Well before the hybrid car, what did you drive?

Currently I am driving a Ford Thunderbird. I like it alot, but I need a little better gas mileage, which is my biggest factor in getting a hybrid.

So anyone else care to share their current/past car(s) they drove?

I just said goodbye to my 1994 Subaru Impreza. She only had 65,005 miles on her when I sold her, so I felt very bad about getting rid of a car that obviously had a lot of life left in her (probably another 140K!).

Before that I had a 1987 Toyota Camry that I bought from my mother. When I traded it in in 1995, it had 170K on it (but needed a valve job).

Though I have a short daily commute (8 miles round trip), I am looking forward to the Prius becoming our family's primary vehicle for errands and longer trips.

Los Angeles, California
Tideland Pearl - BI Package
Most Recent Tank Mileage - 44.6

The 4-mile trips will kill your MPG, but that's the same with every car. You can at least find security in the fact that Toyota expects the battery to last well over 150k miles. With less maintenance and less gas, you'll be saving quite a bit of money between now and then!

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I know, I'm lamenting the fact that I can't do much better than 43-46 on my daily commute.

I drove from Los Angeles to Laguna Woods (and back - 110 m total) on Sunday (light traffic) and got 56.7 mpg.

Of course I'm just getting out of the "break in" stage - hit 500 miles last night. I'm hoping even with short commute I'll eventually be able to get 50mpg for those trips.

As the weather and my health improves I hope to start walking to work again - which is another type of conservation altogether.

Los Angeles, California
Tideland Pearl - BI Package
Most Recent Tank Mileage - 44.6

I'm impressed. I just broke 1000 miles and am averaging about 45. I have never been in the 50+ range long-term, and I live in Orlando!

Short trips are about 25-35 MPG for me.

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Back on track! I drove a '97 Lexus ES300. Works well, and we still have it. But who wouldn't want a Prius?

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My previous car was an 86 VW GTI Golf. My son has it now. Well over 2509k on it - I keep things almost forever. I got that car when my wife wanted me to replace my previous aging vehicle. It was.... Wait for it .... and 86 VW Golf.

OK - so I was in a rut. but the first Golf was purchased used in 89 with about 60k on it. About 5 years ago, it was going strong (and was a daily commuter) with about 350k on it, when a tree fell on it. D'oh.

Prior to that, was a Ford Fiesta - loved the car, got a consistent 32mpg no matter what, had over 210k on it when a guy pulls out of a driveway in front of me. Almost missed him - put a tiny nick in his bumper. Crushed my car beyond recognition!

So - I keep my cars a long time - do a lot of the work myself (I think that may end with the Prius!). It has been forever - well, 1979 anyway, since I have owned a new one.

Jack
2004 Seaside

Eschew Obfuscation
Avoid pompous prolixity
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.

Our last car was a 1990 Camry Wagon -- w/170k miles. We gave it to a family that was having a rough time due to a medical condition. The only thing we ever needed to do with that car was regular maintenance. We never had a repair bill!

Before that, we had a Honda Acura hatch-back with 180k until it was totaled in a head-on crash (no one received a scratch!). That car gave us a consistent 35MPG and ran beautifully. It was sad to part with it.

Prior to the Honda, we had a Datsun that we sold for $500 with 250k miles.

We like to run our cars into the ground -- but we take good care of them so they last as long as possible. Our other vehicle is a Dodge Caravan that is used for hauling windsurfing equipment around and doubles as changing, sleeping room, etc. This is the second Caravan (purchased used). The first one needed a new transmission at only 70k miles. What is nice about the '04 Prius is that we can use it for hauling all but the largest items, so the van is only used for short, local trips (less than 10 miles on most days).

Our next mini-van will hopefully be a hybrid with better milage. What is so disouraging is that the van gets better milage than many of the new, smaller sedans on the market. I'm so hoping that the word *truly* gets out about the new hybrids. That's the only way Detroit will respond.

Pat

Wow! 2,509,000 miles?

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I don't believe there are any plans for a MiniVan in the US, but there is already one in Japan. I doubt they'll concentrate on vans until hybrid becomes mainstream.

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