I'm not really a hybrid guy, I'm an old BMW 2002 (the model, not the year) kind of guy. But at 33 years old and with ~387,000 miles on the Bimmer it's starting to show a distressing combination of metal fatigue and rust. So time to look for a new car, and of course I want to get a newer BMW. But the wife has other ideas and wants to help save the planet. So last October I did my homework, and one morning after my wife (who is a nurse) worked all night, I called her at work after seeing that the Honda dealer 50 miles away had two Accord Hybrids on sale for $2000 off of sticker. It actually turned out that they really only had one Accord Hybrid for sale when we got there.

So on the way to the dealer I showed my wife a bewildering amount of hybrid information I had found and printed off of the internet. No way were we getting a Ford. Our friends down the street bought a Prius a couple of months earlier and were very happy with it. But the local Toyota dealer was where I had had some horrific experiences with our Chrysler Town and Country minivan (they're a Toyota, Ford, and Chrysler dealer), and I really never ever wanted to set foot in that dealership ever again. And I'm a bigger guy (6'2", 215 lbs.), and I've always liked having a big trunk like the BMW rather than a hatchback.

So me and my sleep deprived wife get to the Honda dealership, and we almost didn't even go in because my wife doesn't feel that the Accord *looks* like a hybrid like a Prius does. I explain that I'm not comfortable in a smaller car like a Civic or a Prius, and I never want to set foot in the local Toyota dealership ever again. Then we got interrupted by a most pleasant young saleswoman who knew all the green and safety virtues of the car. We need to act fast because this is right after the last gas scare, and we want to take advantage of the tax credits ($3500 combined federal and state of Colorado) on our 2005 tax return. So to make a long story short we buy the car and drive it home that same day.

One thing that I liked about the Accord was that I didn't have to get into an arguement with my wife about stuff like leather seats and XM radio. And she really, really likes the heated seats in the winter. And we were looking for more of a highway cruiser to go to Santa Fe and Phoenix rather than an around town car because around here we can just ride our bicycles instead. So after we buy the car a couple of weeks go by and finally my wife figures out that she's been snookered. At dinner she expresses that she can't believe how fast this Honda Hybrid car is. Well, of course I explain that I'm not going to embarrass the hybrid movement by holding up traffic. She's a little irritated with me until my daughter chimes in and says "Well mom, you got what you wanted, and dad got what he wanted, so what's wrong with that?". After dinner I told my daughter to remind me to raise her allowance.

Anyway, just wanted to say hello and introduce myself.

 

Welcome aboard!

 

Thanks for the great introduction. You've got some gog information in there and it's good to hear you are both happy with the choice.
The Accord is hard to stay off the pedal though. There's a lot of horsepower under the hood.

 

Excellent story Durango Dave. Welcome to GH.

 

wha-BAM! And THAT is the great thing about the HAH, or the Camry, or Highlander, or any other non-entry-level cars that get hybridized. They make lots of people happy, and get them where they need to be in the style they like/are accustomed to all while using a little less of a finite resource. Not as much saving as say the HCH, but still saving and inline with a different set of priorities.

Its just a shame they didn't hybridize the 4cyl version or market what they have very well, cuz the Camry is going to bury the Accord.

Sounds like you bought it for all the exactly right reasons, and recognize that its a long-distance animal not an errand runner. May I ask what kind of mileage you're getting? Will you be adding to the database?

 

 

Well, I think that it's important that the automobile manufacturers show that they can make a viable performance sports sedan in a hybrid model, not just as an Insight or Echo type car. And my wife and I really like the idea of the engine nor running when you are stopped. If you extrapolate this to all the cars struggling along in Denver, Phoenix, LA, etc. on the freeways, it has to eventually make a difference in air quality.

We only have ~1800 miles on it so far, and around town in the winter, on short trips < 3mi. when my wife drives it to work (the engine doesn't get warm enough for AutoStop to kick in) it only gets ~24mpg. But drivig back to the dealer 50 miles away to get the oil changed at 60-80mph on a backcountry highway, I got ~39mpg and I don't feel that the engine is even broken in yet. And when you go out to pass, it sure is fast!!!!!

 

Awesome! Welcome to the forums!

 

Yea... I traded my 2001 BMW 325 for my 05 HAH and I've been generally impressed with the lack of "step-down" in performance between the two cars. The Accord has more horsepower because you just NEVAH know when you have to hit 160 on open road, running to the grocery store for bread and milk!!

The only two real downsides I've seen is that the all-electronic steering in the Honda has about as much "road feel" as a video game, and the Accord has a much higher center of gravity than the BMW. This causes for more of a sense of "leaning" in curves, but it also means I can step out of the car and not look left and right and see my kneecaps by my head as I stand up.

Fortunately we also have a Civic Hybrid for the hi-mileage runs. I do a heavy mix of city and country driving in my daily commute with a fair amount of stop'n'go, but I'm still pushing low 28s with it, what with driving it like a normal car at regular speeds - nothing special with hypermiling on it.

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a hypermiler scofflaw. I drive it like a "regular" car and still spend half the money I did, feeding the BMW.

 

160?? You're talking kph, right?