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I notice that the tribe seems dedicated to Toyota hybrids. Does anyone have any info or experience with the Ford Escape? I test drove one yesterday, and it rode really nicely.
I swore I would never buy an american made car, but the Highlander is too big and doesn't get good enough gas mileage, and the prius (my "car" of choice) is pretty small - I've been driving a Toyota P/U for the last 15 years, and I don't know if I can switch back to a small car. I've grown used to being able to sleep in my vehicle, which offers me a sense of security I don't know I want to give up.
I swore I would never buy an american made car, but the Highlander is too big and doesn't get good enough gas mileage, and the prius (my "car" of choice) is pretty small - I've been driving a Toyota P/U for the last 15 years, and I don't know if I can switch back to a small car. I've grown used to being able to sleep in my vehicle, which offers me a sense of security I don't know I want to give up.
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Mon, April 9, 2007 - 6:29 AMYou can of course sleep in a Prius -- one of the people who came to Hybridfest in Madison, WI, last July showed his car in the car show as "Hotel Prius" b/c he slept in it (at night) all the way here from West Virginia.
Many people absolutely LOVE their FEHs. They don't get the same MPG as the Prius or HCH, but can do quite well for the size car it is. You might check out the Yahoo groups for the FEH, which are full of the good and bad, and also check out two websites: GreenHybrid.com and CleanMPG.com. Of course the 2WD is more efficient than the 4WD, and the federal tax credit is still in full effect for a FEH. If you can wait a little bit, 'til the '08s come out, the Feds have *increased* the tax credit for the '08 model year for Ford vehicles over the tax credit for new '05-'07 Ford vehicles. The 2WD model credit increases to $3K from $2600 (assuming, of course, you don't get hit with AMT when you file your taxes). <www.irs.gov/newsroom/art...7435,00.html>
Good luck, and hope to see you at Hybridfest this summer. We had people from 22 states and Canada last year. This year bigger and even better!
peace,
Linda
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hybridfest.com -
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Mon, April 9, 2007 - 4:11 PMHi Linda, thanks for that info.
can you pls fill me in on the anacronyms.
HCH = ?
AMT = ?
If HCH stands for the Highlander, I thought the escape got better mpg than that SUV, doesn't it? or does HCH stand for the civic?
also, when i was at the Ford dealership, he said that there is NO tax credit for the 08's, and steered me towards the 07, saying it was, as you said, $2600. -
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Mon, April 9, 2007 - 4:11 PMalso, the link you wrote gave an error page....
thanks! -
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Mon, April 9, 2007 - 6:10 PMI am pretty sure that:
HCH = Honda Civic Hybrid
AMT = Alternative Minimum Tax
:)
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Tue, April 10, 2007 - 5:53 AMAh, the stupid angle bracket at the end should not be part of the link -- was *supposed* to keep other text from becoming part of the link:
www.irs.gov/newsroom/art...7435,00.html
HCH is Honda Civic Hybrid. AMT is Alternative Minimum Tax. If you qualify to file AMT, you cannot take the hybrid tax credit, as it does not carry over, but if you have expenses your accountant may be able to work it so you don't have to file AMT. For example, you might be able to depreciate something a little instead of expensing the whole amount, and not have to file AMT (which is what happened to me -- funny thing, I'd never had to file AMT before in my *life*).
Hope this helps!
~Linda
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hybridfest.com
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Mon, April 9, 2007 - 10:42 PMDon't count on the tax break - it's a credit and not everyone qualifies for it (like me)
I bought the '07 Escape over the Highlander. The Escape costs less and more importantly,. gets better mileage (that's kind of the reason you buy a hybrid. ) I already have 12,000 miles on it and, outside of a flat tire, it's been flawless. Great car. -
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Mon, April 9, 2007 - 11:12 PMwhy didn't you qualify for it? -
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Mon, April 9, 2007 - 11:34 PMI have no idea... only my accountant knows for sure.
Here's an article on it:
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi -
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Tue, April 10, 2007 - 5:55 AMThat article talks about people making more than $150K. I made less than 1/3 of that, and still got hit with AMT -- odd! :-)
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Sun, April 15, 2007 - 9:07 AMI realize that this is probably not germane to your specific query, but yeah I feel like this tribe aught to be re-named the Prius post for all the attention the Civic Hybrid has received. I've had mine for 5 years, haven' t regretted it once, and I believe that there are times when the Honda outperforms the Prius, as well as vice versa.
Just wanted to get my two cents in. David h -
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Sun, April 15, 2007 - 11:17 PMMy wife and I went with the Honda and dont regret it a bit. The milage is great, the safety is better then the Prius, the Honda nav system is better and the cars interior and exterior looks better to me. The only thing for me that the Toyota has going for it is the fold down rear seat. After driving the two i went with the Honda.
I dont want to try to sleep in my Honda. I'm sure it would be ok if I was under 30. =) -
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Mon, April 16, 2007 - 9:52 AM"I dont want to try to sleep in my Honda. I'm sure it would be ok if I was under 30. =) "
LOL - I'm used to being able to sleep in hte back of my toyota P/U - it has a camper kit back there, so I can drive where ever and not have to get a hotel room. or car camp without the tent.
I thoguht the prius got way better mileage than the Honda? no? -
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Sun, April 22, 2007 - 9:24 AMWay better is pushing it. From what I've read, they are a bit better in 100% city stop and go conditions, but the mpg drops off on the highway. The Civic's milage actually improves during highway driving. I drive from DE to Hartford CT a lot, and the mpg is usually at least 5 better than my usual back and forth to work. So I guess if you never leave home and take a long trip the Prius makes more sense, but if you drive at highway speeds regularly you should go with the Civic. That's my (admittedly) empiric experience.
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Sun, April 22, 2007 - 8:18 PM"Way better"? Nope. The Monroney sticker says so, but the Toyota system lends itself very well to the EPA's testing -- real world isn't quite up to the sticker numbers. The Civic Hybrid's real-world is closer to its sticker. You can see the real-world numbers calculated by owners at greenhybrid.com, click the Compare button.
peace,
Linda ('03 Civic Hybrid, 60K miles, 04/2002-04/2006; '01 Prius, 60K miles, 08/2001-08/2005; '06 Insight, 04/2007-present)
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Mon, April 16, 2007 - 3:49 AMI made a post about my Insight months ago...not one nibble! I guess I'm the only Insight driver in this forum! Great tribe, though.
Elise in NH
125K miles
62.5 lifetime MPG
Happy as hell with my little "moon-mobile" -
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Sun, April 22, 2007 - 8:20 PMHi, Elise --
I've got one too. Ordered one when they first came out, but couldn't take delivery when it came in -- hubby had broken his foot in the meantime -- but he's all healed and I picked one up last year!
~Linda -
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Mon, April 23, 2007 - 8:10 AMI'm actually getting higher than sticker when it comes to open highway mpg (53-54 real world versus 51 advertised on the sticker), which really shocked me the first time it happened. In mixed driving I'm averaging 46 to 48 mpg overall. A lot of the difference in real world numbers comes down to local road conditions and personal driving style (i.e. aggressive and fast or obsessively energy efficient) and I wonder if any of the comparison studies take that into consideration. -
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Re: Toyota vs. other brands
Mon, April 23, 2007 - 8:10 AMI'm driving on '07 prius btw. =)
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