Is CJ insane?

[cjsmith]

The Honda hybrids are pricey (used) or hard to find (new); they also have very anemic acceleration.* Heck, currently I hate getting stuck behind a Prius, and those things are downright peppy compared to the 2005 Honda Civic hybrid. [edit: The Prius itself is as peppy as I'd ever want. Their drivers may often choose slow acceleration. I have now been called on this three times from the Prius gallery.] Back to the Civic, though, how much are carpool stickers worth if I can't accelerate enough to merge into traffic sanely? What was I thinking?

I guess it's going to be the regular Civic sedan. It will certainly be reliable and last me a good long time. All I'll have to do to keep that car running is stay away from California drivers! Easy! ...oh, wait.

I put a small "right of first refusal" deposit on one today. It won't come in until the first or second week of October, and as it hasn't been assigned a VIN yet it will probably be a 2007, which I have never seen. As the deposit is both small and refundable, I will be making an effort to find another car sooner.

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*Other hybrid options don't work well at all. The Prius is too big, too expensive, and has too long a wait list, but I admit it would be fun to snag a used one and try for a full-electric conversion.** The Camry and Accord are of course too big. The Insight has no trunk, and I may very well need to haul a scooter some day (not to mention the square dance calling equipment).

**This is particularly nifty given that we have solar panels on the house. If we get rid of the pool and its associated pump, we become a net producer over the year as a whole. Might as well use some of that excess to drive a truly zero-emissions car!

Comments

[apparentparadox]

currently I hate getting stuck behind a Prius

I think that the Prius has pretty good acceleration if one chooses to use it. Don't judge the acceleration of the car based on the way that people are driving it! I haven't had any problems getting onto the freeway, or passing people going up a hill (like up 92 between 101 & 280).

I understand that a Prius is out for you due to other reasons, but it shouldn't be because of lack of acceleration.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I think that the Prius has pretty good acceleration if one chooses to use it.

I agree, based on the very short time I've driven one. My original note was poorly phrased in that it implies Priuses also lack pep. You're right that how people choose to drive it is a large factor, and in the Prius, self-selection tends to skew that in a certain direction.

[rfrench.livejournal.com]

When I test drove your Prius I thought it was quite peppy. And I'm pretty picky about peppiness. I drove the Civic Hybrid today and was practically ready to get out and push.

[apparentparadox]

It's nice to have some independent verification from someone who hasn't already drunk the kool-aid!