Honda Civic Mileage Issue, and Class Action Settlement
There are many questions about the Honda Civic class action lawsuit, which is about mileage issues in the Civic Hybrid. This is a very interesting situation and we will be following up here as the news unfolds. There is a pending settlement in this class action but not everyone is happy about with the terms of the settlement.
Honda is a good company, and makes good cars. Will that continue to be the case?
What is interesting, from our point of view, is that the new batteries – being costly – need to have good long term reliability. This is a very important issue for both hybrids (of any kind), and EV’s (Electric Vehicles). Reliability has two aspects: both in the device itself, and in the warranty that the manufacturer gives. If the batteries have problems, how will the manufacturers respond? That is what we are interested in seeing.
So we are watching this case closely, because the batteries in a Plugin hybrid will be larger – and more costly – than in a normal hybrid. And even more so, the batteries in a pure EV will be even larger. Consumers cannot have confidence in a plugin hybrid, or an EV, if the manufacturer is not only going to have a strong warranty, but also to honor that warranty is an ethical and vigorous way.
We will post updates on the Honda Civic class action as it unfolds. For now, we remain hopeful that Honda will do the right thing for Civic owners.
After all, there is nothing more valuable, in the car industry, than a loyal and long-term customer.
Ford’s Plugin Hybrids are coming!
We are impressed with Ford. Ford is making an effort and it really shows. If you consider comfort and interior space, as well as styling, the Ford Fusion hybrid is a very nice car, easily the best choice of any hybrid. We like the Prius a lot but the Fusion is a great choice. Now Ford is about to offer Plugin hybrids. We can’t wait!
Ford’s Derrick Kuzak is the head of product development. He has been talking about the C-Max hybrid and the C-Max Energi plugin hybrid, and how they show the direction Ford is going. Both C-Max models use a liquid-cooled lithium ion battery, rathern an nickel-metal hydride batteries. This saves up to 30% of the space and are 50% lighter. Both models will have regenerative braking.
Ford C-Max Hybrid
Ford says the C-Max will have better mileage than the Fusion hybrid, so that will be impressive. The C-Max Energi should have mileage roughly comparable to the Volt Plugin hybird, and has an expected total range of at least 500 miles. It will be very interesting to compare the C-Max Energi and the Volt head to head.
Ford will be making not only a Fusion hybrid, but also a Fusion Plugin Hybrid; we cant wait to test drive that. We are a little disappointed that Ford is dropping the hybrid version of the Escape; the world needs more hybrid SUV/4wheel drive cars. Right now, Toyota’s Highlander hybridis the only mid-size SUV that offers a hybrid option.
Rumor has it that the Fusion Energi plug-in will beat the Volt in mileage. If so, then the Fusion Energi plug-in might very well be the best car in the world. Sorry Toyota.
GM is also doing very well with its Chevy Volt plugin hybrid, a car we are impressed with. But Chevy and Fords efforts are quite in contrast with Honda. The only good hybrid Honda has is the Civic, and they are having battery problems, questionable software updates, and dealing with lawsuits. The Honda Insight is a very disappointing car – a Prius clone that gets worse mileage and is not a ‘full’ hybrid. The Honda Accord Hybrid was cancelled. Overall Honda seems to be giving up on this market.
Chevy Volt: 8 year warranty on the battery
Chevy announced today an 8 year warranty on the Lithium-ion battery in the volt. It is 8 years or 100,000 miles. This is in contract to the warranty on their regular car engines, which is 5 years or 100,000 miles.
We think this is good news for Volt buyers. Toyota also gives an 8 year warranty, but in California and certain other states you get a 10 year/150,000 warranty on their batteries in the Prius. We are eager to see what they do for a warranty once they release vehicles with larger batteries in a plugin vehicle.
The Chevy Volt is expected to cost around $35,000, and possibly less with incentives.
GM expects the batteries to last longer than 8 years. It will be very interesting to see how long they last, and hopefully all such batteries will be recycled, since they are large and have toxic components.
Chevy Volt Free Charger Offer!
GM has announced that the first 4,400 buyers of the Chevy Volt will get a free home charger for the car. This is a 240V charger. GM is doing this program using some federal subsidy money.
PreOrder your Volt today!
New Prius Models?
The Prius is in its 3rd generation now, but has always had the same basic look. There are rumors that the Prius will evolve into some new models, perhaps as early as 2012.
These rumors include:
- A small minivan type of car, in a five or seven seat version
- Five Door hatchback, for the European market
- Couple version of the current Prius
There is also a better battery coming for the Prius.
We would like to see a small pickup version of the Prius, and Plugin versions in every market category. Will Toyota be the only car company to deliver these cars?
Toyota Prius Plugin Hybrid is Coming!
Toyota, which has led the automotive industry for years now with its Prius Hybrid car, will be selling a Plugin Prius in 2012. The Plugin Prius is undergoing extensive testing and will be a milestone in the history of automobiles.
A plugin hybrid can get 100 MPG or more. You just have to remember to plug it in each night before you go to bed. The cost of such a nighttime ‘fillup’ is less than $1/gallon. But a plugin car also has the amazing distinction of potentially getting CLEANER as it gets older; because, power plants will (hopefully) be getting cleaner. No other kind of car can make this claim.
If cannot plugin the car then it can run just fine on its gas motor. So its great for long trips too. And if you lose power in your house, you can use a plugin car to power your house! It can act like a generator.
Plugin Hybrids cost more up front to buy, but they cost less to operate, and they save on carbon emissions too; they are greener than almost any other car. Part of the attraction of a Plugin Hybrid is that the electricity they use for charging is 98% produced by US sources; if you drive a gas only car, most of your energy comes from foreign oil.
So if its important to you to support American, then buy a Plugin Hybrid car as soon as you can!
First Plugin Hybrid?
There are a number of plugin hybrid cars on the road now, mostly conversions of the Toyota Prius, by engineers such as those in Silicon Valley. These engineers are driving around, every day, in their plugin Prius. It seems clear that the technology works.
Toyota plans to introduce a plugin Prius soon; hopefully, this will appear by 2010. A plugin hybrid is plugged in to the AC outlet your wall, usually at night, to charge up the batteries before you drive. A lot of people are waiting, and hoping. And once this car is introduced, the hobbyist can make modifications to have larger and longer-lasting batteries, and more range.
General Motors has talked for years about the Chevy Volt. We are very interested to see one; they are not yet in the showrooms. Most likely GM will price the Volt too high, so that few people will buy it. Also, it seems likely that GM will not offer battery options. We would like to see different battery sizes, so that some consumers who have a shorter daily commute, can choose a smaller battery, and thus save money on their purchase of the car. However it does not seem like GM will be offering battery options.
Hybrid technology was invented in the US, at a college called UC Davis. But GM, Ford, and other American auto makers did not care. Only Toyota saw the real potential, and we thank Toyota for the Prius. I would love to see American car companies make more effort, but only time will tell. While there are American hybrids now, it still feels like American companies are only doing this to promote an image; it does not yet feel like there is a commitment to these new technologies across the whole corporation.
Welcome to PluginHybrids.net
Welcome to our blog, PluginHybrids.net. We will be talking about hybrids, plugin hybrids, and other kinds of electric car technologies. We believe that plugin hybrids are one of the main pieces solving the dependency our world has on oil. Plugin hybrids are the only way, right now, for an electric motor to travel significant distances.
We will be doing reviews of hybrids, plugin hybrids, and will report on new developments as well.
We are big fans of the Toyota Prius!