Just to clarify, the above reference to the “Honda” was to the Civic Hybrid. I can’t find out as much about the Insight…They don’t mention anything beyond the standard 3year/36,000mile comprehensive warranty on it.
The five year end of things is for the pure electrics. But yes, eight to ten is about right for a hybrid, rule of thumbing it.
Which is still five or seven years shorter than your average car’s lifespan, and, you know, 30-50 years shorter than a good car’s lifespan.
Take a look around the next time you’re driving, and count how many 1970 or 1980s relics you see. There’s a lot still left on the road. And there’s always this one guy in town who still drives his Model A… original owner.
It should be noted that, assuming they keep the basic design the same, 5-10 years down the road, these batteries should be cheaper to replace due to the industry coming into it’s own and such.
I jsut traded in an 8 year old Honda Civic with 160,000 miles on it (to buy the hybrid). I shopped around for resale value first, going to non-Honda dealers and comparing trade-in value for different cars. I received estimates ranging from $1200 to $2200.
Figuring I get only the 8-year warranty life out of the hybrid’s battery pack, I have no problem accepting the prospective “loss” of 2K in 2011 dollars into my cost of ownership for teh vehicle. Not having to replace timing belts or schedule tune ups for the first 100,000 miles pretty much balances that side of the equation.
according to the DOT, the average age of the U.S. vehicle fleet is 8-9 years.
I wonder if that’s what Toyota is using to claim that the battery should last the life of the vehicle? That would put it in the same ballpark as the other batteries - about 8 years.
I don’t think Toyota expect that a hybrid car that is meticulously maintained would still have a functioning battery in 50 years.
I take it you live in a climate where they don’t use much salt on the roads?! 80s–Well, sure there are some. 70s–Very rare, I think, around these parts.
I just dug my car out of fourteen inches of snow, buddy. New York gets salt, all right… but still. Let’s see. CRXes show up and Honda’s not made 'em since 85-87ish. Saw a gorgeous mid-60s Barracuda, too. Weird looking car. I rule of thumbed on my commute today… Saw Mill down to the Deegan to the Triboro to Jamaica Ave and back, and about, yeah, one out of every ten was 80s or older. Hard to tell with the trucks, though. Maybe fifteen out of every hundred, cars alone. Not an inconsiderable amount. Now, the 70s cars that are left are either complete pieces of junk, or fairly expensive when new… I see Pintos and Caddys in about the same frequency. Gods only know what that tells you.
For most of these manufacturers, “normal conditions” means the Sun Belt.
Up here, right now, it’s twelve degrees below zero, which right there sucks 30% to 50% of the power available from the battery. My two-year-old Optima will barely turn the conventional engine over unless the heater is plugged in.
If you count on that electric motor to provide most of your off-the-line accelleration, well, your battery starts out down by around half, and rotating friction from thickened oil and gelled greases has doubled.
There’s a reason the GM Impact electric was never offered, even for short-term-lease, outside Southern California.
Good point there, Doc. There’s three Th!nks around, I know Ford cancelled the program, but I’ve seen them on the street since that announcement. (Weird darn things. They’re made of plastic… no, not fiberglass, plastic. And they look JUST like that Little Tykes car wee’uns scoot around.) And I’d not thought about how they’d handle this weather… as in not at all. God, I have a fresh battery and the day the Beetle was buried hood-deep it took ages to get going. But that’s the good part of the hybrid design, you have a gas engine for starting with.
Still, I’m not entirely sure, assuming on one hand, a hybrid or full electric car, and on the other, a, call it Honda Civic, your standard small car, there is more savings than between, say, a 2003 Ford Expedition and a 1980 Ford Bronco II. I’m pretty sure, in fact, there isn’t. Anyone got a breakdown here?