Hi evervyboby !
I'm Denis, from France, I'm engineer and I discovered greenhybrid.com just after bought a Honda Civic Hybrid ! Well, I decide to create a greendriving French Website.
In France, most of people is not very aware, even TV and Automobile press tell us a lot of thing. I think Frenches are not ready to practice greendriving... maybe because they care about our planet and because price of crude oil is decreasing...
French automotive manfacturers are late in hybrid system developpement and they still devellopped their Diesel motors. I must say that French diesel are very efficient but they don't filter the particles... Our gouvernment tries to give money to "green diesel" buyer, but the taxe cut is only based on CO2 emission. So for the same car with the same motor, same power, etc... if you choose the version with particles filter, you loose 500 euros (~750 $US). So the greener the car is, the lower taxe cut you have....
So for French speaking, I invite youto have a look at hpp://eco.conduite.free.fr
PS : sorry for my poor English speaking, it's typicaly French

 

Welcome to the CLUB!
Excellent!

One thing you might check is the Yahoo groups. There is an European Prius group that still has some activity. I haven't looked for a Honda Civic Hybrid group but then I drive a Prius.
As recently as January 2008, some French and German professors were claiming the Prius was just 'clever marketing.' They continued to claim a hybrid can not be profitable. Some of us think they didn't get the memo that Toyota alone had cumulatively sold over 1,000,000 hybrids by 2007!
Not a problem! I won't try my three years of high school French studied in the 1960s in Oklahoma.

We have a very good set of skilled Honda Civic Hybrid (HCH) owners in the Honda forums. I have no doubt you find many good tricks to try with your car. The HCH is an excellent cross country car.

Did you get it new? What sort of options?

Bob Wilson

 

Welcome, Denis!

Your English is no problem for me - and it's FAR better than my French

Lots of good info on this site, and friendly people too. The Civic Hybrid section is especially vibrant - tons of people & tons of articles.

We have our differences, but it's almost always civil here. And I always find it interesting to hear the varying opinions anyway. This is a good place to hang out.

 

Thanks a lot ! I haven't for Yahoo Groups yet, but i'll do ! I need just a few more time ..

European want to be "green" people but in fact, it's really true ! In France EDF (Electricity of France) and some others 'state companies" try in the 90's to use electric cars ! But French infrastructures needed to recharge battery didn't be available, so.... electric cars were dead as fast as they were born !! But the reason is not because 90's electric cars had poor milage, it's just because of they were misused and because French car manufacturers didn't really want to produce this kind of cars... and it's still the same French car manufacturers policy now !!
I think Hybrid cars in Europe are too expensive for many people, a Toyota Prius II cost 28000 euros (about 35000 $US) and a Honda Civic Hybrid cost 24000 euros (about 30000 $ US) so.... even French have a tax cut of 2000 euros (about 2500 $US) on this two cars, it still expensive compare to the US price !

I've bought it in August, only 3 versions of HCH are available in France and for each there is no option. I have a look at the others European countries, HCH models are different in each country...
So I really haven't any options in my HCH

Denis SCHEEHL

 

Hi and thanks !

I don't known, but it seems I'm the only French here !! But I'm verry happy and interesting to hear (or to read) the varying opinions too !

I just hope that my French forums about greendriving will be more vibrant !

So I have a lot of things to read now about HCH and Prius and about the others Hybrid cars ! I hope I can improve my English too by discussing with you !

 

Hi,
We still have many hybrid skeptics here but after the cost of gasoline doubled between April and November, the last of the skeptics pretty much keep their opinions to themselves. Inside of one major automaker, an engineer reported 'They got religion' (a strong, positive change of opinion about hybrid electrics.) This same company came out with their first, full hybrid electric costing over $50,000, twice the cost of a Prius. Yet I am sure their corporate skeptics will blame the credit crisis, not their obscene introduction of an excessively expensive hybrid electric.

This same company is working hard on their next generation of hybrid electric but it will also be very expensive. Given their financial situation, they may no longer have a choice on setting the price.

Sad to say but they have been selling 'auto-stop' vehicles as hybrid electrics. These cars turn off the engine when stopped and the brake is held. As soon as the brake is released, it starts the engine by the time the driver is ready to accelerate. Better than a manual stop-start, they call this a 'mild hybrid' even though the vehicle has no ability to move about on electric only power.

I am not an expert in the HCH but the electric motor complements the gas engine by helping in the low-torque range. This allows a smaller gas engine to perform like a larger displacement engine. It is a clever approach although not the one I selected.

BTW, here is a photo of an electric bicycle bought this summer:

It fills our need for short, 5-10 km trips, to get groceries or other short errands. I am not totally happy with it but have some ideas to correct the short comings.
We have been lucky in the USA. The adoption of the Prius by customers has probably exceeded Toyota's expectations. Since 2000 when the first ones arrived in the USA, there have been waiting lists for buyers and in some areas, the dealers added additional profit on top of the base price.

I bought my 2003 Prius, the NHW11 model, used with over 49,000 miles / 78,000 km on it for $17,300. We did look at the HCH but my wife has a bad back and knee. The higher seat of the Prius is much easier for her to get in and out.

Well off to work. Chat at you later.

Bob Wilson

 

Hi Bob,

yep, there is a lots of skeptics, instead of bying hybrid cars, French people go for greendriving ! but now the crude oil is cheaper than a few month ago, and bad things come back... they are always in urge !! faster on road, etc.... They don't remind that crude oil is something very precious...

 

Denis,
It's the same here. As soon as the price of fuel goes down, we tend to forget about the high and painful prices we were just paying a couple of months ago. We think it's all some great conspiracy, or trading speculators.
Gas prices ARE manipulated some, for sure. But the fact remains that eventually demand will continuously outstrip supply. When that happens, there's only one way for prices to go, and that's UP.
Hang in there, like we try to do. Eventually everyone will wake up, maybe only because there will be no other choice, but still they will wake up. Then, REAL progress will be made on conservation or alternatives to oil. It will be a good thing.

 

Well Bob, I think all people of the word must be aware of that ! I think the most problem we'll have in this 21st century : the energy ! and how to manage it !
But people must have in mind that we're lucky in our world because we are aware of the problem and some people fight against waste and misused of our ressources ! Think about the third world and the emerging coutries ! how do they manage their own energy and their own ressources ??? for sure, they're making or they'll make the same mistakes as we did... So I'm very worry about that.