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Early Hybrid: Insight vs. Prius vs. Civic
I just got some terrible news from my insurance agent: The extra cost of insuring my 1991 Metro ( $250 a month for liability only) is more than I am saving on gas so I have decided to get rid of it. The truck is more practical if I am going to be paying the same money every month. (Plus, I have another Metro to play with for a while if gas prices do go up and the economic dynamic suddenly changes.)
I have not given up on owning a fuel-efficient pizza delivery car though. My latest thought is to get an early model hybrid car to deliver in instead. Now, I do prefer a manual transmission to an automatic or a CVT simply because I find a manual transmission car easier to drive. However, I don't want to buy something that is known to be an utter and complete piece of crap either. The car will see 95% city driving so it has to take more abuse than a highway commuter. I also figure that a manual transmission would be cheaper to rebuild than a CVT should the need arise. I admit I may be wrong though and am more than willing to listen to opinions from others who have lived with these cars. Please tell me about the good, the bad and the ugly of owning one of these cars. I'm all ears!
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No green technology will ever make a substantive environmental impact until it is economically viable for most people to use it. This must be from a reduction in net cost of the new technology, not an increase in the cost of the old technology through taxation
(Note: the car sees 100% city driving and is EPA rated at 37 mpg city)
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