicists claim?
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>>I wonder if the reality is that all those Hollywood stars who have bought them . . . .
Thay may buy them, but I doubt whether they drive them.
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I did a google a few months back and found loads of posts online from US Prius owners complaining about the lack of height inside the car not enough room under steering wheel bad backs from the seats etc.
You can say that about most american cars, especially the bad backs, LOL.
Seriously, speaking from experience, with a Toyota Prius you can transport 4 people plus luggage in comfort. You can't do that in a Jeep Grand Cherokee or Chevrolet Trailblazer. Well at least not if the passengers in the back seat have legs as the cabins are very cramped. I sometimes wonder how much of this rubbishing of smaller and more innovative cars in the US is down to publicity from the (previously) big 3 who still labour under the illusion that they can push their underengineered junk onto the american public by rubbishing the competition.
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What a surprise?
These over-priced cars are not selling.
They cannot get anywhere near a good Diesel for overall fuel efficiency.
They are frighteningly complex.
Those batteries take up internal space.
They are almost worthless as used cars due to complexity, price to replace batteries, etc.
Hybrid cars, a dead end in the evolution of motoring.
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What a surprise? These over-priced cars are not selling......
SQ
and you also forgot to mention that no manufacturer has even brought out a hybrid that actually looks half descent
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 08/03/2009 at 03:47
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I'd have thought the Lexus hybrid looks great if you can afford £35k or so!
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Honda IMA and the current model look pretty good - particularly when their aesthetics are tested against more conventional fodder.
EDIT
And the Lexus is totally conventional looking if you happen to like that sort of thing in the first place.
Edited by Pugugly on 08/03/2009 at 13:56
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