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See the original image at shitamericaneeds.com —

***** America Needs: Hybrids Not Shaped Like Deformed Weiners

shitamericaneeds.com — A lot of government money is currently going into alternative energy, and new eco-friendly car models are coming out all the time. I just hope that some of these models look a little bit less like the male genitalia. Sure, America wants to save the environment, but what ’s the point if we’re all going to all look like dicks

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  • Stonecipher26, on 04/02/2008, -9/+85The Honda Insight pictured above get an estimated 66 mpg on the highway. Some drivers have reported numbers as high as 74 mpg. Honda will continue its tradition of building eco-friendly vehicles, but the good news for the guy who submitted this is that the Insight is no longer in production. The new hybrids look a lot more like regular cars.
    • cankillar, on 04/02/2008, -7/+10They're not even functional- you can't take all the tires off easily, or change/check the air in the tires unless you do it one tire at a time. (the valve nozzles are hidden behind the body of the car)
      • InferiorWang, on 04/02/2008, -0/+14I do it one tire at a time anyway, but I know what you mean.
        • cankillar, on 04/02/2008, -1/+2Err, yeah, you have to move the car forward between each fill. >_
      • eexlebots, on 04/02/2008, -3/+10Not true-I own one and have no problem checking the tire pressure. It does get itchy on the back panels, but that just means you roll move the car a few inches forward to expose the very normal and standard valve nozzles(it is a little annoying but very functional). And I have taken the rear tires off myself, and it's easy-the car even includes and emergency kit for that purpose, very clearly labeled and familiar to anyone who has changed a tire.
    • Konrad9, on 04/02/2008, -7/+2I know people who got upwards of 100mpg with the Insight...
      Just saying :
    • trump48257, on 04/02/2008, -0/+7Maybe he just didn't notice them since they look like normal cars :)
    • nickerbocker, on 04/02/2008, -11/+6How much did Honda pay you for that comment?
      • Monk22, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1im sure honda is falling all over themselves about their reputation on digg. dumbass
    • wageslaven, on 04/02/2008, -12/+40I dont give ***** what the car looks like. Give me good mileage, low cost, high reliability, low mainetance, high function and I'll give you my $30,000.

      The Honda Insight is a good way to that goal. Some comprimise sure, but a heck of a lot better than many other options.

      You FASHION assholes can go ***** yourselves, we've got more important things to worry about.
      • TopherT, on 04/02/2008, -4/+4I'm glad I checked, I was about to post that same exact comment.
      • cambob76, on 04/02/2008, -5/+8Agreed. Function over form. Demanding a 'normal-looking' car is just as bad as having a Hummer for status (or making up for your small pee pee).
      • hater2win, on 04/02/2008, -1/+2This is one of the very few times I will agree with Wageslaven.
      • HarryBauzonia, on 04/02/2008, -1/+3It's not usually about fashion buddy.
        Take yesterday. I was driving my truck home from work and saw a sign in a guy's yard that read "Free Firewood". I stopped and talked to the guy, then grabbed my chainsaw out of the toolbox, cut up what my truck would hold, then loaded it up and took it home. I then came back for another load. I got for free what would have cost $130 otherwise.

        Try that with a Honda Insight. I'll drive a hybrid when I can find a hybrid pickup truck that's two years old, with low miles, and a record of reliability. I never buy new no matter the technology under the hood.
        • videographer, on 04/02/2008, -3/+2>Try that with a Honda Insight.<

          Here's a plan: How about you have both a pickup truck...AND a Insight, or Prius, or similar high-mileage car? You drive the efficient car on a day-to-day basis and only use the pickup when you need to pick up your "free" firewood. (It's really only "free" for the guy that is getting rid of it - you did his dirty work for him.)

          BTW, it has been proven that burning firewood in a conventional fireplace actually makes a house colder, not warmer, but that's an energy debate for another day.
          • republicker, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2You mean he has to BUY both of these vehicles. Also, fire draws air in so the surrounding rooms become slightly colder the room w/ the fire certainly is warmer than without. lol
        • HarryBauzonia, on 04/02/2008, -1/+3Videographer,
          The money I'd save on gas wouldn't come close to making up for the payments on two vehicles. I can only afford one car for myself and one for my wife, and I need my truck for hauling dirty stuff like wood, engines, mulch, fertilizer, soaking-wet kids, etc. So the only way a hybrid is in my future is when they make a truck (and I can buy it used).

          ...about fireplaces
          I've heard the guys at the fireplace stores state what you did about fireplaces. It's true, to get a good fire you need airflow and that involves cold air from outside. That doesn't mean that massive amounts of cold air are flowing in, overpowering the heat produced from the fireplace. When I have a good fire going, we actually have to crack our windows open so we don't die from heatstroke. I've had the temperature in the living room as high as 98 degrees on a 15 degree night.
        • Pissoff, on 04/02/2008, -0/+3FFS, bitching about fireplaces now?

          Don't let the hippies tell you how to live, drive your tuck and be happy Harry!

      • Pissoff, on 04/02/2008, -3/+4I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the people buying and driving hybrids, you're helping to make sure my V8 has gas to guzzle for a few extra years. Once the oil runs out and everything is electric or it gets too expensive to buy, I'll look back and remember the good old days, the last days mankind used fossil fuels for transportation and I enjoyed my drive to work instead of feeling like a sardine in a penis shaped tin can.

        I also laugh at the people that hate on hummers, sure they might be massive, ugly, and more often than not the drivers are total douche bags, BUT, the gas mileage is not far behind or even different from that of a Tahoe, Yukon, Navigator, (insert full size SUV here). I can't see buying one, but I don't have a problem with someone else liking them.



    • diggingaround, on 04/02/2008, -3/+22The retard who wrote the article obviously never heard about "Automobile drag coefficients"
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_drag_coeff ...
    • HeDiggMe, on 04/02/2008, -5/+4Wake me when they make the 60mpg Expedition.
      • jarklejam, on 04/02/2008, -3/+4Your taste is questionable.
      • akilleen, on 04/02/2008, -2/+2Can I call you Rip Van Winkle?
      • videographer, on 04/02/2008, -2/+2I don't know about 60mpg, but 30 is easily conceivable using the same technology in the Prius, along with large nickel-metal hydride batteries. I suggest you watch "Who Killed The Electric Car" for the real story of who is keeping us from fuel efficiency.
        • HeDiggMe, on 04/02/2008, -0/+3I've seen it and its good stuff. I love the reaction to my other comment....60mpg is 60mpg whether its in a Civic or a Suburban. Just shows that some people just want to hate SUVs.
    • mcphatty, on 04/02/2008, -0/+7with the way engineering is these days, why cant we have both? a car that looks good, AND gets great mileage.
      tesla roadster FTW
      • fix8ed, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1The Tesla Roadster does look good but $100k? No thanks. Maybe they'll lower the price one day...
    • joeanon, on 04/02/2008, -3/+2The hybrids do have awesome MPG, but their batteries need replacement every 100,000 miles or so, however that lifespan is going up.

      All in all you still save tons of money.

      I certainly don't care what the car looks like. Only idiots buy cars for 'sex appeal' or other such reasons.
      I'd rather people know I'm not one of these obsessive car tards and rather I know the value of money and the environment.

      In todays world, the image of the high end sports car being sexy is dying fast. Own a pet and love the planet and you'll get laid more than your loud, gas smelling sports car can ever manage.

      As battery tech improves there will be less need for such aggressive aerodynamics. You'll be able to buy the boxy high drag model you've always wanted. ha

      • Monk22, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2no one is saying the hybrids need to be more "sexy" as you put it. it just needs to not look like a space turd.
      • Pissoff, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2I suppose all the married men with kids that make a decent living and drive a car that they like just chaps your ass, they must be doing it just to spite you huh? Those rat bastards!

  • lucidguru, on 04/02/2008, -29/+20Why do so many hybrids also have to have the retarded back wheels? Can't they just have the standard wheel frame and not this "I'm too good to show off my back hubcaps...
    • DeskFlyer, on 04/02/2008, -4/+44The fairings are there to reduce drag.
      • sockpuppets, on 04/02/2008, -3/+38They're also good for breaching the trans-warp barrier.
    • satanatnmtedu, on 04/02/2008, -22/+7Maybe you should get your priorities straight. It is a ***** CAR! What you drive says very little unless it is a gas guzzlers, then it says "I am a moron".
      • ryansmith18, on 04/02/2008, -0/+6So driving a pickup says "I am a moron?" I could have sworn it said "I have to haul ***** around sometimes." Last I checked, I couldn't haul ***** around in other types of vehicles. Maybe you shouldn't be so judgmental towards people that haven't made (or heck, some that can't afford) the switch to more eco-friendly vehicles. Buy hey, you just let me know as soon as Ford/Nissan/Dodge/Chevy/etc makes a truck that will get me 60+ mpg and help save the environment.
    • WiseBoy, on 04/02/2008, -0/+4That design reduces drag force. It has nothing to do with aesthetics.
    • Epsilon419, on 04/02/2008, -0/+0Where have you been? the honda insight is the only hybrid i've seen with those wheel fairings. almost every company has (is going to have) a hybrid out on one of there preexisting models
    • Spuy767, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2Let's take a look at the winner, and the loser in the hybrid car market. Winner: Toyota prius. It was ugly as sin, but it became the image of hybrids as it was one of the only hybrids to look a whole lot different from the "regular" cars. Loser: Civic hybrid. Why did this car lose when its observed mileages tickled the lowe 60s on occasion? One, because Honda was more realistic with its estimates, and two. . . It looks normal. The people who buy hybrids, by and large, don't give a ***** about the environment, they want other people to think that they do. The toyota prius is the new "me too" lance armstrong bracelet. A hybrid car currently has to look like a deformed ***** or else it won't sell. Who wants to spend an extra five large if no one else is going to think to themselves, "Look at that tool, driving around in his ugy car thinking that he's making a difference." People buying the prius is part of the problem. We simply mast demand better from the auto makers. We can't settle for some *****-ugly half-breed econocar and let big auto rest on its laurels. We have to demand that auto makers not only release hybrid cars that don't look like a penguin's dick, but that they are priced the same as gasoline cars, and that we don't have to sacrifice our engine's power to get there. They can do it, but durrently, with people gobbing up the ***** that they are cranking out, they have no reason to.
  • neocognitism, on 04/02/2008, -12/+73"but what’s the point if we’re all going to all look like dicks"

    indeed, but it's not our dick's fault it already optimized itself for its job.

    And the car is just using whatever physics dick-tates.
    • supermanred, on 04/02/2008, -1/+9Listen, Dick Tracy cut it out with the cinammon ***** and rooster nuts.
      • arcanesmile, on 04/02/2008, -2/+3cinnamon *****? ^_^
      • MrRight9, on 04/02/2008, -1/+1Yes, yes dear boy, Lay off all that; and go back to smoking your fag.
    • MetaMars, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2Also, *****.
  • copaceticZ, on 04/02/2008, -32/+6I'm at the point where i think we should just be building a bunch of nuclear power plants and driving electric cars i rarely need to drive far enough that i need more than 20 miles of charge-time i remember that they were always like "we can't get more than 200 miles per charge yadda-yadda" stuff but thats garbage we all just need to go electric and have tiny lightweight cars and go like 45 mph top speed and 50mile or 100 mile batteries with crappy acceleration that is the way but the real problem is us we love to drive fast its like a game for us step on the pedel burn up that gas race by a hot chick slow down and check them out and then peel off cause i'm bad ass! Yea america loves to drive it is america's favorite past-time our favorite game the original social-network and we'll kill you all just to play our game. But, honestly who am i to talk i drive a V6 and I'm only 9 years old and I'm on fire at 3 in the morning on halo 3 going crazy like i'm on crack but it's probably only game fuel which markets an adult game to children honestly I'm on a rant and i certainly can't be stopped now but really maybe i should get an electric go-kart or something yea and it can have a little place for my groceries it'll be sweet and we can all drive our little electric cars to the giant electric trains which will take us to work.it'll be more social too we'll love it so screw the gasoline engine it is really what separates us we won't be screeching up to some hot girl with glass and plastic and metal seperating us glancing over and screeching by never to meet you'll be on the train sitting next to her trying to chat her up....
    • tech10171968, on 04/02/2008, -1/+24Punctuation is a good thing, you should try it sometime.
      • supermanred, on 04/02/2008, -0/+10If you really study it (don't read more than 5 words at a time you may go insane) you see that he or she was probably on some kind of stimulant when that came out of their brain. It really is quite fascinating.
        • MacEnvy, on 04/02/2008, -0/+4If it hadn't made my eyes bleed, I would have dugg it up.
        • copaceticZ, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1bah i just write it as it comes out proof reading spell checking and grammar are for pussies although if you check i believe i spelled almost all of the words correctly oh and i tried to take bcaa's before bed and it made me stay up for 3 hours...........
      • seantubridy, on 04/02/2008, -2/+2Proper punctuation is an even better thing; you should try it sometime.
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semicolon
    • bob3, on 04/02/2008, -2/+16Greatest Wall-of-Text ever.
      //sarcasm
    • shadowmoose, on 04/02/2008, -0/+12I want to physically harm you right now...
    • Ender008, on 04/02/2008, -0/+14Whatever this guy is on, I want some of it.
      • beldark, on 04/02/2008, -0/+6That's the first thing I thought. Sounds incredibly fun.
      • supermanred, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2No you don't Ender008. No you don't. That's the kind of talk you hear from the crackhead in the alley. Stick to ***** you can handle, man. Seriously.
      • Wintermute426, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2Cocaine's a helluva drug...
    • Futurejunior, on 04/02/2008, -0/+5The only pause generating punctuation you used was a unnecessary exclamation point A period before the word "but" and a comma after the same word. As well as the arbitrary triple period at the end, to show everyone you could have spat out more nonsense. Is that writing style what they are teaching is school these days, or have you been skipping to class due to "being on fire at 3 in the morning"?
    • irishjays, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1I award you no points, and may god have mercy on your soul
  • copaceticZ, on 04/02/2008, -9/+4http://www.sportsauthority.com/product/index.jsp?p ...

    "up to 15 MPH with up to 45-minutes of drive time"
    Imagine if an army of us just started driving these things to the store along the sidewalks toting our groceries home on them somehow(where would you put them exactly?) I wonder how far and how much duration it would have with a 150 lb man on it..........
  • digitalhair, on 04/02/2008, -16/+42I'm proud to be the first to note that this is one of the funniest headlines I've ever seen on digg, in all of its sophomoric and deformed glory. I was expecting theOnion.com or a quote from some comedian with a profound observation when I clicked the link... "deformed weiners" hahahaha wtf??? I don't know what's funnier - the absurdity of the headline or the idea that 86 diggs later, nobody's commented on how friggin funny and accurate it is... I haven't even read the article hahahhaa
    • satanatnmtedu, on 04/02/2008, -18/+11No. It is one of the more retarded Digg titles. The fact you find it funny says something about your lack of maturity.
      • dannyboy3020, on 04/02/2008, -0/+8It says nothing about his lack of maturity. There are times when it is appropriate to be mature and times when it isn't.

        The internet is not necessarily the place for maturity. Moreover, on digg ;)
      • KMartSheriff, on 04/02/2008, -1/+7Take the stick out of your ass.
      • digitalhair, on 04/04/2008, -0/+1i think SOMEbody has a deformed wiieeeeeennerrr!!!! ahaaahaaaa!

        - how's that for maturity, pal?
    • Futurejunior, on 04/02/2008, -3/+20I, for one think the title is grossly inaccurate. Penises look nothing like that car, but I guess if your penis looks remotely like that, I should feel bad for you.
      • sei0n, on 04/02/2008, -1/+5That's funny I thought it said deformed. Oh wait...
    • roflburger, on 04/02/2008, -2/+4this title isnt funny at all...
  • ufia, on 04/02/2008, -1/+30It's the Ambiguously Gay Duo car: http://i30.tinypic.com/wh1ve1.jpg
  • mwrl, on 04/02/2008, -20/+5Most sissy's like to drive cars that make them look more like sissy's!
    Gays like gay looking cars. This is simple stuff people.
  • rtcrooks, on 04/02/2008, -5/+111All I want is a hybrid Delorean. How about it science?
    • DeskFlyer, on 04/02/2008, -3/+39Sounds pretty heavy.
      • antonio97b, on 04/02/2008, -0/+8Not if you swap out the engine for a Mr. Fusion.
        • TremorX, on 04/02/2008, -0/+7Mr. Fusion only powers the time circuits and the flux capacitor! The internal combustion engine still runs on ordinary gasoline, always has.
      • ryan83189, on 04/02/2008, -1/+26Is there something wrong with gravity in the future?
    • rokinroj, on 04/02/2008, -0/+12A hybrid that sucks all of the white lines off of the road?
      • supermanred, on 04/02/2008, -0/+11Who Nose one day it might be possible.
        • Phasmorphage, on 04/02/2008, -1/+6ba dum chh
        • DeskFlyer, on 04/02/2008, -2/+2You need to upgrade your drum set.
        • julienbh, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1Why? I tought it sounded okay... You might need better speakers man.
      • KaJuN4, on 04/02/2008, -0/+3Roads? Where we're going we don't need...roads.
    • colonelpanic, on 04/02/2008, -1/+9Mr. Fusion FTW
    • Ganja420, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1Stainless Steal Hybrids... =b
    • NCSUspoon, on 04/02/2008, -0/+4Great Scott!
    • bobbybobington, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2It will be a long time... 1.21 gigawatts? The flux capacitor needs to be made much more efficient.
    • synthaxx, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1The 20 sided science dice say no.
    • TVarmy, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1An electric Delorian is actually feasible if you think about it. There already is an EV conversion of it made by some clever mechanics, and if you were to take the molds of the original Delorian and cast it in aluminum, it would be more efficient, and keep that sweet look. Of course, you don't need to worry about heat with an electric engine nearly as much as with a gas engine. Of course, you would want to reinforce that with some well-placed steel so a crash wouldn't turn you into a McFly-cake.

      Perhaps a two-stroke diesel generator could then be added, making it an efficient series hybrid. However, it could not be as efficient as an electric car designed from the ground up, as it's simply too boxy to be aerodynamic.
    • BruceDude, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1Its been done already.

      It runs on 89, and it also goes back in time.
  • DogWithHiv, on 04/02/2008, -17/+4Hey guys, I'm not Ameican. Is Ron Paul president yet?
  • Sornos, on 04/02/2008, -4/+20There is no reason why cars should not all be "shaped like deformed weiners" as the submitter eloquently put it. The funky shapes are for improved aerodynamics. I see no reason why internal combustion vehicles can't benefit from improved MPG, even for the sake of aesthetics.
    • Troy64, on 04/02/2008, -1/+22From your double negative I can't tell if you are for or against dick shaped cars.
    • InferiorWang, on 04/02/2008, -0/+5Sorry, I prefer that my penis extension doesn't resemble my penis.
    • cheeseron, on 04/02/2008, -0/+12there are lots of cars with awesome aerodynamics that don't look like dicks
    • KMartSheriff, on 04/02/2008, -1/+1Am I the only one digg comments up that say wiener or dick?
    • walkea1, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2well, one could argue that all the skyscrapers in the world are just large phallic symbols...
    • fatb0b, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1If hybrids didn't look so ridiculously stupid a lot more would sell. I've never understood why hybrids and electrics all look so futuristic and retarded. I thought the whole point was to get people to buy them and help save the planet. It's not going to happen until they look more "normal". And yes there are "normal" car models that have great aerodynamics.
  • cobbwobbles, on 04/02/2008, -2/+24I'd like to clarify that there is actually not 'a lot of money going to alternative energy' the administration just gave 18 billion dollars in annual tax credits to the five largest oil companies in the US, NOT to solar and wind as constituents desired.
    • afruff23, on 04/02/2008, -2/+3I didn't want either industry to get the money. Do I get a cookie?
    • MrTito, on 04/02/2008, -1/+1For better or worse, private industry is stepping in.
      Google- : D
      BP- : [
  • Yetisquatch, on 04/02/2008, -0/+22we have 50-60 years of kickass concept car designs under our (humanity) belt and yet we still see the same damn designs year after year. boring as hell. anything that comes out that does look cool cost 100k+. seriously, just google image search "concept car" and drool.
    • SonicRush, on 04/02/2008, -0/+6I agree. Although if we had awesome-looking futuristic cars that were slow to save gas, people would probably bitch about the performance not being up to par with the looks.
    • videographer, on 04/02/2008, -2/+1I find it really disturbing that American carmakers seem to think that cloning the "muscle" cars fo the 60's will result in financial success. The Mustang? Please. The Challenger? I owned one of those, but that was then, when gas was really 50 cents a gallon. Times have changed, folks, time to wake up. Aerodynamics are where it is at, and if that makes a car look like a "deformed wiener," so be it. I don't want to be defined by my car, I want myu car to be as efficient as possible given my needs for it.
      • dudefaceguyman, on 04/02/2008, -1/+4So you'd drive a car that looks like a sweaty set of testicles with "I love men INSIDE me" painted all across the vehicle if it was really fast and efficient?
  • SVOboy, on 04/02/2008, -4/+10There've gotta over 9000 uglier cars than the honda insight.
    • MrTito, on 04/02/2008, -1/+11Over 9000?
      • monsterCable, on 04/02/2008, -2/+2I guess he is talking about Saab.
      • Slovenian6474, on 04/02/2008, -1/+2Yes. 9000. That's all 9000 Chrysler PT Cruiser Convertibles made.
    • Papajohn56, on 04/02/2008, -0/+3and they're made by Honda. Element anyone?
      • ben162005, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2Toyota makes really ugly cars too. The Scion xB, just as ugly.
  • bossm4n, on 04/02/2008, -11/+56Yes, most first generation hybrids were less than pleasing to the eye. More importantly, the whole concept of hybrid cars is a joke. It's more marketing and sales and trying to make people feel good about themselves and less guilty about driving a gasoline powered car. Even the best hybrid vehicles currently on the market only get up to 65 miles per gallon and all the hybrid converts like the Camry types only get a few MPG better mileage than there full-gas counterparts. Face it, hybrid is a bandaid and a poor one at that.
    • satanatnmtedu, on 04/02/2008, -18/+4Face it. You are an idiot. Now, everyone that reads this on Digg knows it.
      • bossm4n, on 04/02/2008, -2/+17Such a brilliant, scholarly reply. Never before have I been flamed so incredibly. My brain hurts due to the intellect I have just been subjected to. Please, oh please elaborate. I await your additional comments to point out my failed logic my dear douchelord of the nether reaches.
        • fix8ed, on 04/02/2008, -0/+3Dugg for the creation and use of "douchelord."

          Thank you sir.
    • ryan83189, on 04/02/2008, -4/+6Couldn't agree more. These vehicles aren't even hybrids anyway, they still run 100% on gas, they're just more efficient at it. But hey "Ya don't plug it in".
      • rhustang, on 04/02/2008, -3/+1That's not true. They run on battery power and/or gas. Not sure about the specifics on some other hybrids, but the Escape can go up to 30MPH on its battery.
        • opnickc, on 04/02/2008, -1/+4And where does the battery get it's power? Hint: It's from that liquid stuff you put in the car.
          • rhustang, on 04/03/2008, -2/+1Hint: You should understand what you are talking about before you give hints. The battery power comes mostly from regenerative braking, which has nothing to do with the liquid stuff you put in your car.

            And FYI, I was on the Hybrid Escape development team, specifically, I worked on the transaxle which controlled regenerative braking. So, if you would like to argue further, be my guest.

            To those that dugg me down, learn to do your own research and don't be so quick to jump on the bandwagon.
          • opnickc, on 04/03/2008, -0/+2You worked on the escape hybrid? I would've expected an engineer to have a better understanding of physics.

            Yeah, the power comes from regenerative breaking, that is; conversion of the car's kinetic energy into electric potential. However, unless you only drive downhill (in which case kinetic energy would be coming from gravitational potential), 100% of the kinetic energy, and hence power gained from regenerative breaking, was generated by the gasoline engine.
            "The battery power comes mostly from regenerative braking, which has nothing to do with the liquid stuff you put in your car."
            Has nothing to do with it? Oh, no, it's just the source of the kinetic energy from which the batteries charge. It's totally unrelated! By that logic, my TV has nothing to do with the power plant, after all, it gets power from the wall outlet! Nevermind where the wall outlet is getting its power. . .

            Is a hybrid more efficient? Yes, but it's still 100% gasoline powered (provided it isn't a plug in hybrid or, somehow, it drives downhill more than up). Don't chastise me for not doing my research; I knew what I was talking about. You, on the other hand, show disturbing ignorance for someone so involved with the technology.
          • rhustang, on 04/03/2008, -1/+1so, are we playing the ever popular "trace the energy source" game? where does the power to refine the gasoline come from, where did that power come from, and that power, and that power....i guess everything is really powered by the sun, right?

            your argument is silly because until hybrid vehicles harnessed regenerative braking, all of that energy was lost in the form of heat. so, to imply that somehow the engine is actively working to charge the battery is misleading.

            and further, how can you dismiss the power gained while moving downhill? this makes up a substantial portion of the energy stored in the battery. that is why hybrids are dogs going up hill (they lose the ability to charge the battery through braking, so they have to pull power directly off the engine). does gravity not count? we get into this "what was the original source of all energy" argument again, which is useless.
          • opnickc, on 04/03/2008, -0/+1"so, are we playing the ever popular "trace the energy source" game? where does the power to refine the gasoline come from, where did that power come from, and that power, and that power....i guess everything is really powered by the sun, right?"
            This has little to do with the argument, you're just being facetious. The original poster said that hybrids run on 100% gas, just more efficiently than ordinary cars. You said he was wrong, because the power for the batteries comes from regenerative breaking. This is silly, since any power gained from breaking came from the car's gasoline-generated momentum. You're not tapping into so magical new power source, you're using an existing one to greater efficiency. Good, yes, but it's still just gasoline.

            "your argument is silly because until hybrid vehicles harnessed regenerative braking, all of that energy was lost in the form of heat"
            That doesn't make my argument silly; I stated many times that hybrid vehicles were more efficient than ordinary ones. This is simply why they are more efficient, it doesn't constitute an outside energy source.

            "so, to imply that somehow the engine is actively working to charge the battery is misleading."
            Perhaps if I had ever made that implication it would be. . .

            "and further, how can you dismiss the power gained while moving downhill? this makes up a substantial portion of the energy stored in the battery."
            Because we can assume that the vehicle will move uphill just as much as downhill, so any effect of gravitational potential on the car evens out.

            "that is why hybrids are dogs going up hill (they lose the ability to charge the battery through braking, so they have to pull power directly off the engine)."
            I think you just answered your own question. We can ignore the energy gained by going downhill because it levels out with the energy lost by going uphill. Provided we are talking about, say, a daily commute where the initial point and final destination are at the same gravitational potential (altitude) this will be the case. A permenant move to a location of lower altitude is the only time the car would experience a net energy gain from anything but it's engine (from the car's perspective, of course, the energy wouldn't actually be gained, just turned from gravitational potential to kinetic and electric potential).

            I suggest you read the original comment again, and your response. You're obviously smart enough to understand what I'm saying, you just can't seem to get a good perspective on it. What it really boils down to is that you're saying the power for the electric motors comes from energy that would be completely wasted in a normal car. This is a normal, intelligent, and rational response for an engineer. You see wasted energy and want to find a way to use it - that's good! What I'm saying is that, whether it would have been wasted or not, it's still energy from the gas engine. It's still a 100% gasoline car, just a much more efficient one, since it uses much of that previously wasted energy.
    • DisposableRob, on 04/02/2008, -0/+16"Even the best hybrid vehicles currently on the market only get up to 65 miles per gallon"

      I agree that hybrids are a band-aid, but I'm not sure why you consider "only" getting about 3x the average mpg a bad thing?
      • Pittance, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2The typically get in the 40s and 50s. One study wasnt able to get the prius over 50-ish mpg. Thats with everything off on the highway.
      • BruceDude, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1Cost of manufacturing batteries. Lots of energy and chemicals to make them too.
    • cheezintern, on 04/02/2008, -0/+7Very true, most hybrid SUV's still get worse gas mileage than most non-hybrid cars...on the other hand throw a turbo diesel in any SUV you get at like 30mpg, with loads of power.
      • monsterCable, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2You sound too logical. Diesel is too simple.
      • Pittance, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2Exactly. We can't embrace diesel. It might make us look like Europeans.
      • HarryBauzonia, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2I have an old '82 Mercedes diesel. It gets great mileage, but I had to park it because of the taxes charged on diesel fuel. There's no reason diesel should be costing $3.90 a gallon. It's byproduct of gasoline refinement. Anyway, that's THE reason the price of everything has gone up as well. Truckers have to eat too.

        Hell it's cheaper for me to use my gas-burner that gets lower mileage. Thanks government! Keep up the good work.
      • ben162005, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1Diesel FTW
    • cambob76, on 04/02/2008, -1/+3One thing people hardly mention is that hybrids take more energy to make which offsets the energy savings by using less gas. This is partly why they cost more. In the end, they do nothing for gas prices or the environment. It's just robbing Peter to pay Paul. Take a ***** bus.
    • SeasonedBeef, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1I kind of agree with you, but the good thing about hybrids is that they are helping to advance battery technology to the point that someday we can have good all-electric cars.
    • joeanon, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1Sure, but you're undervaluing the importance of a band aid.

      The reality is the consumption based economy had NO REASON to invest in fuel efficient vehicles, so they didn't and now we have a great energy spike killing people's bottom line and raising all industries prices world wide as a result.

      The Hybrid is NOT A SOLUTION, it is a transition.

      The car companies need practice making electric cars, because they will be the transport of the future. Unlike internal combustion an electric engine can be HIGHLY efficient, so you fuel prices can remain cheaper and more stable longer. PLUS electric allows energy diversity in the transport sector, you can make the electric to charge you vehicles out of anything from coal to renewable energy.

      It makes much MUCH more sense to use large centralized power generation, which is more efficient, than it does to constantly try to update everyones car.

      Electric engines, unlike combustions suffer minimal friction and wear. The most you'll have to do is replace the battery occasionally and the few parts that the car actually has.

      Hybrids are kind of the worst of both worlds. You have all the complexities of a new electric design along with a high efficiency gas engine. However, in the long run, they are learning how to built electric cars and making electric practical by coupling it with a combustion engine.

      Its either do that or have the government subsidize electric car production. This way makes more sense, many hybrid owners LOVE their car.

      Most people, like you perhaps, don't truly realize how much you're paying in gas per year.

      Unless you have a diesel your gas car is lucky to get above 30 mpg. Hybrids are coming in at nearly twice that efficiency.

      Anytime your looking at double in efficiency you can't honestly take a stance that it's worthless.

      EVEN if the car was too expensive to be a consumer product, double the mpg is a BIG deal.

      Why don't you realize this ?

      Because you've either never done the math yourself OR you failed to compensate for the fact that prices will only be going up for years to come.

      Say the average American drives 20k miles a year, this is likely a bit high, but that's how much I drive or more.
      That's 20000 miles per year 30 miles per gallon.

      We get the DEVILS NUMBER 666 ... That's my fuel used per year IF I got 30 mpg, but it's more like 23.

      Sooo...... at a mere 3 dollars a gallon that's ONLY 2000 dollar a year in gas. That's do able
      However... we will have 4 dollar gas by this summer or sooner and we'll have 5 dollar a gallon gas in 2009 and so on a so forth.

      SO.. if we could predict roughly the price of gas in 10 years wil ON AVERAGE by no lower than 5 dollars a gallon and quite possible higher.

      At 5 dollars a gallon 666 gallons a years costs 3330.

      In ten years, you'll spend 33,300 dollars JUST IN GAS and that's IF you can get 30 mpg, which is higher than average for the cars on the road today.

      How can you not think that saving 1500 dollars or more a year is cost effective ?

      Well the plug in hybrids, which come out in 2009, ONLY make it better and these hybrids today are their front runners and have helped develop the technology.

      Nah, hybrids ONLY take more to make because they are made in smaller quantities. All in all the hybrid is a much simpler design since it's primarily electric with merely a gas generator, that's still a FRACTION of the moving parts.

      Claims hybrids take more to make are false. They are comparing a tiny niche market to the mass production of all the automobile makers in the world. If hybrids were mass produced on that level, they would cost LESS than conventional cars.

    • TnTBass, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1Agreed. My parents had a little Geo Metro, and when my mom drove it using premium gas, it would get over 60 MPG. That was a little three cylinder gas engine. I would have thought hybrids should come with at least that type of gas mileage, if not better, while most don't even break 50 MPG. I can only hope it gets more efficient with time.
  • PATSCRU, on 04/02/2008, -2/+56All i want is regular weiner shaped hybrid.
  • jasonsalas, on 04/02/2008, -2/+14i dunno...since the Scion XB took off, nothing's shocking to me anymore. i swear, i didn't think that thing would sell, and it's all the rage where i live.
    • monsterCable, on 04/02/2008, -0/+5I too thought that after scion nothing will shock me. But toyota managed to do that again. They released FJ cruiser - the most amateurishly looking pile of not matching spare parts ever.
      • jasonsalas, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1ah, yes the FJ Cruiser - the ultimate Hummer wannabe. :-)
      • marson, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2Thanks for reminding me of that heap of crap FJ Cruiser. I see so many people driving around in those things and I just want to ask them where they get their crack, because that thing is so horrid looking it puts all Scions, Insights, and even Azteks to shame.
  • ghgh1313, on 04/02/2008, -5/+55***** America Needs: Hybrid Owners Who Don't Act Like Dicks
    • Nitrodist88, on 04/02/2008, -7/+2Hey! I resemble that remark!
    • Skod, on 04/02/2008, -0/+13The cloud of smug has grown too large...
    • gstep, on 04/02/2008, -1/+8You mean you want me to drive a hybrid AND not act like I'm better than everyone else?...I can't, I'm not ready.
    • wageslaven, on 04/02/2008, -4/+11***** America needs: People who value reality more than fashion.
    • imitokay, on 04/02/2008, -3/+5mustang/ suv / truck drivers that act like they own the road and are better than everyone else*

      thats what you meant right?
      cause last time I checked, a hybrid owner is doing a lot more to help out than one of the above ^^
      • llurker, on 04/02/2008, -2/+4Except they drive too slow on the expressway watching their energy consumption display, meanwhile I have to burn 5x more fuel than he is trying to save to get my POS 8MPG truck around him.
        Stay in the HOV lane or the far right if you're going to drive these wieners.
        • imitokay, on 04/02/2008, -0/+3I think your missing the point then
  • ryanmct, on 04/02/2008, -8/+3http://*****.com/2008/03/29/1-a-hillary ...
    • MacEnvy, on 04/02/2008, -0/+4Oh HELLS no I'm not clicking on a link that says "hillary clinton nipple slip". What are you, crazy?!
  • sukmydigg, on 04/02/2008, -11/+5What about hybrid owners that HAVE dicks.
  • veduvaru, on 04/02/2008, -2/+5i want one :)
  • mattmahon, on 04/02/2008, -4/+5I suspect some people buy the car to avoid picking up chicks/dudes. No other explanation.
    • joeanon, on 04/02/2008, -1/+1Nah, not in the new green happy world. Chicks digg environmentally active guys.

      It sets you apart from the billions of same old same old car nerds.

      Girls hate car girls for the most part, cept those occasional white trash import racer types.

      That's just time and money you'll spend on your car and not on them.

      Just because in High School girls wanted rides home doesn't mean they went on to be obsessive with guys with cars.


  • CrankyHippo, on 04/02/2008, -4/+3I'd perfer my Hybred to look like a weiner! Not just a deformed one...
  • magic1million, on 04/02/2008, -1/+7Even the most phallic hybrid is better than a weiner that looks like a car.
    • Jektal, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1Mine looks like a freight train
      /H.O. scale :(
  • howtoscrete, on 04/02/2008, -3/+2The Excellent Car..
  • SirBrittanicus, on 04/02/2008, -0/+4By weiner do they mean penis?
    • supermanred, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1No, they mean *****.
      • itsgotyou, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1i think they meant dicks, wang, johnson, willie or jean (if you're french)
  • LinuxGalore, on 04/02/2008, -2/+2The days of cars with "fins" and "huge drag inducing ducts" are dead especially if you want mileage above 70mpg. Also if you look at cars built for "real speed" ie +300mph you will notice they generally have a wiener shape to them.
    • tikal2k, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1What about ecofriendly cars that look like Veyrons and Maclaren F1s?
    • garrettnb, on 04/02/2008, -1/+2cars don't go that fast. Fastest car goes 255ish mph
      • RoboRay, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2Dr. Banzai would like to dispute that assertion.
    • Pittance, on 04/02/2008, -1/+2There isnt a car that gets 70mph off a dyno. Maybe once in a blue moon for 5mi, but hybrids dont get mileage anywhere near that level of mpg consistently. Oh, and sports cars arent made for mpg, they are made for mph.
    • Slovenian6474, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1Fastest PRODUCTION car goes 256
  • legoalert33, on 04/02/2008, -2/+7SMUG STORM!!!
    • mywhitenoise, on 04/02/2008, -2/+1***** off.
      Should I say "DOUCHE BAG STORM!!!" to all the people who buy SUVs and trucks just to make a fashion statement?
      • legoalert33, on 04/02/2008, -1/+1http://www.southparkstudios.com/ Season 10 Episode 2
        • mywhitenoise, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1Yes, I'm fully aware of that episode. I own every South Park DVD, and who hasn't seen all those shows?
          The point of that show wasn't even to call hybrid owners "smug". If you listen to the commentary on that episode Trey says he loves hybrids and bought his mother one.
  • eN1X, on 04/02/2008, -2/+33I've never looked at a Honda Insight or a Toyota Prius and thought "weiner"

    I can't be the only one.
    • IAmTheGuy, on 04/02/2008, -1/+3Agreed. It's not only that I haven't seen a hybrid (or any car for that matter) that looked like a wiener, but even when I'm trying to see the resemblance I get nothing. I'm surprised it took so long for someone to point this out.
      • wageslaven, on 04/02/2008, -2/+2Its agro epenis assholes trying to justify their selfishness. Dont bother.
    • tightscrummy, on 04/02/2008, -0/+4Let me guess, you thought "pussy".
    • sloppychris, on 04/02/2008, -2/+2You need to get your mind in the gutter.
    • Pittance, on 04/02/2008, -1/+2"Brick" is more like it.
  • Digg90210, on 04/02/2008, -2/+18Yeah, aerodynamics sucks. What a hater.
  • macattacks10, on 04/02/2008, -1/+2Unless it's this hybrid...
    http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/01/get-your-trek-o ...
  • mrjoanofarc, on 04/02/2008, -1/+7I don't think hybrid cars looks like penises. Maybe that view indicates... kinda... what's on his mind? D:
    • itsgotyou, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2thanks for the input dr schlomo freud
  • hazard99, on 04/02/2008, -1/+1The front reminds me of a civic, the back looks reminds me of something from Minority Report. I don't think that car is a too great of an example of a "wiener car" but I do agree, most new cars have a phallic shape.
    • welshie, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1If your phallus looks like that car, I'd go and see a doctor.
  • fooboarder, on 04/02/2008, -6/+9Hybrid = battery = more pollution
    • cheezintern, on 04/02/2008, -3/+6...and highly toxic spill should it get into an accident....
    • rhustang, on 04/02/2008, -1/+4The large battery packs in hybrids are generally just composed of a ton of little D sized battery cells. They aren't like the battery in your engine bay. There would be no "spill". The manufacturers are also supposed to have some sort of recycling program setup for the batteries when they are warrantied.
    • barnwecp, on 04/02/2008, -1/+0also, I'm pretty sure that even though the batteries ARE bad for the environment, its the fuel costs that are incurred while transporting and disposing of the batteries that's the real downside. The actual nickel itself isn't that harmful. If we could find a more efficient way to gather and transport the nickel, the hybrid could potentially really help climate change (if no other alternative fuels are developed.......)
    • videographer, on 04/02/2008, -1/+1Sorry, pal, but you have it totally wrong. First of all, the nickel-metal hydride batts used in the Prius are almost totally recyclable (recycling! Do they do that where you live?) Second, they are solid - there is nothing to "spill," and in any event they are sealed in a very solid steel case.

      Lose.
    • joeanon, on 04/02/2008, -1/+1Lithium ion batteries are made from naturally occurring salts.
      In any case you have to be realistic.

      What's threatening your more, CO2 pollution and global warming... or your laptop battery ?

      97% of lead acid car batteries are recycled. It's the dumb ass home consumer that throws hazardous materials in the trash.

      The automobile industry has core charges because recycling in cost effective for them.

      Oil refiners and shipping pollution and wars in the middle east are bad for the environment also.

      You're not going to spin batteries as being worse than BIG OIL.

      Keep trying though if you'd like
  • Amazetbm, on 04/02/2008, -1/+2I think they were designed to not sell well. Otherwise they wouldn't have made them look like treehugger cars from the get go.
    • supermanred, on 04/02/2008, -2/+3Hippies would not drive cars shaped like *****. I think that's the whole point. They dont want anyone driving them. Only a ***** face rooster nuts would drive a dick flavored and shaped car.
      • Amazetbm, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1I guess you're right. Ted Turner drives one.
  • NonLeftistDiggr, on 04/02/2008, -0/+4LOL! dugg for the title.

    Aerodynamics FTL...
  • jeffman2121, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2well i suppose that it is just an opinion matter personally i think that most hybrid cars do look terrible but then there are the people who absolutly love the design of them but i cant understand how that is possible
    • joeanon, on 04/02/2008, -1/+1What about aerodynamics don't you understand ?

      Just let gas keep going up, and you guys will be looking for the MOST penis shaped car you can find.

  • nastronomical, on 04/02/2008, -14/+3http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obamas_oil ...

    When my family back in Pennsylvania turns on the TV these days, they may see this Barack Obama TV ad where he’s standing in a gas station saying the following:
    “Since the gas lines of the ’70s, Democrats and Republicans have talked about energy independence, but nothing’s changed — except now Exxon’s making $40 billion a year, and we’re paying $3.50 for gas.
    I’m Barack Obama. I don’t take money from oil companies or Washington lobbyists, and I won’t let them block change anymore. They’ll pay a penalty on windfall profits. We’ll invest in alternative energy, create jobs and free ourselves from foreign oil. I approve this message because it’s time that Washington worked for you. Not them.”
    Factcheck.org today takes a look at Obama’s claim to not take money from oil companies and concludes that the statement “misleading” since according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics Obama has taken more than $213,000 from individuals (and their spouses) who work for companies in the oil and gas industry — not to mention that two of Obama’s top fundraisers are top executives at oil companies”.
  • 47f0, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2The hybrid hype is - well, not entirely hype. We really need better batteries - or, in the best of all worlds, better supercapacitors. Hybrids are a compromise that lets you keep driving after your batteries get tired. In the meantime, we're going to have to burn some hydrocarbons - but let's realize that gasoline isn't the most bang for our buck. There are small diesels now that get very close to hybrid mileage without all the extra expense and complexity of hybrid technology.
    As for looking like my *****, well, I just want a car to take me from point A to point B warm, safe and dry. If I need an artificial penis, I'll buy a fake Rolex.
    • Pittance, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2BMW 520d diesel engine gets consistently higher mpg than the prius.
    • joeanon, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1Yes but diesel is much worse than gas pollution wise. It leaves your city with diesel dust and tinted clouds.
      Most countries beside the US use diesel in masses, they never caught on in the US for some reason.

      Most diesel are in fact more expensive than gas cars.

      The only good thing about diesel actually is that the engines last long ... AND they can run biofuels.

      In the future gas cars may be OUT OF LUCK, but diesel will be around forever since bio-diesel will have the capacity to displace gasoline. I dunno if they can make it into jet fuel, but perhaps in time. If not hydrogen can be made biologically also.

      There is a lot going on that people only know parts of and the people that know are trying to cash in while they still can.

      One thing is the biofuels CAN displace global gas usage without competing with croplands.

      Secondly... we will want to shift them away from combustion and over to diesel fuel cells otherwise biofuel will only make fuel cheaper and lead us back to high consumption.

      High consumption is FINE, as long as it doesn't release a bunch of waste.. diesel fuel cells can deliver that.

      By the time we setup the new energy infrastructure auto makers will have hybrids far enough along we can just plop fuel cells in them.

      Then you'll have a hybrid diesel electric but with ZERO combustion. That will be the best of both worlds. The range and availability of diesel with the efficiency and convenience of an electric engine.

      Internal combustion was a HUGE mistake, we've wasted the worlds oil supply on an engine that gets around 25% efficiency IF YOUR LUCKY. We must get away from that.

      super caps look very good, the new lithium ions even look good and yet a new nuclear to electric battery, though... good luck getting that in your car :P

      We have about 30 years of infrastructure upgrades we need to get done. From war to war and corrupt leader to corrupt leader, the US has done very little with it's economic up-time.

      Now, all of a sudden people want to pay attention and demand solutions, but it takes time... and federal funding, which we seem to only be capable of for funding war, torture and domestic spying.

      A good diesel TDI is a nice solution... but GOOD LUCK finding one and then good luck finding it cheap.

      The US has few used diesels AND of those only ones back from the 80's are cheap. The market is NOTHING like gas cars which are a dime a dozen.

      So diesel is more efficient, but it's not the best bang for the buck because pollution cost money, it's a corporate externality as they say. We pay for it every time we breath and then our medical bills keep rising... amazing how these things work out.

      There really isn't any extra expense for a Hybrid. Like most products it's all about the number of parts. Hybrids have less parts and less moving parts.

      The ONLY reasons they are expensive is they are new and their batteries are likely not benefiting much from mass production prices. You can always get an electric kit for 3-4k and convert any car, but without lithium ion batteries, it'll only go about 30-60 miles between charges.

      Plus diesel is almost 25% more expensive, which offsets much of it's MPG advantage. Used to be diesel was cheaper and then there really was a major advantage.

      Diesel's also cost considerably more to get worked on and/or less US mechanics are actually good at working on them since they so unpopular here.

      Also, in the US diesel can't ALWAYS be found at the local pump like gas.

      How about a hybrid diesel instead.... then you argument has little to stand on. Nobody said hybrids HAD to be gas... diesel electric generators have long since been considered the most ideal. Though, in a small car the extra weight will work against it compared to most other generator applications.
  • awesometastic1, on 04/02/2008, -0/+9my unmodified '88 toyota tercel with almost 300,000 miles on it gets better gas mileage than any of Honda's Hybrids and almost as good as the prius (48 mpg in the summer 45 in the winter). so basically the car manufacturers aren't even trying anymore.
    • videographer, on 04/02/2008, -0/+3Problem is, in 1988 cars in general were about 33 - 50% lighter than they are today. It seems everyone today wants a living room on wheels, and all that crap adds up, not to mention all the safety stuff (air bags aren't made out of air, sadly.) I had a 1984 Honda CRX that got way over 50MPG on a regular basis, but there isn't a car on the market like that anymore - it was lightweight AND aerodynamic.
      • joeanon, on 04/02/2008, -2/+1More like, as most American's your not that great at math and problem solving.

        Sorry, but, there is NO WAY IN HELL you get even close to 48 mpg.

        Go look your own cars MPG rating up. It's 26 city 33 highway. Good for an 88, but that's about it.

        If you want to do MPG right.. here is how.

        Fill up your tank and take the odometer reading and the amount of gas.

        Next time you fill it up all the way, take the odometer reading AND the amount of gas you pumped.

        Now subtract the new odometer reading from the old one and divide that number (the amount of miles traveled) by the amount of gas you just pumped. Do that three times driving NORMALLY, not cheating by driving very slow everywhere or filling up at the top of a mountain and coasting to 48 mpg.

        Sorry to butt in with reality, but I guarantee if you do the calculation right it's IMPOSSIBLE for you to get that number.

        If you care gets 48 mpg, you should sell it as some cosmological phenomenon because it's physically impossible.




        No gas cars get 50 MPG unless your going downhill. That's just the way it is man.

        It's very common for car owners to try to calculate their MPG by guessing at their fuel via their fuel gauge, but YOU CANNOT GET AN ACCURATE RESULT.

        If you do it as I said, you will learn your true MPG and it will NOT BE anywhere near 48.

        Trust me, it's impossible to get that MPG with that cars you mention.

        A link on how to calculate MPG accurately
        https://www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do?action=calc ...

        Ever since the MPG rating existed, people have been making this mistake. You have account of people WHO SWEAT TO GOD ALMIGHTY that their VW go 40 mpg or their VW bus go 30 MPG.

        Yea.. minus about 10 mpg and those guesses are correct.

        You could drive like a grandmother also and get better MPG, but you'll have to go VERY slow to get 50 mpg from anything other than a hybrid of a TDI diesel.

        It's just a physical impossibility to magically get a MPG rating that's 15 MPG above the manufacturers rating.

        Why would the manufacturer list their car at such a low MPG if it did indeed get 48 mpg ?

        I suggest the only reasonable explanation MUST be you calculated wrong.

        Most people want to round in their cars favor, it's just human nature.

        You also have to take note that the old MPG ratings have been downgraded, though so have the newer hybrids also.

        Yea man.. get 50 mpg... I'll take that magic car from the past off your hands.

        Or lets get together and sell this technology back to Honda and Toyota.

        People want to think there is some grand conspiracy causing the price of gas to go up. The regulations and emissions and this and that.

        No, it's really just high demand, there has NEVER been cars that fuel efficient and road worthy. You could make a very light gas car that gets 50 or more MPG, but it will get to be more and more like a go-cart.

        Your basically claiming to get motorcycle gas millage in your car. Mmkay.. I don't think so. The weight ratio makes that impossible.

        Perhaps if you too out the engine and transmission you could get 50 mpg :P


        • awesometastic1, on 04/03/2008, -0/+1sorry, ironically i have a minor in mathematics and physics, so yes I do know how to calculate gas mileage and yes I do get 48 MPG in the summer with my 88 tercel. you on the other hand appear only good at reading engineering stats on the internet
  • seantubridy, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2There's a joke about "the pump" here somewhere but I'm too tired to figure out what it is.
  • hrm114, on 04/02/2008, -1/+6this is the dumbest ***** ***** i've ever seen on the digg front page
  • jmg703, on 04/02/2008, -1/+5What kind of environmental footprint does a battery for these hybrids create?
  • MackPrime, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1I once saw an Insight with a NASA sticker. In Australia.
  • awesometastic1, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2the tear drop design gives the least wind resistance, this is why they do it that way. for instance the prius which is the ugliest car since the yugo has the best wind resistance rating of any major manufactured car in the history of cars. this probably gains you a few miles per gallon.
    • shivaaa, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1ugly is in the eye of the beholder. Prius owners love that they look different. People know that they are green. It is like an identity badge. Who wants a hybrid that doesn't look like a hybrid or like any meaningful statement has been made.

      Cars are an emotional/personality statement as much as anything else.
      • sparsely, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1Way to fall prey to marketing.
        Consumerism at its finest.
  • mulling, on 04/02/2008, -1/+7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_drag_coeff ...

    The Honda Insight has (well, had) the lowest drag coefficient. The Prius is third-lowest.

    Who looks like a dick now?
    • ledzep19752000, on 04/02/2008, -6/+0You!
    • joeanon, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1I dunno, you ? This guy wasn't the guy saying the hybrids look like dicks.

      He was just commenting on the aerodynamics.
  • johnjohnstonson, on 04/02/2008, -2/+2I hope that '*****' is an adjective here, but I rather fear that it is a noun.
    • sublimnl, on 04/02/2008, -1/+1I LOL'd. ***** you man. but LOL anyway
  • honemasterT, on 04/02/2008, -3/+2there's 5 mins of my life that I wont get back!
  • sealhands, on 04/02/2008, -1/+4ive been staring at pictures of hybrids and cant seem to find a penis shape or anything resembling. i wonder what frued would have to say on this.
    • johnjohnstonson, on 04/02/2008, -1/+2He would most probaby say 'spell my goddam name right and use a capital letter'.
      • DemonWasp, on 04/02/2008, -1/+1Then he'd follow that up with a helpful suggestion that you should immediately sleep with your mother.
  • gstep, on 04/02/2008, -0/+2#3 below:
    Bill O'Reilly to lose his virginity.
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