Hubby's new car

<font color="#003333">I wanted the magnetic blue color. It was a dark grayish-blue. I wanted that color because the interior would've been navy blue leather/pale gray. That color interior is awesome. The wait would've been longer for the blue one. A silver one had actually arrived 2 weeks earlier and I rejected it despite the fact that the interior was also blue. Anyway, I haven't seen too many Civics in black. I'm not thrilled with the tan interior but the bottom line, hubby is the one that will drive it and he's very happy with the interior and the exterior colors. Today he was home by 4 pm. The HOV lane does make a big difference.<br><br>I will say that I am very, very impressed with the accessories that the car comes with and the fit and finish and the ride. Detroit has a lot of work too do to catch up to Honda and deliver similar product at a similar price.. The Mercury Milan and Ford Fusion hybrids don't compare to this Civic Hybrid. I had actually seen a Mercury Milan hybrid and with a few added options, the dealer wanted nearly $35,000 for it plus delivery plus tax. That is freakin' crazy to pay that kind of money. I left that Mercury dealership in a hurry and went straight to Honda.<br><br><br>maribell</font>

Sounds like an good buy for your needs. I'm not knocking them by noting this but it seems to me that we should be able to do better than 45 out of a Hybrid. I had a 84 VW that got 40-42 mpg on the road. After nearly 20 years we should have improved more than .5%. <br> <br> <img src="http://www.cardcow.com/images/set199/thumbs/card00384_fr.jpg" alt="image">

<p>"40-42 mpg on the <u>road</u>"</p>
<p>Big difference.... the Honda will get 45 <u>combined</u>. That's like Chevy's ridiculous ads with ol' Howie claiming that the Chevy (whatever) gets better <em>highway </em>mileage than a comparable Honda. So what? Give ANY car a high enough final-drive gear ratio, and of course it'll get great highway gas mileage - that's no challenge. It's the real-world, tank-o-gas to tank-o-gas, stop-n-go mileage that matters.<br><br>Great buy, Maribell - I've had 3 Honda's in a row, and exactly ZERO problems in 20 years.</p>

<font color="#0033ff">Today, hubby averaged about 44 mpg today. That's excellent considering about the first 10-15 miles of the commute was in NYC traffic. The car is loaded. If I recall correctly, the curb weight is still close to 3,000 lbs. Factor in leather seats w/ heat, and all of the other accessories in the car, then 45 mpg is great. Keep in mind that it's an old design too. There should be a new one coming out in the next year or two. I'm sure that the mileage will be closer to the new Prius.<br><br>I know that some of the older small American cars did great with mileage but I bet most of those didn't have anywhere near the amount of stuff in today's cars (A/c, power windows, automatic transmission, power steering, etc etc. PLus all of those safety features (airbags, etc) All of those things add weight to a car. My first car was a 1970 NOVA and there was nothing inside that car except an AM radio and the seatbelts. No rug. Nothing in the trunk. No power windows. No power brakes. I didn't know back then how to calculate the mpg. But gas was 75 cents a gallon and dad paid for it so I didn't care about mpg back then.<br><br>I'm happy. This is the 3rd Honda in the family. Hey, if I had another kid and was into those weird names, I would name the kid Honda. My son inherited the 2004 Honda Accord with nearly 147,000 miles. The only problem had been 1 ABS sensor. I drive a leased CR-V. <br><br><br>Maribell</font>

<blockquote><strong class="quote-title">groggerbug wrote:</strong>
<hr><p>"40-42 mpg on the <u>road</u>"</p>
<p>Big difference.... the Honda will get 45 <u>combined</u>. That's like Chevy's ridiculous ads with ol' Howie claiming that the Chevy (whatever) gets better <em>highway </em>mileage than a comparable Honda. So what? Give ANY car a high enough final-drive gear ratio, and of course it'll get great highway gas mileage - that's no challenge. It's the real-world, tank-o-gas to tank-o-gas, stop-n-go mileage that matters.<br><br>Great buy, Maribell - I've had 3 Honda's in a row, and exactly ZERO problems in 20 years.</p></blockquote><br> We still should have made larger strides in over 25 years. That's not knocking the car. I'm just sayng that we should be further along. I'd get 50+ in the old diesel VW's. <br>

Perry,The operative word there is diesel. THAT my friends,is the way to go,and the direction North American cars should be going..not hybrids.<br>
You want mileage,you want long term useability..DIESEL engines are the way to go.

<em>Turbo</em>diesel, and I'll agree with you, Frank! That little compressor is what really makes 'em worthwhile.<br>

Hybrids shine in city driving much more so than out on the open road. On the road, they're just another gasoline-powered car, carrying the extra weight of the unneeded electrical components. I drive a slightly larger Toyota Matrix with a manual tranny, and regularly get 38 mpg on the road. A tail wind on a couple of trips pushed it over 40. :-)<br><br>
I read an interesting article a while ago about why the diesel just doesn't win people over around here. Unfortunately, I forgot all the reasons, and forgot where I saw it. I hate it when that happens....! :-)

I would really really like to hijack this thread about those ridiculous HOV lanes aka carpool lanes...<br>But, I'm an uneducated hijacker so it will have to wait until I'm King of America and make some exciting announcements!!!<br><br>I like the Civic hybrid as well having been in them as well as the Prius...I've never been in the big three hybrids though...never see them around. Haven't heard good or bad about them, but it seems you can't go wrong with Honda or Toyota, unless the Toyota has a certain throttle piece made in the USA...geeeee...<br>

The hybrids are indeed great cars. I would think and there may be one somewhere but I'd think someone would create a diesel hybrid. They likely won't as one would likely last 4-500,000 miles easily. <img src="http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/happy.gif">