laramie

Hybrids as they are right now SOTA most useful in urban driving. There is also a real question on just how long it'll last (the batteries) in Minnesota winters and how much it'll cost to replace and just what to do to recycle the things also. I'd look at some of the smaller wagons/crossovers coming on the market i.e.: Toyota's Matrix, Ford Focus wagon etc etc. BTW VW has a very eco friendly diesel, I drove one to KC, KS and got 40 plus mpg.

I will consider a hybrid next time I buy a car, but I drive 25,000 miles per year, which is more than most people. I will also consider high-mileage non-hybrids and diesels. I think each person really needs to do the math, albeit with unknowns such as the longevity of the battery pack and the future price of gasoline. I am pretty sure that hybrids are not cost effective for people who drive an average amount, but some people obviously think that reducing gasoline consumption is more important than saving money.

I was at a friend's house the other day and we were discussing using a gas hot water heater vs. an electric one. I said that the gas heater was less expensive to operate. He said that he gets all of his electricity from wind power, so therefore that option was "more green" even though the cost to operate is higher.

So, a judgment needs to be made about how much money one is willing to spend in order to be more environmentally responsible. You may need to make this judgment when considering a hybrid car as well.

You might want to look at the Ford Escape Hybrid. It only gets 36 hwy/31 city, but thats pretty good for a SUV.

I can't find the link right now, but recently there was a comparison done of the *total* environmental cost of cars, from construction to destruction. It was very interesting. As my memory serves me, hybreds were not well represented in the top ten.

I thought a good deal about this problem when I bought my Hundai last year. Most of my driving is on the freeway, not in town, so the benefit of a hybred is not as great as a city driver would have. Next I looked at milage and overall cost of vehicles. I chose a Hundai, cost new about 12k, with milage in the 35 range. That is almost as good as some hybreds. Turns out that the car I chose was in the top ten *overall* green vehicles listed in the article. I think that a Honda Civic, or whatever their lower end high milage vehicle currently is, would be a good choice too, though they seem to have abandoned the old Honda Civic hatchback, which to my mind was one of the best cars ever built (40 + mpg freeway @ 70 mph age 12 yrs...) The hatchback or "Coupe" versions of cars have quite a lot of cargo toting ability, I've hauled all kinds of stuff in a series of hatchbacks, starting with the Datsun B-210, continuing with two Honda Civic's and now the Hundai. Lumber up to 10' will fit inside, though only a couple of sticks, 8' fits well, and roof racks will haul up to, um, about 6 sheets of 3/4 plywood. Unfortunately the inside cargo space on a Coupe or Hatchback is either not quite 4' wide or is barely 4' wide. Not sure what the cargo dimensions of a Hybred would be.