Pardon my naivete here...
Timothy P. Spila
>
> Buy a hybrid and get 60+ mpg. Or, for that matter, a bicycle, and get
> 5 mppbjs (miles per peanut butter and jelly sandwich).
>
Yeah, that is kind of why I bought a motorcycle. My old car was a real
gas-guzzler, but I got it from my parents at a "really good price", $0.
So, my motorcycle only gets about 50mpg, but I can definately get a good
parking space on campus. One warning though, even though the signs on the
parking lots say that you can, you can't park a motorcycle in a regular
spot when the lot is "open for general parking". Funny, you can park your
car there, but even if there are a lot of empty spaces, park your
motorcycle there, they will give you a ticket. (Bitter, me?)
Tim.
j
motorcycle parking is allowed on campus. I've learned the hard way.
Often there is motorcyle parking by the bike racks, but not posted. UGH!
Any place in town where they sell the motorized skateboards with handles?
J
Skyhooks
>
(snip)
> Any place in town where they sell the motorized skateboards with handles?
>
> J
Check out http://www.goped.com/ for motorized skateboards with handles.
They're not exactly 'cheap'!
Skyhooks
hmardis at uiuc dot edu
"reply to" address antispammed -- subtract the xxx.
John Wason
On Thu, 8 Jun 2000, Harlan Harris wrote:
> Buy a hybrid and get 60+ mpg. Or, for that matter, a bicycle, and get
> 5 mppbjs (miles per peanut butter and jelly sandwich).
Now my naivete will have to be on display. :) What's a "hybrid"? Could
you tell me (us) a little more about that alternative? Thanks.
John
mark edward hardwidge
> Now my naivete will have to be on display. :) What's a "hybrid"?
> Could you tell me (us) a little more about that alternative?
He probably means a gas/electric hybrid.
--
Mark E. Hardwidge
hard...@uiuc.edu
Harlan Harris
John Wason <jwa...@prairienet.org> wrote:
>
>On Sun, 11 Jun 2000, Harlan Harris wrote:
>> Yep, that's what I meant. Honda has one on the market, Toyota has one coming
>> out next month, I think, and all the other auto makers are working on them.
>> Instead of using a gas engine to directly drive the wheels, hybrid engines
>> use an ultra-efficient gas engine, running at a constant (optimal) rate, to
>> charge a battery, which then drives electric motors which turn the wheels.
>> They also use regenerative braking to help charge the battery as well. They
>> end up being about twice as efficient as a decent small sedan, with very long
>> range and fast refueling, unlike electric cars.
>>
>> -Harlan
>
>Any idea what such a beast costs (Honda) or will cost (Toyota)?
Letsee, off the manufacturer's web sites...
The Honda Insight has an MSRP of $18.8k, $20k with air conditioning. The
Toyoto Prius, which is bigger than the Insight (the Prius is a 4-door, the
Insight is a 2-door), has an MSRP of $20.5k. Somewhat more expensive than
a Tercel or a Corolla (respectively), but not vastly so. You'd probably
break even on cost over the life of the car, but with much less pollution
and much more peace-of-mind.
-Harlan
Brad Cortright
>
> The Honda Insight has an MSRP of $18.8k, $20k with air conditioning. The
> Toyoto Prius, which is bigger than the Insight (the Prius is a 4-door, the
> Insight is a 2-door), has an MSRP of $20.5k. Somewhat more expensive than
> a Tercel or a Corolla (respectively), but not vastly so. You'd probably
> break even on cost over the life of the car, but with much less pollution
> and much more peace-of-mind.
I saw a news report about 1.5 months ago saying that Honda Insight was
basically sold out. I think that most dealers only got 4-5 of them.
Also, I am sure that dealers have probably already received a lot of
inquiries about the Prius. So, you might have a tough time finding a
hybrid car to buy at the moment.
Timothy P. Spila
would be a severe power problem for the car wrt interstate and stop and go
driving. Now while pulling out quickly isn't always needed, it is
sometimes...Of course, having the hp of a drag racer isn't necessarily
needed either.
Tim.
John Wason wrote:
>
> It just bugs the hell out of me that Buckminster Fuller, of geodesic dome
> fame, designed a car back in the 1930's that seated 5 or 6, travelled
> upwards of 60 mph, and got 60+ mpg. We've had the technology for years
> and years to get much better gas mileage than the mpg's our autos
> currently get, but have suppressed it. Or so I think.
nick shane breems
> Sure is. A friend of mine in Carlsbad, CA is trying to buy
> TWO of them, and they were told in no uncertain terms that
> if they wanted one anytime soon, they should "offer" $5000
> or more for each car (over sticker). Seems like extortion
> to me.
I'm not sure I'm a fervant supporter of free-market capitalism,
but under the system we have in the US right now, this isn't
extortion, it's simple supply-and-demand economics. If the vehicle
is worth $5000 over sticker to your friend, then he's not getting
ripped off by paying that much, and if it isn't, he won't get one.
If Chrysler could sell all their vehicles at $5000 above sticker price,
but chose not to, you'd have to question their business sense. (Either
that, or question the business sense of the people who set the "sticker
price" in the first place. :-)
Nick
--
_ ____________________________________________ _
/ )|o' Nick Breems _|_ 'o|( \
/ / |o' bre...@uiuc.edu | 'o| \ \
_( (_ |o'_ CompSci Student / Network Analyst | _'o| _) )_
(((\ \}|o/ )____________________________________( \o|{/ /)))
(\\\\ \_/ / \ \_/ ////)
\ . / \ /
\ _/ \_ /
/ / / /