The G Man

Well, the Prius was design to be made fun of Only us American idiots would buy a sub compact with 130 horsepower which tops out in price at close to $40000

LexFather

So Prius owners are idiots? Brilliant.

FYI it starts at 22k and gets to about 32k loaded.

Why are you citing HP? The Prius is about fuel economy, 50 MPG. Where are your diesels that, please show me.

I wonder would you call 130hp or less diesel owners who buy $40,000 Audi, BMW, Benz, 3, A4, C class cars idiots?

FisforFast

150hp but 350 ft/lbs. of torque (I may be exaggerating).

AD_SC3

iTrader: (1)

Jumping into the line of fire, I would have to say that I agree with the Audi Prez. My only problem was the bashing part but even then he was kinda right. The Hybrid thing is really about the green badge. I can't even count the amount of time I have seen a prius speeding in the left lane. To be honest I belive that more research money should go towards fuel cell technology. A true alternative.

The G Man

Are all Prius owners idiots? No, I would not go that far, but most of them do know very little about car and most of them are pretentious.

Here is a fully loaded Prius price at $33500, thats a lot to pay for a sub compact and the image of being green.

http://www.edmunds.com/new/2010/toyo....html?action=2

You can buy a Yaris which is about the same interior size for about $14000. How much gas saving and how long does it take to recover that $20000 for the hybrid technology.

I agree with the poster above, the money spend on buying diesels and researching diesels can be better spend on a new technology that is here to stay. Hybrids are nothing more than a technology to fill the gap for now.

ChronoJ1

iTrader: (2)

I'd like to know the carbon foot print of producing + driving + charging a volt, and see if it is indeed all that eco-friendly, vs a clean-diesel car.

LexFather

The Prius is substantially bigger and better built than the Yaris with standard and optional tech teh Yaris doesn't have. It also gets 20 MPG better than the Yaris.
So there isn't a diesel here that gets 50 MPG city/Highway. So then how is it better?
People buy hybrids again MORE than just for MPG. People continue to miss the much lower emissions they produce. They are quieter as well and some people LIKE the new technology.
$65,000 335d that gets 27 MPG average. Nearly twice the price. Not a fun game is it.

http://www.bmwusa.com/standard/conte...EIyW2HhA29cts=

I like diesels, they are great and its a shame we don't get more diesels here. Prius> any diesel here in regards to MPG. Period.

The G Man

I would not consider the Prius substantially bigger than the Yaris. The Prius has 2 more inches of legroom in the front and 2 in the back. Better build? I am not sure about that as we have 2 Prius at work and they both rattle like crazy. Just about everything inside a Prius feels cheap expecially the gear shifter.

IS-SV

Good luck on getting a straight answer to that question, an answer will most likely be riddled with SWAGs, estimates, speculation and bias.

SLegacy99

The Q7 is offered in TDI form. It commands a $4,000 premium and offers fuel economy ratings of 17/25.

I disagree.

Okay, but then what is the foot print of producing, shipping, driving a clean diesel, not to mention that diesel fuel has to be tankered to the U.S. and then from a refinery to the pump. There is no free lunch.

SLegacy99

The Yaris has a cargo capacity of 9.3 cu. ft. The Prius has 21.6.

mmarshall

There's truth on both sides. Americans DO have a traditional aversion to automotive diesels, but that is because of a outdated view of the awful diesels of 30 years ago, in the 70's and 80's (yes, they WERE garbage back then, but not now). We've covered the enormous advances in both car diesels and the diesel fuel itself in other threads, and don't have to go into it again in detail here, but the point is that if Americans would educate themselves a little and go out and actually test-drive some new Bluetec/TDI/Common-Rail diesels, they would be amazed. True, most modern diesels require more expensive low-sulfur diesel fuel and periodid urea-solution refills, but, unlike pure electrics and plug-in hybrids, don't require recharging (or partial recharging).

It should also be noted that VW, Audi's parent company, sells a small car in Europe with a small 1.2L diesel called the Lupo, that, under ideal conditions, can get a Chevy Volt-like 70-80 MPG. Federalized to American safety/emission standards, it would have been an ideal commuter car for many Americans in and around large cities, but VW, for whatever reason, has yet to bring it over here.

Well, there's no such thing as a free lunch (yet), no matter what energy source you use. Even solar-powered battery cars have two big problems......night and clouds. It is true that diesel fuel comes from petroleum and crude oil, but its good mileage in auto engines will help stretch the remaining world supplty of crude. And the electricity that is needed for plug-in recharging of electrics and plug-in hybrids is not free, or without environmental peoblems. Much of American electricity is still produced by burning coal, a fossil-fuel whose burning fouls the air, or by nuclear plants, which are super-efficient but have the nuclear-waste problem, and are potentially dangerous (like Three-Mile Island or Chernoybl) if not run correctly. Ethanol, of course, has impacted the supply of corn (though it can be made, more expensively, from other sources as well).

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

interesting thanks, i didn't know the gas tank was that big. if that's the case, then basically this is a car with the first 40 miles 'free' then it's a regular gas car with the difference that instead of the gas driving the wheels the gas drives the electric motor.

if that's right then it's like saying this is a car that with a full tank the first gallon's 'free'. (excluding charging cost and time)

i wonder what the fuel economy is when the batteries are flat (after, at most, 40 miles) and it's using the gas engine. ?

The G Man

The Audi CEO need to back up what he said and he did with the new A3 TDI coming to the US.

For around the same price as the Prius, I would much rather buy a A3 TDI which is consider a luxury car and heck of a lot more fun to drive.

http://www.audiworld.com/news/09/2010-a3-tdi-pricing/

Och

iTrader: (3)

The guy does bring up a lot of good points but his arrogance and insults make me want to return the favor and say that there arent enough idiots to buy his diesels, hence they arent selling.

Seems like hes insecure and frustrated that noone in USA wants his diesels so his taking his frustration out on the volt.