STIG

They should all be driving Toyota Echo, in that case .

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yeah neo is right, in LA all carpools are dedicate lanes, it's enforced 24 hours, and even worse, you can only get in and out at certain places. some freeway they enforce 3 people carpool during the week and 2 people carpool during off peak hours and weekends. amazing huh

RMMGS4

iTrader: (5)

Well just to let everyone know that this thread started me and the wifey on the hybrid idea. Just over two months ago this was just an idea. After looking at the Loooooog waiting list for the Prius, we decided to go for the new 06 Honda Civic.

We were "first" on the deposit list and last Thursday we recieved the first 06 Civic Hybrid w/Nav in our area. The dealer said the deposit list was now at 50 people and they would not accept any more for the forseeable future.

INDGOGRL loves the car and it was quite a surprise to see voice activated technology not only for the nav, but for the radio and temperature controls.

As much as this car has many technological advances, there is still that luxury trade off such as non-lighted visor mirrors, non-fully adjustable seats were the wifey's first comments. For me it was the plastic like interior, rubbery feeling steering wheel and no key ring light

Another twist of fate is that she has an all blue dash cluster from the factory, unlike the 40+ hour job I spent perfecting the blue conversion on her IS. How Ironic.

One apprehension she had from the beginning was concern over how fast will it be (or how slow depending how you look at it). I told her during the time period when you're stuck in the non-car pool lane with the IS, then the Civic would have been faster.

The wheather up in Norcal is still quite good, so she plans on cruising the IS on good mood days or when she doesn't have to travel during the rush hour crunch.

Visually the 06 Civic is probably Hondas best job of styling for the Civic ever. The front end looks like an overly swoopy Acura and the rear looks like what should of been the next gen BMW 3 series. I commented to my boss the other day that his new 330 was looking more Japanese and my Civic was looking more German. I told him I'd park next to him next chance I got to show what I meant.

Down side? Well the biggest downer is discovering that I can't apply for the Car Pool sticker until we get a fastrak pass. Next we find out we can't get a fastrak pass without having the liscence plate # and registration copy with home address linked to the hybrid ID.

Put these two requirements together and I will be happy if we can use the car pool lane within another two months. Government bureacracy at it's finest.

Lastly INDGOGRL is looking at some mods for the car in the mean time, but I guess that's another "STORY".

rominl

iTrader: (4)

it's ok glen, out of the 75000 stickers, only around 27000 are issued. so you are in the game. with that many stickers left, maybe i should just wait till 06 and get that 3k tax credit as well

Pagong

I like the new civic's too...

as for mods, cant go wrong with going with lighter wheels!

any pics?

Milla...

I too like the civics in fact I like their looks way better than the Prius, Hows the mileage in comparison to the Prius? This thread also has me thinking more and more and more particularly when I see these guys fly pass me in the carpool lane on the 405 and 110 and I'm just sitting there. I'm about ready to give up one of my hoags (GS).

mmarshall

The tax advantages are all well and good....but keep in mind that this is balanced out by the fact that these are not cheap cars to start with, and that even without the dealer markups from high demand and short supply they are several thousand dollars more than conventional Toyota compacts at best. I have heard of new, loaded Priuses, with dealer markups, going for as high as $28,000-$29,000.
Same with the Honda Civic Hybrids....but they do not sell for quite as high a price tag as a lot of Pruises do because of lower demand.

mmarshall

Never mind a Prius....you could ride a moped through the Berkeley campus and STILL get dirty looks from some of those fruitcakes.

XeroK00L

LOL totally!! The entire culture over there at Berkeley is to do everything politically correct, and hence a Prius on every other block wherever you go.

Tramix

I am from DCH Freehold Toyota in NJ. Currently the Prius has a crazy wait from anywhere between 6-12months here in NJ/NY area. The 2006 model is coming with a lot of advanced with a very little price increase.

Updated front headlamps and rear taillamps, and new front spoiler. A Chrome finish applied to the front grille's center bar and freshened rear combination lamp is added to enhance appearance

New Colors:

Classic Silver Metallic
Barcelona Red Metallic
Silver Pine Mica
Magnetic Gray

Interior upgrades of optional Leather-trimmed seats and steering wheel. Rear Backup Camera standard on all Prius. Standard Audio is AM/FM CD with 6 speakers. Optional upgrade to MP3/WMA playback and an auxilliary audio input miniplug.

In addition to ABE with EBD, Brake assist, and Traction control are now standard equipment.

2006 Prius Base MSRP is $21,725 a $450 increase which is very little for getting a lot more standard.

My auto group has sister stores in California. Toyota of Oxnard and we have a Lexus of Oxnard which is right next door.

As for the government incentives, please visit www.hybridcars.com for more information.

Hope this helps everyone out.

Milla...

Yeah your paying for the technology which theres a lot of in these true econo boxes and for some/ many the tech is worth it and can't be compared to their conventional brothers, i.e. less trips to the pump / tax advantages / carpool privileges / clean emisions etc. Yeah thats enough for me to look pass the Corolla or non hybrid civics that cost less money. Me I think its not worth the dealer markups but surely the premium because of what I'm getting. People spend thousands more for an M3 when they can simply get a lesser 3 series same with M5 and the AMG in the Benz family, why its because its what they're getting and so you pay more.

toy4two

The RX400h, Highlander, and maybe even the Accord Hybrid are not allowed in the Car Pool Lanes because "they don't represent a high enough gas savings" according to CA law.

Get the Prius.

Milla...

Agreed, if your going to pay the premium get one that offers the most benefits.

SBMGS4

Had one as a loaner for almost a month...I was very impressed with the car. Blew away all my pre-conceived notions of what a hybrid would be like. Roomy inside and cool to drive around.
Especially loved the gas mileage....around 46-47 mpg. Just wished the looks were a bit better, but got to love those savings on the gas!! Cut my gas bill in half for that time.

Car pool lane exemption is icing on the cake.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

the gas mileage of the civic is quite a bit lower than the prius, real testing shows it's about 36mpg vs 44 to 45mpg on the prius. imho that's enough for me to NOT choose civic. a corolla can get close to those gas mileage already.

the civic is selling so hot now (at least here in norcal) it's not even funny. seriously, i don't really like the idea of markup