best electric bicycle 2010 image
AmmyBABY
I am 17 and as an early graduation present, my parents have agreed to buy me a car. (I attend high school and college at the same time, because of this program I'm in, so please, no one give me mouth about getting a brand new car!)
After I'm done with my community college/high school here, I should receive an AA degree and transfer to a 4-year university. This means I will be away from home and will be driving back and forth a lot, which is one of the reasons why I chose these two hybrid cars.
Both cars look promising, but I'm not sure which one would be best suited for myself. I originally wanted a Prius, but after hearing about the recalls and problems a lot of people have, I've been having second thoughts. Things like the brake messing up and problems with the gear shift changing on its own. Plus, a bare-boned Prius comes to about the same price as a fully-loaded Honda Insight.
I checked for problems with the 2010 Insight, but haven't found many common that should raise any concerns. The Insight is a little bit more compact than the Prius, and I heard was much slower. (but speed isn't too important to me anyway.)
Both cars seem to have it's perks and downfalls, but I really cannot decide between them. Which car do you think is a better buy?
I want a car that is fuel-efficient, keeps me safe, and is easy to maneuver. Out of the two, which is better for those needs?
Please no bad mouthing and rude answers. Thank you!
Answer
The only braking problems that Prius ever had were:
A. If you put in additional floor mats on top of the originals it could get stuck in the accelerator pedal. Even that isn't a big problem because the Prius (unlike non-hybrid Toyotas) has brake override which stops the acceleration when you firmly press on the brakes.
B. Brake feel. Because hybrids use a combination of regenerative, friction braking, and traction control, it's possible in certain conditions to feel the transition and to have to adjust your foot pressure on the brakes. Some people complain about this in the same way that people complained about power brakes when they first came out (a number of cars were returned then too but the media and lawyers weren't as rabid as they are today so there wasn't the big deal there is now).
The braking problems, other than the floor mats (and cars have been getting floor mats stuck in the pedals ever since there have been floor mats) and pedal feel are:
1. Misidentification with Toyota's non-hybrid cars. (Many people think that the CHP officer and his family were in a Prius, but they were in a non-hybrid, stupidly overpowered, rental Lexus that may have had mechanical problems before they rented it)
2. Hoaxes (some people with financial problems have claimed problems to get out of paying).
3. Driver error (stepping on the accelerator when they thought they were stepping on the brake).
The Prius has four braking systems:
1. Regenerative.
2. Friction.
3. Engine.
4. Parking.
There is also brake-assist which determines if you are in an emergency stop and supplies extra power to the brakes (a kind of panic mode). You have to really try hard to not be able to stop a Prius.
I don't know where you got the gear shift changing on it's own from. This can't happen because the Prius never changes gears. Heck, it never even goes out of gear. The drive train in the Prius is composed of a simple planetary gear system similar to a differential. Reverse is electric.
A technical look at the "problems" is here: http://www.techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/storm.html
Note that the Insight is in it's first year of sale so the problems that it might have aren't known. The older Insight was a totally different car. The Prius was on sale in North America from 2000 to 2010 before any "problems" occurred. Interestingly the "problems" happened during the year the government took over a car company.
- I want a car that is fuel-efficient, keeps me safe, and is easy to maneuver. Out of the two, which is better for those needs?
IMHO, it's the Prius.
1. It's more fuel efficient than the Honda.
2. It has advanced safety features such as brake-override, brake-assist, vehicle stability control (vehicle stability control is a system that keeps you from doing doughnuts in slippery conditions if you are going anything like a reasonable speed for the conditiions). Optionally there is radar pre-collision, radar cruise control, and even self-parking.
3. It's a mid-sized car. There is room for four full-sized adults or you can put a bicycle or two in the back without taking their rear wheels off.
4. It scores four or five star in every crash test category.
5. Toyota has replaced many of the mechanical components with more reliable electronics. For instance there is no alternator, no starter motor, no clutch or fluid coupling (a fluid coupling is the automatic transmission equivalent of a clutch), and the automatic transmission with its hundreds of parts has been replaced with a simple planetary gear system similar to a differential.
6. It has a very high owner satisfaction rating.
I have two, a 2001 and a 2004. They have been trouble free (the media hype notwithstanding) and among the best cars I've ever had. It would be really hard for me or my wife to go back to old fashioned cars. The 2004 has 108,000 miles and a lifetime average of 56 mpg according to the logbook that I keep. By year the average mpg for the six complete years has been: 50.8, 52.6, 56.3, 57.3, 59.9, 61.4.
UPDATE:
FWIW, I pay about $420 for 6 months for two Prius through Progressive. It's hard to get cheaper than that for any car. I'm sure there's some insurance companies that charge more.
The only braking problems that Prius ever had were:
A. If you put in additional floor mats on top of the originals it could get stuck in the accelerator pedal. Even that isn't a big problem because the Prius (unlike non-hybrid Toyotas) has brake override which stops the acceleration when you firmly press on the brakes.
B. Brake feel. Because hybrids use a combination of regenerative, friction braking, and traction control, it's possible in certain conditions to feel the transition and to have to adjust your foot pressure on the brakes. Some people complain about this in the same way that people complained about power brakes when they first came out (a number of cars were returned then too but the media and lawyers weren't as rabid as they are today so there wasn't the big deal there is now).
The braking problems, other than the floor mats (and cars have been getting floor mats stuck in the pedals ever since there have been floor mats) and pedal feel are:
1. Misidentification with Toyota's non-hybrid cars. (Many people think that the CHP officer and his family were in a Prius, but they were in a non-hybrid, stupidly overpowered, rental Lexus that may have had mechanical problems before they rented it)
2. Hoaxes (some people with financial problems have claimed problems to get out of paying).
3. Driver error (stepping on the accelerator when they thought they were stepping on the brake).
The Prius has four braking systems:
1. Regenerative.
2. Friction.
3. Engine.
4. Parking.
There is also brake-assist which determines if you are in an emergency stop and supplies extra power to the brakes (a kind of panic mode). You have to really try hard to not be able to stop a Prius.
I don't know where you got the gear shift changing on it's own from. This can't happen because the Prius never changes gears. Heck, it never even goes out of gear. The drive train in the Prius is composed of a simple planetary gear system similar to a differential. Reverse is electric.
A technical look at the "problems" is here: http://www.techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/storm.html
Note that the Insight is in it's first year of sale so the problems that it might have aren't known. The older Insight was a totally different car. The Prius was on sale in North America from 2000 to 2010 before any "problems" occurred. Interestingly the "problems" happened during the year the government took over a car company.
- I want a car that is fuel-efficient, keeps me safe, and is easy to maneuver. Out of the two, which is better for those needs?
IMHO, it's the Prius.
1. It's more fuel efficient than the Honda.
2. It has advanced safety features such as brake-override, brake-assist, vehicle stability control (vehicle stability control is a system that keeps you from doing doughnuts in slippery conditions if you are going anything like a reasonable speed for the conditiions). Optionally there is radar pre-collision, radar cruise control, and even self-parking.
3. It's a mid-sized car. There is room for four full-sized adults or you can put a bicycle or two in the back without taking their rear wheels off.
4. It scores four or five star in every crash test category.
5. Toyota has replaced many of the mechanical components with more reliable electronics. For instance there is no alternator, no starter motor, no clutch or fluid coupling (a fluid coupling is the automatic transmission equivalent of a clutch), and the automatic transmission with its hundreds of parts has been replaced with a simple planetary gear system similar to a differential.
6. It has a very high owner satisfaction rating.
I have two, a 2001 and a 2004. They have been trouble free (the media hype notwithstanding) and among the best cars I've ever had. It would be really hard for me or my wife to go back to old fashioned cars. The 2004 has 108,000 miles and a lifetime average of 56 mpg according to the logbook that I keep. By year the average mpg for the six complete years has been: 50.8, 52.6, 56.3, 57.3, 59.9, 61.4.
UPDATE:
FWIW, I pay about $420 for 6 months for two Prius through Progressive. It's hard to get cheaper than that for any car. I'm sure there's some insurance companies that charge more.
Florida living expenses for 2010?
Certified
I need an online calculator that would estimate the living expenses in Florida for next year. I'll be 18 and moving out of my parents house and I'm wondering what I'll be spending my money on. I'll be riding a bicycle to avoid paying car insurance and avoid waiting and paying for the bus. What are some things I'd need to buy? Sources?
How do I estimate my electric and water bill?
Is there a telephone company that would allow me to pay per inute instead of a set month bill? I don't use the phone a lot so I'd rather get charged by the minute to have a lower bill.
Answer
It depends on where you live in FL, if you rent a room or an apartment and how big it is. Me and some friends split a 3 bedroom during college, and during the summer our electric bill would easily be over $300 (remember also, "summer" is literally 6 months long). Cable was about $150.
And really, riding a bike in the summer isn't really always a viable option, if the oppressive heat doesn't get to you the random and completely unpredictable rain storms will. And their public transportation sucks (at least every place I've been).
No,phone companies charge by the month, if you want to pay by the minute then get a prepaid cell.
Seriously, though, I HATE FL with a passion and would never recommend anyone to move there, I'm much happier being home in So Cal.
It depends on where you live in FL, if you rent a room or an apartment and how big it is. Me and some friends split a 3 bedroom during college, and during the summer our electric bill would easily be over $300 (remember also, "summer" is literally 6 months long). Cable was about $150.
And really, riding a bike in the summer isn't really always a viable option, if the oppressive heat doesn't get to you the random and completely unpredictable rain storms will. And their public transportation sucks (at least every place I've been).
No,phone companies charge by the month, if you want to pay by the minute then get a prepaid cell.
Seriously, though, I HATE FL with a passion and would never recommend anyone to move there, I'm much happier being home in So Cal.
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Title Post: 2010 Honda Insight VS 2010 Toyota Prius?
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Rating: 83% based on 9498 ratings. 4 user reviews.
Author: Unknown
Thanks For Coming T0 My Blog
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