Commuting - Stuck Behind A Prius

I got stuck, rather I should say, gratefully placed behind a hybrid Prius at a red light today. Ahh, how refreshing compared to getting stuck behind a normal car. Why can't more people drive these? ;)

I know, I know, hybrids are expensive, and people are weary of their enivronmental impact because of batteries, ect. It still made me think about what the roads would be like with lower pollution cars though.

Just a ramble.

I'm too reliant on my hearing and don't look over my shoulder often enough, I know... but I've been spooked by Prii coming up behind a couple of times... thsoe things are creepy quiet in traffic!

Most new jap cars are quiet. My neighbor has a honda civic and when he leaves for work at night, I hear the gate open, then I hear a twig or two snapping, then the gate close, that's about it. I can't hear the car start or rev up.

Ok, I'm no expert in this, but it's my understanding that a Prius is not a parallel hybrid, but a series hybrid. That is, the gasoline motor runs pretty much all the time except when stopped at a red light for more than a few seconds. The gasoline motor is very similar to a small motorcycle motor.

So how would a Prius be cleaner than a small motorcycle?

My car was built in Germany, where they have very strict emissions policies. While it still pollutes more per mile than a Prius, I get around that problem by driving it less than a couple thousand miles a year.

I know hybrids capture everyone's imagination because they're all hi tech and appeal to the gadget lovers, but the simple fact of the matter is that it's a conspicous stopgap. The real solution is changing our dependence on the automobile specifically, and our wastefull ways in general.

Az

The prius has room to add a whole lotta converts and filters while a motorcycle doesn't.
Also, in the city in stop and go traffic, you can recover quite a bit in regen braking, which a motorcycle also doesn't have.

I think my coworker's R1 has more horsepower than 90% of the cars that people in the company drive...

I was stuck behind a ferrari f40 once, it felt pretty good.

The environmental worries because of batteries are made by clueless people. Hybrids use NiMH batteries (banks of D cells), which are basically toxin free and very highly recyclable. You could dump them straight into a municipal waste stream without causing any trouble.

I don't personally think much of hybrids because you can get a much cheaper and simpler car that gets just as good mileage anyway (I'm thinking specifically of the VW Golf TDI, which gets about the same mileage as a Prius, in the 50-60 MPG range if driven as carefully as the mileage nuts do their Prius's) but costs much, much less and is an extremely simple car with little to go wrong compared to a Prius).

As far as quiet; I used to scare joggers (unintentionally) in my old Ford Probe. You couldn't hear it run unless I revved the engine.

Ok, I'm no expert in this, but it's my understanding that a Prius is not a parallel hybrid, but a series hybrid. That is, the gasoline motor runs pretty much all the time except when stopped at a red light for more than a few seconds. The gasoline motor is very similar to a small motorcycle motor.

My wife and I got a Prius about 6 weeks ago, and I can assure you that the gas motor is shutdown frequently during normal driving. It's mainly used during acceleration and uphill slopes, and will cut out whenever the extra power isn't required. You'd probably be surprise at how often the electric motors are able to fully accomodate the vehicle. :)

Obviously, the gas motor is also used periodically to recharge the battery. This is partially offset by the regenerative breaking, which converts a portion of the energy from braking (which would normally be lost as heat) back into electricity.

Ok, I'm no expert in this, but it's my understanding that a Prius is not a parallel hybrid, but a series hybrid. That is, the gasoline motor runs pretty much all the time except when stopped at a red light for more than a few seconds. The gasoline motor is very similar to a small motorcycle motor.

You're thinking of the hybrid Honda Civic, which only gets 45 MPG.

I got stuck behind some old gas guzzler spewing blue smoke that suffocated me. Stunk up the whole street. A Prius would be wonderful to get stuck behind.

For those wondering about the technical details, the Honda Civic and Toyota Prius hybrids are both parallel hybrids - that is, the gasoline engine and electric motor can directly power the motion of the vehicle, and they can do it simultaneously. An example of a series hybrid would be a train locomotive, which has both a diesel and electric engine. However, the diesel engine never directly powers the locomotive. It generates electricity for use by the electric motor.

The difference between the Prius and Civic hybrids lies not in being parallel vs. series hybrids, but in the drivetrain and power-split design. The Civic, for all of the batteries and fancy hybrid technology, is still essentially a conventional automobile drivetrain with an electric motor attached. The electric motor only cuts in the give the car a boost when more power is needed. The engine turns off at stoplights. That's about it. The Prius, on the other hand, has a drivetrain that was designed from the ground-up as purely a hybrid drivetrain, designed and intended to maximize the benefits of hybrid power (incidentally, this is why you can't get a manual transmission Prius). It can run on the gasoline engine alone, operate both motors at the same time, or even run on the electric motor alone at low speeds and acceleration. It's technologically far more elegant and advanced that the Civic system, and that's where the difference between the two cars comes in.

I still don't like cars much, but I still cheer a little bit in my head when I'm passed by a Prius (unless the $&#%!! passes too close...).

We now return you to your regularly scheduled bike forums. ;)

We have an old-school Prius (well, my parents do) and I love it. If you don't mind driving a tad slow it stays on the electric motor, and even without that the gas and pollution you save through not idling is astronomic.

They do scare the cr** outta me when I'm biking though.

Yep the silent Prius sneak-up thing is spooky, but I can think of a lot worse things to be stuck behind. I like my prius, and at stops you don't idle, you're not using the engine on downhills, etc it's amazing how it adds up.

While the Prius puts a huge smile on my face I do know that as the Peak Oil reality unfolds it's going to become obsolete, in my lifetime the hip thing may well be the horse and carriage. We're not going to see everyone on our poor tired Mother Earth driving prii around in the future, the future is going to be more like the Flintstones than the Jetsons. But that's OK, the Flintstones had fun!

so which one of those that you plug into an electrical outlet?

A modern, small diesel engine does as many mpg as a Prius, and is not worse environmentally either. End of discussion. The braking is the only intelligent feature of the car, but it's clearly not that big a deal, given that a VW Lupo diesel that costs a fraction of a Prius will carry you around with less fuel...

The only meaningful research going on that I've heard of is a guy trying to find some microbes that split water into H and O as part of their metabolism. If that worked out on a really large scale (probably won't), Hydrogen cells would really be a pollution-free energy source. Now we are stuck with rechargeable batteries of some sort: NiMH, a really idiotic idea to begin with, or Hydrogen cells. (The current idea on how to get the astronomical amount of H for cars is "from splitting water using the energy from nuclear power plants")

Ok, I'm no expert in this, but it's my understanding that a Prius is not a parallel hybrid, but a series hybrid. That is, the gasoline motor runs pretty much all the time except when stopped at a red light for more than a few seconds. The gasoline motor is very similar to a small motorcycle motor.

So how would a Prius be cleaner than a small motorcycle?
Az
Actually you have the series parallel reversed. A series hybrid has an engine powering a generator which either charges batteries to run the motor or runs the motor directly. On parallel hybrid the engine provides direct power to move the vehicle suplemented by a motor. The Prius is a parallel because the engine drive the transmission directly. However due to the size of the suplemental motor and the design of the transmission the Prius can move the car a low speeds with the motor alone. The Honda Civic and Insight hybrids are also parallel hybrids but the motor is directly attached to the drive shaft of the engine and therefore the engine must be running to moe the vehicle.
A series hybrid can be easily made to run without the engine becase the motor provides all the motive force. However train engines are a series hybrid but have no electric storage onboard an so require the engines to be running to provide power to the motors.
The clean exhaust of the Prius is not really related to it being a hybrid other than as marketing. The Prius and some other clean cars like the Civic HX and a version of the Sentra have cleaner burning engines combined with better converters to reduce the pollutants in the exhaust to very low levels.
I think hybrids are a great advancement in auto engineering but I'd still rather see more cyclists. My minivan uses less fuel than most hybrids and doesn't produce much more pollution because I ride rather than drive it.
Craig

Why can't more people drive these?

They're ugly as sin (or a Pontiac Aztek)

I'll stick with my TDI Jetta. 45-50mpg and it looks like a normal car.

They're ugly as sin (or a Pontiac Aztek)

I'll stick with my TDI Jetta. 45-50mpg and it looks like a normal car.
I'll disagree with you that they are ugly, but the TDI does get similar performance in fuel and power and looks more like most cars, if thats your thing. However the Civic and Accord hybrids look like very common cars and the Civic is priced very similar to the TDI. Plus all hybrid examples mentioned above produce much fewer air pollutants during operation than the TDI. Still I might go for a TDI because I can run biodiesel a non petroleum product.
Craig

Wow, this spawned quite a discussion.

I think I would rather have a VW TDI Gold/Jetta also. They seem like a simpler machine compared to a hybrid. I feel a car with a traditional drive system would fare better overtime compared to a hybrid because of wear and repair costs. Though diesal is more expensive ($0.50) than regular unleaded around here. It used to be the opposite, diesal was cheaper. I wonder why it changed.

You can't get VW Lupos in the US, I think they're outlawed or something.

Priuses are by no means as ugly as the Aztek, it takes real GM engineering to make something THAT ugly. Priuses don't look bad, a little different but not the giant fuglymobile the Aztek is. About 1/2 the size for starters.

I got stuck behind some old gas guzzler spewing blue smoke that suffocated me. Stunk up the whole street. A Prius would be wonderful to get stuck behind.

Was just hill climbing at lunch and two construction vehicles slowly motored past... Aggggg... the air was filled with blue smoke and fumes... especially sad as that particular part of the climb is full of sage brush that really smells sweet.

The hill stunk the whole way up. :(

The electric buses can sneak up on you too, they are very quiet at low speed. I listen to the overhead wires wining to detect them coming up from behind. At higher speeds, the tire noise is a dead giveaway. Trollies too can be very quiet, that is why they put bells on them since about 120 years ago. A bell, or a very low volume horn, could be a good idea for any electric vehicle.

Matt

Yep electric streetcars can be very quiet, rubber-tired vehicles have at least a fair amount of tire noise (some cars are quiet enough that you can only hear their tire noise) but those streetcars on metal rails, wow one snuck up on me in Germany and it made me jump.

Why can't more people drive these [Toyota Prius]?
Because they're gay looking? I've seen them here in SoCal on the 405 and they are tiny - like a coffin-on-wheels. I'd hate to be in one of them in a smash-up with an SUV, a truck, or even a sedan like a BMW or a Mercedes.

How about price? Why pay $21K for a 2005 Toyota Prius (http://autos.yahoo.com/newcars/toyota_prius_4doorliftback_2005/16237/style_overview.html) with only a 1.5L V4 76 HP tiny hybrid engine when you can get a 2006 Mitisubishi Eclipse GT (http://autos.yahoo.com/newcars/mitsubishi_eclipse_gt_2006/17219/style_overview.html) sports car with 3.8L V6, 263 HP engine for $24K? Women would much rather be in a sports car than a little hybrid.

For my next car, I'd really like to get the 2006 Pontiac GTO (http://autos.yahoo.com/newcars/pontiac_gto_coupe_2006/17262/style_overview.html) sports car with a 6.0L V8 400 HP engine. :D Never underestimate the thrill of acceleration.

The prius has room to add a whole lotta converts and filters while a motorcycle doesn't.
Also, in the city in stop and go traffic, you can recover quite a bit in regen braking, which a motorcycle also doesn't have.
Ah, but you're forgetting the maneuverability of a motorcycle. I avoid nearly all traffic except when I'm on a narrow street and can't filter between two SUVs. I think the future of America is 2-wheeled transportation (motorized and human-powered) like in India and China. The difference between those two, at least a decade ago, is that our roads are much, much better and we can ride at higher speeds.

The sportbike I had in mind is the 2006 Suzuki GSX-R600 (http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products/GSXR600K6/Default.aspx). It's only $8800 which is nearly 60% less than a Toyota Prius. And it would get better mileage in all-around practical commuting since the hybrid's batteries aren't used on the freeways, only at stoplights in stop-and-go traffic.

I think you are wrong on the VW emissions. The hybrids are ULEV's (ultra-low emission vehicles) The TDI does not meet clean air standards in Vermont and some other states. Deisels may have acceptable emissions but the particulate matter they discharge is another story? I considered the TDI, it's agreat alternative to hybrids. Maybe the new low-sulphur fuels will help them pass tougher standards.

The sportbike I had in mind is the 2006 Suzuki GSX-R600 (http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products/GSXR600K6/Default.aspx). It's only $8800 which is nearly 60% less than a Toyota Prius. And it would get better mileage in all-around practical commuting since the hybrid's batteries aren't used on the freeways, only at stoplights in stop-and-go traffic.

Let me assure you, the Prius most certainly does make use of the batteries/electric motors while driving on the freeway. The offerings from other manufacturers may differ...

How about price? Why pay $21K for a 2005 Toyota Prius (http://autos.yahoo.com/newcars/toyota_prius_4doorliftback_2005/16237/style_overview.html) with only a 1.5L V4 76 HP tiny hybrid engine when you can get a 2006 Mitisubishi Eclipse GT (http://autos.yahoo.com/newcars/mitsubishi_eclipse_gt_2006/17219/style_overview.html) sports car with 3.8L V6, 263 HP engine for $24K? Women would much rather be in a sports car than a little hybrid.


People consider them for the fuel economy when its a daily driver. My former daily driver was a 1993 Ford Ranger 4x4. Terrible gas milage. 20-22 highway. Fillups once a week. Insane. I keep it to haul stuff and thats it. Once i get a utility trailer to tow with the wifes Jeep Cherokee its gonna get sold.

Funny thing about bikes. My TDI Jetta has made my Ducati Monster 620 rather redundant as an alternate means of cheap transportation. The gas milage is about the same, but the TDI can go 600+ miles between trips to the gas station where the Duc has to go every 140. Still, Id rather be on a bike (gas or human powered) than in a cage.

Because they're gay looking? I've seen them here in SoCal on the 405 and they are tiny - like a coffin-on-wheels. I'd hate to be in one of them in a smash-up with an SUV, a truck, or even a sedan like a BMW or a Mercedes.

How about price? Why pay $21K for a 2005 Toyota Prius (http://autos.yahoo.com/newcars/toyota_prius_4doorliftback_2005/16237/style_overview.html) with only a 1.5L V4 76 HP tiny hybrid engine when you can get a 2006 Mitisubishi Eclipse GT (http://autos.yahoo.com/newcars/mitsubishi_eclipse_gt_2006/17219/style_overview.html) sports car with 3.8L V6, 263 HP engine for $24K? Women would much rather be in a sports car than a little hybrid.

For my next car, I'd really like to get the 2006 Pontiac GTO (http://autos.yahoo.com/newcars/pontiac_gto_coupe_2006/17262/style_overview.html) sports car with a 6.0L V8 400 HP engine. :D Never underestimate the thrill of acceleration.
I think they look better than most small sedans, which is what they should be compared to, not to peformance sports cars
You can't judge a cars crash performance based on size and looks alone.

Why get a Prius over those cars you note?
1. Can you fit a bike in either of those two cars? Can you fit two bikes with front and rear wheels removed in either of those two cars (you can in a Prius)
2. Can you very comfortably fit four people? Can you put two in the front three in the rear? - I do this in the Prius.

I have no regret about my Prius purchase. It is a great compliment to my other vehicle a 2dr Ford Explorer (which fits no more bikes inside than the Prius!) I do indeed regulary get 50mpg without trying to converve fuel. When I actually try I get 55mpg+. Its a pleasnt car to drive, silence while stopped is calming.

But maybe its because for me driving is not a sport, a game or a method of defining oneself to the opposite sex. It is simply transportation.

Al

If you're looking for a series hybrid, talk to Ferrari. Last I heard, they were tinkering with electric motors. The torque "curve" on electric is beautiful :)

A few months ago I asked a Toyota salesman about battery replacement for their hybrid. He estimated the life of the battery at 3-4 years and the replacement cost at $3000-4000! If this is so, I do not see how any money is saved with the additional cost of purchasing a hybrid, and then the battery replacement charge.

A few months ago I asked a Toyota salesman about battery replacement for their hybrid. He estimated the life of the battery at 3-4 years and the replacement cost at $3000-4000! If this is so, I do not see how any money is saved with the additional cost of purchasing a hybrid, and then the battery replacement charge.
The warrantee on all hybrid components including the battery is 8yrs. So the first battery change out (if indeed at 4yrs which I understand is shorter than expected) shouldn't cost the owner.

Not everyone buys them because of cost savings (when there are cheaper options) or even environmental reasons (which are slim). Some folks buy them cause they like them and like different technologies.

Al

Too bad you didn't get a chance to thank the driver, eh? (or would that be too earnest?)

The sportbike I had in mind is the 2006 Suzuki GSX-R600 (http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products/GSXR600K6/Default.aspx). It's only $8800 which is nearly 60% less than a Toyota Prius. And it would get better mileage in all-around practical commuting since the hybrid's batteries aren't used on the freeways, only at stoplights in stop-and-go traffic.

Good luck trying to get 99% of the population to ride a motorcycle when it's below 50, raining, snowing, muddy, blistering hot, need to carry groceries, equipment...
Luckily, you're that 1% that most corporations wouldn't blink at ignoring.

If you're looking for a series hybrid, talk to Ferrari. Last I heard, they were tinkering with electric motors. The torque "curve" on electric is beautiful :)

Hehe, I don't know why someone would need more power to accelerate, the limit seems to be tires and ground. Max torque @ 0 RPM would probably lead to horrible 0-60 times cause of spin out. On the other hand, 30-60, 60-90, etc times would probably be off the charts.
Weren't there talk of a hybrid eclipse with a 240hp gas motor and a 150hp electric?

Yep electric streetcars can be very quiet, rubber-tired vehicles have at least a fair amount of tire noise (some cars are quiet enough that you can only hear their tire noise) but those streetcars on metal rails, wow one snuck up on me in Germany and it made me jump.

You haven't been around the Toronto Streetcars! I love em - but no-one's ever accused them of being quiet!!!

Our 2005 Prius is our daily driver, and I love it. Wouldn't trade it for anything else on the road right now.

* It's quiet all right, but once you get above 20mph or so, the road noise is enough to be heard by cyclists. I think. Still, when I'm driving it at low speeds, I'm especially careful to look for unaware peds and cyclists. (A good habit no matter what you drive, IMHO.)

* The Prius is snappy and maneuverable, it's fast, and the pickup's GREAT at highway speeds! I suppose a sports car would be nice, but the Prius is a lot of fun to drive. I'm happy.

* About expensive parts and batteries... two words: "extended warranty."

* The Prius was designed more for ultra-low emissions than high mileage, believe it or not. When its engineers had to make choices between the two goals, they chose low emissions. For you Prius owners: that's why the car always runs the engine after you start it, even if it's already warm. It has to heat everything up to achieve ultra-low emissions. (Or something; I'm not clear on the technical details.)

For you Prius owners: that's why the car always runs the engine after you start it, even if it's already warm. It has to heat everything up to achieve ultra-low emissions. (Or something; I'm not clear on the technical details.)
Ditto to what you wrote about why you like it.

But the engine does shut off when stopped at intersections, etc. It does not always run. Oh perhaps what you meant is that it starts the engine when you start it, which is true for the reasons you state, to warm it up. I also read somewhere it does this so as not to confuse drivers, so they get expected engine noise confirmation that power is on.

Also do correct another fallacy noted above by mac, the battery/elec motor does provide power at cruising speeds - in fact is helps you power up the steeper inclines on hilly freeways.

Al

The only meaningful research going on that I've heard of is a guy trying to find some microbes that split water into H and O as part of their metabolism.
Now there's an apocalyptic scenario for you...

A modern, small diesel engine does as many mpg as a Prius, and is not worse environmentally either. End of discussion. The braking is the only intelligent feature of the car, but it's clearly not that big a deal, given that a VW Lupo diesel that costs a fraction of a Prius will carry you around with less fuel...

The only meaningful research going on that I've heard of is a guy trying to find some microbes that split water into H and O as part of their metabolism. If that worked out on a really large scale (probably won't), Hydrogen cells would really be a pollution-free energy source. Now we are stuck with rechargeable batteries of some sort: NiMH, a really idiotic idea to begin with, or Hydrogen cells. (The current idea on how to get the astronomical amount of H for cars is "from splitting water using the energy from nuclear power plants")

I believe that a small diesel engine is much worse environmentally. You won't find any in California due to emission standards.

But the engine does shut off when stopped at intersections, etc. It does not always run. Oh perhaps what you meant is that it starts the engine when you start it, which is true for the reasons you state, to warm it up. I also read somewhere it does this so as not to confuse drivers, so they get expected engine noise confirmation that power is on.

Also do correct another fallacy noted above by mac, the battery/elec motor does provide power at cruising speeds - in fact is helps you power up the steeper inclines on hilly freeways.

I don't know if they've redone the drivetrain design of the Prius lately, but as of 2001:
the prius was designed to go with the gas motor off only at 15mph or less. Below 15mph, the gas motor would run if the batteries were below about 70% or so, only.

Also, Toyota did indeed design the Prius to have extremely low emissions of poisons and particulate matter. But good mileage is the only way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. What that means is that the stuff that comes out of a Prius tailpipe is barely poisonous (you could put your mouth there and breathe and it would take some time to actually harm you), but it's still contributing to the greenhouse effect.

A Jetta TDI, on the other hand, spews more soot and poison than the average economy car. Consumer Reports also says that Jettas, Golfs, New Beetles, etc from VW are terrible in reliability. Unlike the Prius, which has been impeccable according to Consumer Reports owner surveys.

The gasoline motor is very similar to a small motorcycle motor.

So how would a Prius be cleaner than a small motorcycle?


For one thing it conforms to passenger car emissions standards. Motorcycles aren't subject to the same rules and don't even have catylitic converters in the US. Motorcycles pollute MUCH worse than almost any car.

My bicycle, powered by black bean chili, has worse emissions than your Prius.

TDIs can run biodiesel (B-100 (pure) or mixes (B-5 to B-50+)). B-20 is the most common in the east, but still not common enough in my opinion. B-100 is hard to come by in these parts, but quite common in the midwest where all the soybeans grow. TDIs are fun to drive, and get great mileage.

I'm not convinced that VW has done much in the reliability department, however. That is unfortunate because I would like to get at TDI but will hold off until VW gets their act together and VWs approach the Japanese cars in reliability and quality (stupid things don't last, like bearings, and doors, and electrical systems).

In the meantime, I'll stick with my old honda when needed, and ride my bike the rest of the time.

The Kluger and Harrier comes in Hybrid form here in Japan too, so if the Prius isn't your cup of tea in looks hold off because there's more coming. Does the Civic come in a Hybrid in the US?
Steve.

Too bad they don't sell SMART cars here cuz I'd get one in an instant. I see them all over Toronto though. It'd be easier for me to find parking for one of them bad boys although w/ a top speed of 85 mph, it'd take me a while to get somewhere.

Too bad they don't sell SMART cars here cuz I'd get one in an instant. I see them all over Toronto though. It'd be easier for me to find parking for one of them bad boys although w/ a top speed of 85 mph, it'd take me a while to get somewhere.

Stay tuned:

http://www.zapworld.com/cars/smartCar.asp

We saw these things all over the place in Germany. Even sat in one at a dealership near Nüremburg.

At 6'1" I fit with ease. Neat little cars.

Ok, I'm no expert in this, but it's my understanding that a Prius is not a parallel hybrid, but a series hybrid. That is, the gasoline motor runs pretty much all the time except when stopped at a red light for more than a few seconds. The gasoline motor is very similar to a small motorcycle motor.

So how would a Prius be cleaner than a small motorcycle?

My car was built in Germany, where they have very strict emissions policies. While it still pollutes more per mile than a Prius, I get around that problem by driving it less than a couple thousand miles a year.
I think the OP is exaggerating a bit or perhaps lives in an area of town where vehicles are much older and less well-maintained and perhaps he also has a more sensitive nose so he smells the fumes more.


I know hybrids capture everyone's imagination because they're all hi tech and appeal to the gadget lovers, but the simple fact of the matter is that it's a conspicous stopgap. The real solution is changing our dependence on the automobile specifically, and our wastefull ways in general.

Az
One word for you. Teleportation.

Stay tuned:

http://www.zapworld.com/cars/smartCar.asp

We saw these things all over the place in Germany. Even sat in one at a dealership near Nüremburg.

At 6'1" I fit with ease. Neat little cars.
I and most people I know would roll that puny little thing 18 ways from sunday. Anybody that made and marketed that would ultimately be doing the same thing that SUV makers did. Putting a vehicle that most people could not control properly into the hands of unexperienced drivers and thus allowing people to be killed because of it. I imagine that this would have alot more fatalities and accidents if it were on the same scale as SUVs

The Kluger and Harrier comes in Hybrid form here in Japan too, so if the Prius isn't your cup of tea in looks hold off because there's more coming. Does the Civic come in a Hybrid in the US?
Steve.
Yes I believe Honda has 2 versions of the hybrid either out or coming out.

I have a Prius and from what I've seen, I wouldn't even think of trading it for a Honda hybrid. It's true that the car does look kinda weird but that's one of the reasons I like it :D


BTW I remember reading somewhere about a zero emission hybrid motorcycle :) The problem the designers were facing was that the bike was too quite. lol