Anyone own a Honda Civic Hybrid?

[Lady's Human]

Hybrids only really pay if you're doing almost exclusively city driving.

On the highway, the hybrid portion of the drive system doesn't come into play at all.

If you're doing mostly highway driving, you're driving a really expensive 4 cylinder with a bunch of expensive to maintain but unused electronics.

[Alysser]

My dad has a Prius. He works for the city of New York and they provide city cars for the employees. He doesn't have to pay for all the feul, etc. He really likes it though and it's not that bad looking. He said he fuels up every 3 days about.

[Edwina's Secretary]

Hybrids only really pay if you're doing almost exclusively city driving.

Well that depends! I drive a hybrid. Up to LA and back and am getting around 33 mpg...close to the optimum for the vehicle. But highway driving in LA traffic doesn't often move very fast.

[Catty1]

I would like to find a website or info that backs up the 'urban legend' that because many parts for hybrid cars are made in countries where environmental standards are poor, the manufacture of the hybrid cars creates a bigger environmental foot print than the lifetime use of the car can make up for.

I have seen this and heard this...I am going to go find out if it's true...

ETA - for what it's worth:

http://www.wired.com/science/planete...ies_09usedcars

In 2006, an Oregon market research firm released an incendiary 500-page report. Its claim: A Humvee (13 miles per gallon city, 16 highway) uses less energy than a Prius (48 city, 45 highway). Scientists quickly debunked the study, but the Hummer lovers got one thing right. Pound for pound, making a Prius contributes more carbon to the atmosphere than making a Hummer, largely due to the environmental cost of the 30 pounds of nickel in the hybrid's battery. Of course, the hybrid quickly erases that carbon deficit on the road, thanks to its vastly superior fuel economy.

Still, the comparison suggests a more sensible question. If a new Prius were placed head-to-head with a used car, would the Prius win? Don't bet on it. Making a Prius consumes 113 million BTUs, according to sustainability engineer Pablo Päster. A single gallon of gas contains about 113,000 Btus, so Toyota's green wonder guzzles the equivalent of 1,000 gallons before it clocks its first mile. A used car, on the other hand, starts with a significant advantage: The first owner has already paid off its carbon debt. Buy a decade-old Toyota Tercel, which gets a respectable 35 mpg, and the Prius will have to drive 100,000 miles to catch up.

Better yet, buy a three-cylinder, 49-horsepower 1994 Geo Metro XFi, one of the most fuel-efficient cars ever built. It gets the same average mileage as a 2008 Prius, so a new hybrid would never close the carbon gap. Sure, the XFi has no AC or airbags — but nobody said saving the planet would be comfortable, or even safe.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/05/the-ultimate-pr.html

Ditching your gas guzzler is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint, but if you really want to do something about global warming, get a used car. You'll be putting less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

As Matt Power notes in this month's issue of Wired, hybrids get great gas mileage but it takes 113 million BTUs of energy to make a Toyota Prius. Because there are about 113,000 BTUs of energy in a gallon of gasoline, the Prius has consumed the equivalent of 1,000 gallons of gasoline before it reaches the showroom. Think of it as a carbon debt -- one you won't pay off until the Prius has turned over 46,000 miles or so.

There's an easy way to avoid that debt -- buy a used car. The debt has already been paid. But not just any used car will do.

It has to be something fuel efficient. Like, say, a 1998 Toyota Tercel that gets 27 mpg city / 35 mpg highway miles. The Prius will have to go 100,000 miles to achieve the same carbon savings as the 10-year-old Tercel. Get behind the wheel of a 1994 Geo Metro XFi, which matches the Prius' 46 mpg, and the Prius would never close the carbon gap, Power writes.

There are a lot of used cars out there that top 30 mpg, and more than a few that reach into the 40s. Just about any Ford Festiva or Aspire will deliver 33 mpg. The mid-'90s Mazda Proteges are good for 30 mpg or so, as are the Dodge Colts of the early '90s.

Go back a little further and the Honda CRX HF models will give you 39 to 45 mpg in a sporty two-seater that's fun to drive. If you don't mind driving the cheapest of cheap econoboxes, the 1985 Chevrolet Chevette got 36 mpg and the '87 Chevrolet Sprint got 40.

You may laugh, but these cars are becoming big sellers. USA Today says fuel-misers from the early 1990s are selling like crazy and prices have gone up 30 percent in the past few months. A rust-bucket Geo Metro with 175,000 on the odometer recently sold for three grand on eBay.

Of course, it can be tough finding a car that old that hasn't been beaten like a drum, and Robyn Eckard of Kelley Blue Book tells us most used car buyers prefer something no more than 5 to 7 years old and with fewer than 100K on the odometer. No problem.

The auto industry has spent much of the past decade cranking out SUVs, but it has managed to offer a few highly efficient cars as well. The Toyota Echo delivers 30 mpg or better, as does the Honda Civic. The Chevrolet Prizm and Mini Cooper come close. Volkswagen's diesels are good for mileage in the low 30s.

We've undoubtedly left some off the list. But the point is, you don't need to buy a Prius -- or any other hybrid, for that matter -- to get great fuel economy and minimize your carbon footprint. You might feel better driving a hybrid, but you won't necessarily be greener.