Camry hybrid selling at record pace
 

ABG!

why is the highway number so low??? it's a hybrid...should at least get 40mpg on the hwy

2.4 liter engine.

It's much more performance oriented than the prius.

Also, you're used to seeing highway numbers much higher than the city numbers, Compaq, so the relative comparison may be misleading. Maybe a better question would be: why is the city number so high? :)

It's just a matter of time before a plug-in retrofit is available for this car. I'll consider that a significant milestone, because it will essentially be the first "mainstream" family sedan with a plug-in (low/medium speed) electric range in the NA market.

And an interesting comparison to the Canadian market: the Prius has never sold nearly as well here as in the US, but sales of the Camry hybrid here represent "almost 28%" of all Camry sales, a much higher proportion than the US market.

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/a.../01/c9342.html

I'm glad to see that they are selling as its a great mpg car for its size. However, when I went to the Milwaukee Auto Show over winter I got to see these two side by side. I gotta say, the Prius had just about every inch of interior space as the Camry, and just about as much cargo space. Now, of course this is all just eyeballing it. But, between the two I'd never take the Camry hybrid. I guess the main perk would be a faster car... woopie.

I agree. I'd pick the Prius in a heartbeat based on those reasons, and because it's a more versatile cargo hauler (not to mention has much better fuel economy potential).

But my sis & bro-in-law bought their Camry hybrid over the Prius because it's got more airbags (and stability control?). Safety was their thing.

How about an update thread on that? I know at one point you were working with them on FE. Is that still a on going event or have they just gone back to driving it? Curious as to there before and after numbers.:)

I'll be seeing them tonight - I'll get some info. But last my brother-in-law reported, it wasn't sounding pretty (bad winter, no block heater).

My cousin went from a V-8 Nissan Titan Crew Cab and previously a BMW X5 to a Camry Hybrid and she loves it. She had a say in the "family vehicle purchase" this time, and it's paying dividends. They live in the Bay Area, where we know traffic stinks.

I haven't heard numbers on it -- I'll have to write to check in :)

RH77

One factor in the Canadian marketplace is that a Camry Hybrid and Prius are more or less identical in price - 29K base. The Prius has always been much much more expensive here and in fact has dropped a lot since last year with the exchange corrections that many auto mfrs were finally forced to take.

If I had to choose between them, it would be a very tough choice. The Camry actually fits my long legs far better up front despite the number saying otherwise and the back seat fits 3 far better and has better headroom. However, the Prius has way more utility than the Camry's puny 10 cf trunk and of course it gets significantly better mileage.

I would also think that a Camry would fare better in most types of crashes, but then again it's almost 380mm longer and 100mm wider.

I'm glad that more efficient cars are taking the place of less efficient ones. I'll be even more happy when the used car market is saturated with very efficient cars. Right now, it's very very bad math to purchase a new hybrid rather than a used econobox.

Why do you say that?

I assume someone would buy a hybrid for the efficiency. Most studies show that the added cost of the hybrid is payed for after about 8 years, if the hybrid is one that is covered by the Fed tax incentives (some no longer are). However, a lot of econoboxes sell for less than 7k once they are 4 or 5 years old. The difference is at least 15k, which buys a heck of a lot of gas.

hmmm....that's about what my 1996 2.2L camry can get...

Your comparing a smaller used car to a larger brand new car. Thats not really a fair comparison. Also, with gas prices increasing you'll see faster payback times. The stats I've seen by Intellichoice show payback as being around 5 years. Of course this varies quite a bit depending on what companies have tax incentives left yet. Also, the payback times don't include any of the other benefits that are included by purchasing a hybrid such as emissions reduction.

Exactly. I'm making a financial comparison. Which is the best for the buyer.

I agree that higher gas prices will make the payback for the hybrid that much faster. But the comparison also applies to any new car made by the major auto makers, just with slightly smaller numbers.

As for other factors, the used car usually wins there, too.

I completely agree with you on the used car idea. Never bought a new car in my life and I honestly don't plan to anytime in the future.

However, if I had the extra money at the time of purchasing my Matrix, I'd have a Prius (used) in my driveway right now. My wife puts the miles on like candy and it would pay for itself in no time.

Me too. It's going to be 10 years, at least, before the used car market is what I would like it to be, with no mammoth gas hogs.

And what my wife's 97 v6 Camry gets*




*on the highway, when I drive

it's still a 4 cylender...I had a 2.4 liter in my altima and with tire pressure and some aero mods i would be able to squeeze out 38-39mpg at 70+mph on the freeway...

Since the car has more "performance" they can lower the gearing of the OD or they can put a 6 speed automatic and make the 6th gear pretty low while still achieving great accelaration...

33mpg is great in the city but since the car has more power since it's a hybrid the gearing should be lower..

Yeah, but all things being equal you can get better mileage with a smaller volume engine. You are totally right of course. I still am somewhat surprised that the mileage isn't a bit higher.

There are many other reasons for buying a new car, if you're earning $120,000 a year and have no free time then it probably makes economic sense to purchase a new car. You might actually end up losing money by purchasing a used car since you need to spend more time mucking about going to mechanics instead of just dropping it off at the dealer and getting a loaner car.

People always say this, that their spare time is worth what they make an hour at work. I doubt many people can actually decide on the weekend, instead of fixing their car, they are going to work and make their $X/hour...

I think of it as I spent 2 hours putting front brakes on my car, I saved $150 or made $75/hour which equals $132000/year!

Also, who loses time at work taking their car in? I know my boss wouldn't let me take the afternoon off to go watch someone do the brakes weither I was being paid or not...

I think that buying a new hybrid only makes sense economically and probably environmentally, if you are going to buy a new car regardless, then it might as well be a hybrid. As people have said their older Camry's get the same mileage, cost 1/3 or less and don't create all the pollution it takes to get that shiney hybrid on the dealers lot. In my head a $30,000 car took about $20,000 in fossil fuels to be made.

Of course the new hybrid Camry is safer but I often wonder if you could far exceed a new cars safety level by upgrading your old car, or who knows, maybe just wearing a bike helmet would statistically make you as safe in your old car as in a new one.

Ian

I really don't see the point in buying a new car because i don't have time to take my car to get fixed. I make time.

besides my crappy civic seats 5, 4 comfortably, has enough room for me to put a bike in there and have one of the rear seats up for a person to sit. And my last 2 tanks were 40mpg+...why do i need a hybrid?

Part of the people buying a new car is for us to impress the people that don't like us. My cousin bought a brand new TL 2 months ago. None of his friends cared. In fact the car drinks so much gas that his mom drives it to work 5 miles to her work and he only drives it on the weekend and he pays $60 for gas every week. well now $65 a week. How sad is that to be driving your mom's car to work because you can't afford to fill up your shiny new car..

People driving the Civic Hybrids are getting 60+ mpg and some into the 70s. Plus, the environmental aspect that the Civic Hybrid is one of the the cleanest burning vehicles in the US currently ahead of the Prius.

On the topic of safety I think Greg House summed it up best in this weeks episode of House.

"If you want people to drive slower and safer then strap a machete where the air bag is, pointed right at their throat. I'm sure everyone would slow down and drive safer then."

That's the thing there is more to the equations then just MPG.

this guy hit the nail on the head.

I believe I shouldn't spend 20 grand on a new car that will get better mileage when my car that gets 40+... I would be losing more in the long run if I bought a brand new civic hybrid or camry. Now if I was driving some 10mpg truck and driving a lot of miles then that would make sense.

In his book, R.Q. Riley makes a good point: people buy with their emotions and only use reason as a supporting argument.

People buy a Prius because it makes a statement about who they are, not because they primarily want save money or help the environment.

Ask the average Prius buyer why they bought their car, and their likely to support their choice with logic..."it gets 50mpg, access to the carpool lane, is environmentally friendly."

Deep down, the truth emerges: "I bought a Prius to buy the experience of owning a 'Prius.'"

- LostCause

It sounds like they were misinformed about the Prius. Mine (an '07) has front, front side airbags, and side curtains that cover both front and rear. Stability control came with Package 2 (what I have) and up. TCH is a nice car, though. I might have considered it if not for the FE hit and how much I hated not having a wagon-like car for the previous four years.

Being misinformed is entirely possible. Do you know if they score equally in crash tests too?

I didn't get a chance to grill my bro-in-law about the car's mileage this week, but they're dropping in tomorrow, so I'll try to remember.

Wow. If you don't mind me asking, why do you work so much and what is your motivation for doing so? I'd imagine the cost/benefit ratio starts to taper off at about $120,000. My immediate guess is that you are a business owner or self-employed, which should mean working is fun, right...:p

Knowing that you work 16+ hour days kind of puts your effort here on EM into perspective. I feel like acknowledging the time you spend here. :)

- LostCause

Safety is not to be overlooked in hybrid choice
 

I just went through a horrific accident in a 1999 Honda Accord in April 2012. I was cut out by Smyrna GA fire and EMS and only woke up in the Kennestone GA Trauma Center. Though I was in a lot of pain with many injuries, I lived no thanks to Honda. The Accord steering wheel airbag failed to activate. the other airbags all went off. The Honda seat belt snapped my shoulder bone which meant I had to have an aluminum plate screwed into my shoulder to hold it together. I am still healing two months later.

We looked at many replacement cars and choices including the Prius.
My wife hated the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid due to poor engineering choices she quickly picked up on. Many of the 2012 cars have very bad blind spots for a short person due to the redesign now mandated for thicker pillars to protect occupants in a rollover accident.

Looking at the 2012 Prius gives one the impression you are giving up a lot of safety for a compact hyper mileage car. The Camry 2012 Hybrid doesn't give you that impression. It is heavier, quieter, has far more power, carries five in more comfort than the Prius while sacrificing just a little in EPA MPG.

To us it was a no brainer to select the safer car. There are now a boatload of new safety features in the high tech Camry Hybrid that didn't even exist in 1999. Since we went with a high end XLS we have most of the latest features.

We also went with the Blizzard White as it was mentioned as being a highly visible color which enhanced safety. I would have preferred Bright Orange or High Visibility Green but White will do since it rejects a lot of heat here in the South.

--

I was surprised to notice I do not have an electrical or temperature gauge in the Camry Hybrid.

I dropped by this site looking for information on the ScanGauge 2
and the desirability of mounting one above the Camry review mirror with a Blend Mount adapter. Has anyone else that is using this forum done that?

How well does the ScanGauge 2 work with the Camry 2012 Hybrid?

Would you buy one?

Thanks in advance for any observations.