Honda Accord Hybrid Dies
 

I have always been under the assumption that people buy hybrids in order to get better mpg.


Accord Hybrid 28 / 35 $31,090
Accord (Gas) 26 / 34 $18,625

Difference
-2 / -1
Equal
-$12,465

Now it no doubt has better power but 35 mpg is pretty weak for a 12.5k price difference.

Your right but those numbers are based on the new EPA numbers. The new EPA numbers are just calculations and not on tested data and the hybrids really took it on the chin when they calulated the numbers for them.

I went to 2005 to see if they had the old numbers on the EPA website but everything is now set to the new EPA values.

Sad to see technology die.

Hello -

Honda blew this one by marketing/designing it as a "performance" hybrid. Six cylinders!?!?!?!?!

CarloSW2

Sad. I always like Honda over Toyota for their styling and overall driving experience. Toyotas are just boring cars to me.

Anyway, I passed a Camry Hybrid this morning. It looked really nice. The new body style is so much better.

My only problem with hybrids is the battery. How long do they last, for example? Are all these big batteries going to fill up landfills? Or are people going to get tired of paying for the research and being guinnea pigs for auto companies, and just play the wait and see game?

M

Battery pack is warrantied for 100k or 150k miles, depending on where you live. It's NiMH and commands a fairly high price, ~$1000, from j-yards, and can net you a few hundred, including shipping, from Toyota. By the time it dies, there will likely be plenty of boutique installers specializing in plug-in conversions. Imo, the ground work is happening now, so by the time these packs start dying in significant numbers, in a decade or so, there'll be tons of smaller companies popping up to make money by installer larger capacity packs with plug-in capabilities. Imo, of course... ;)

I agree.
Here's one for $5,000 if you can't do it yourself. I think these retrofits started out at 10K then another company came along and it was 9k and now 5K. By the time newer Prius's(sp) reach 150k they will have some pretty good alternatives to choose from

Man that's expensive, the pack would need to last for 3,000 cycles to pay itself off. Of course, if the all electric range they mention is using Toyota's dis/charging methods, then it could very well last 3,000 cycles. I dunno, to double the Prius' pack is only a grand or two in battery costs, which is definitely worthwhile if we could DIY.... And in a decade, we'll have batteries that'll blow everything currently offered out of the water, even if they are just the large format NiMH's in the RAV-4 EV and EV-1 we had almost a decade ago. 1000+ cycles to 100% dod, or something crazy. Patent runs out in 2015. :thumbup:

I don't have a link yet but, I heard of Prius' being used as taxi's in New York city that have ~250K miles and haven't needed a battery replcement yet. I think that it has a lot to do with how the cars are driven. I have just under 1000 miles on mine and the battery has only went to 2 bars 3 different times. I usually try to stay at 3-5 bars and it sometimes gets to 6 bars. At last check, I'm at 568.0 miles with 73.4 mpg showing on the screen.

If you click the "compare to official window sticker" icon it lists both old and new EPA #'s 28/35/31 vs 24/32/27 for the 07 Accord Hybrid .

I agree about the tech. death - I believe that Honda could've found a way to make the cost difference a more viable choice .

CNN is six months behind to the day....
 

https://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=2467

https://www.autoblog.com/2007/01/05/a...rd-hybrid-out/

New guy thoughts...

To me this seems like a good sign. This sends a clear signal to the carmakers that hybrids are for mileage. People don't care that you have a high hp hybid if the milage isn't there and this time the public spoke. And I think correctly.

Let's see some nice MPG cars, hp is overrated. I should know I just sold a 450 hp Corvette. And I'm looking for a high FE car... :)

Belloc - the May 07 sales figs support your position. Sales of 4 cyl hybrids increased across the board; v6 models all declined.

https://bioage.typepad.com/photos/unc...es_may07_3.png

source: https://www.greencarcongress.com/2007...es_of_hyb.html

Seems like a clear signal by the marketplace to the manufacturers, doesn't it?

I think that if there had been a basic 4-cyl Accord Hybrid with a manual transmission, I would have bought that instead of the Element. But the 6-cyl was too expensive, had more power than I needed, and was AT only.