Posted 1 year, 6 months ago at 11:23. 5 comments
Cocktail Party Physics, which is a truly excellent science blog BTW, recently discussed the technologies built into modern hybrid cars. As someone who just went through the whole car-buying process myself (including serious consideration of hybrids), one feature that caught my eye when car shopping, and is also called out in the Cocktail Party Physics blog entry, was the hybrid’s ability to monitor your gas mileage in real-time.
My question is this: why isn’t this technology available in all North American cars, or at the very least in non-hybrid cars of the same model line? I was dismayed to discover that the hybrid Civic included the mileage display while the non-hybrid Civic I ended up purchasing did not. At the current price of gas, I know that I would change my driving habits if I had instant and ongoing information about how my driving was affecting fuel economy.
Current Tunes: DJ Gregory - Essential Mix - 2003-11-30 | Filed under Auto, Science
Posted 2 years, 3 months ago at 09:59. 3 comments
Kris and I pick up our car today: a shiny, new 2006 Honda Civic EX.
Let me start by saying that I am not a car guy at all. If my conveyance gets me and my family from point A to point B, I am happy. Bonus points if I can listen to something other than the radio while in transit. Recently I’ve been unhappy.
Settling on the Civic as a replacement for our old car was easy. Due to consistently high reliability, fuel economy and safety ratings, it’s been the best-selling car in its class for a few years running. Our test dive went well, but over a decade has passed since our previous car was built. I think car designers would have to break some fundamental design principles to make a car less driveable over that timeframe. When soliciting anecdotal evidence for/against the Civic from family and friends, about the worst we could come up with was “reliable,” and the best was a story about a ‘91 Civic owned by a friend’s father that apparently still gets fuel economy similar to current hybrid models.
Because we’re both environmentally-minded, we did briefly consider the Civic Hybrid. However, the lack of trunk space due to the battery is a non-starter for us with a baby. The first dealer we talked to also estimated that the cost to replace such a battery at current prices would be about $6000 CAD. That number would hopefully come down by the time the battery needed replacing, but still…ouch.
I will report back once I’ve driven it for bit.
Current Tunes: Weezer - Holiday | Filed under Auto
