Gas Octane

[Surfah]

Originally Posted by TripletDaddy

I am confused by your link. It speaks to volume, not profit.

Maybe Toyota can release its 10K and focus solely on how many cars they sold in the US, but make no mention of cogs.

Yeah that article is misleading. My understanding is that the only car makers out there to show a significant increase over last month's May was Mazda and BMW from other sources I have read.

At the same time I think people are really overreacting to the gas crunch right now. People want hybrids and cng vehicles. But as soon as CNG becomes more popular the price will rise just as it did with diesel a few years ago. Hybrids make little economic sense. The Prius which is the gold standard for hybrids no longer has its tax credit because Toyota has sold more than 60,000 units. For what you pay for a Hybrid Prius over a gas Prius you have to drive your hybrid for almost 7 years to break even on what you'd save in gas. Not to mention that the batteries in those hybrids have an estimated life of 8-10 years but seem to fail much sooner than that. And that's $4-5k repair job. And if you think that the hybrid is safer on the environment, those batteries are killers.

[FMCoug]

I'm no expert, but isn't there an altitude issue with this too? I know I am getting better gas mileage in Utah than I was in Texas. This is in my Camry Hybrid which I always put the lowest Octane in. Noticed that Utah has 85 instead of 87 as lowest.

[hyrum]

Originally Posted by FMCoug

I'm no expert, but isn't there an altitude issue with this too? I know I am getting better gas mileage in Utah than I was in Texas. This is in my Camry Hybrid which I always put the lowest Octane in. Noticed that Utah has 85 instead of 87 as lowest.

At higher speeds (over 35 mph?) the biggest resistance to motion is air resistance. The air resistance is proportional to the speed squared and the air density. The air is less dense in Utah than Texas, by about 15%.

I read somewhere that a (regular) Camry can get 45-50 mpg at 50-55 mph (lowest speed in top gear).

[Spaz]

Originally Posted by surfah33

Yeah that article is misleading. My understanding is that the only car makers out there to show a significant increase over last month's May was Mazda and BMW from other sources I have read.

At the same time I think people are really overreacting to the gas crunch right now. People want hybrids and cng vehicles. But as soon as CNG becomes more popular the price will rise just as it did with diesel a few years ago. Hybrids make little economic sense. The Prius which is the gold standard for hybrids no longer has its tax credit because Toyota has sold more than 60,000 units. For what you pay for a Hybrid Prius over a gas Prius you have to drive your hybrid for almost 7 years to break even on what you'd save in gas. Not to mention that the batteries in those hybrids have an estimated life of 8-10 years but seem to fail much sooner than that. And that's $4-5k repair job. And if you think that the hybrid is safer on the environment, those batteries are killers.

You have to take into account maintenance as well, which was (last time I checked) more expensive for hybrids than not.

[FMCoug]

Originally Posted by Spaz

You have to take into account maintenance as well, which was (last time I checked) more expensive for hybrids than not.

There is no extra maintenance to be done on my Camry Hybrid. And in both horsepower and price, it was right in between the 4 banger and the V6 camry. It was a no brainer as I couldn't deal with the gutless 4-banger.

I'd be interested in a link to the battery failures referenced above. Searched high and low on this before I bought and all I could find was anecdotal stuff like this from anti-hybrid types.

Plus the batteries are under warranty for 100K miles anyway.

[Black Diamond Bay]

Are there any predictions out there as to how high gas prices will go before they stop climbing? I heard $12/gallon the other day, but that seems kind of extreme.

[TripletDaddy]

Originally Posted by Black Diamond Bay

Are there any predictions out there as to how high gas prices will go before they stop climbing? I heard $12/gallon the other day, but that seems kind of extreme.

It is about $4.45 in Irvine now. Which pisses me off.

Thank goodness we are in the Middle East, though.

[Spaz]

Originally Posted by FMCoug

There is no extra maintenance to be done on my Camry Hybrid. And in both horsepower and price, it was right in between the 4 banger and the V6 camry. It was a no brainer as I couldn't deal with the gutless 4-banger.

I'd be interested in a link to the battery failures referenced above. Searched high and low on this before I bought and all I could find was anecdotal stuff like this from anti-hybrid types.

Plus the batteries are under warranty for 100K miles anyway.

My reference originated in a magazine at a car shop I read while my oil was being changed, and quoted maintenance costs for Hybrids as being significantly higher than their non-hybrid counterparts. Granted, this was several years ago, but I'm pretty sure it was from a Consumer Reports article.

[Flystripper]

Originally Posted by Black Diamond Bay

Are there any predictions out there as to how high gas prices will go before they stop climbing? I heard $12/gallon the other day, but that seems kind of extreme.

12 bucks is not that extreme. It is not that far from what most of Europe is paying right now.

[Black Diamond Bay]

Originally Posted by TripletDaddy

It is about $4.45 in Irvine now. Which pisses me off.

Thank goodness we are in the Middle East, though.

I have to burn premium, so I paid $4.61 this morning, it cost me $70 to fill it up. Everything in Orange County from Irvine South is always more expensive.