Buy a beater!

Tim

 

Find a 5 yr old Accord 4 cylinder 5 Spd (I had one, and regularly got 32 mpg even while hammering it), and keep the GT!

 

My wife has a 06 Honda Civic 4 door with moon roof, auto, 4 wheel disk brakes, alloy wheel, etc, etc. It's a great car and gets 30 mpg consistently. Personally I think the hybrids are for people who are trying to be policitically correct.

 

Nothing against Ford's choices, but have you looked at the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu? There is a "mild hybrid" version that gets 24 city/32 highway.

If I were in your shoes, I would also look at the Ford Fusion 4-cylinder.

Good luck!

 

If you look at the extra price for the Hybrid and the dep. on the stang,it will take you 8 years to break even. After the warentee how about maint.? Wait a couple year their will be a lot more to chose from. Plus more e85 and posible hydogen fuel cars?

 

Well your wife has a five person car for the family right, you can make it work If not good luck...

 

I averaged about 21 mpg on my previous commute.

 

good luck with that.
civics aren't very big.
i'd go for the escape hybrid.

 

I suggest we start a pool to guess how long it takes before he regrets his decision. I say six months tops.

 

family ALWAYS comes first then the car. my girlfriend says it seems the car comes before her but thats another story ahahahah. if you need to sell it to save on gas or whatnot then go for it. but from what i keep hearing and just from common sense, id stay away from the hybrids.

#1 NOONE knows how to fix them except a dealer. you thing your mechanic whos being fixing cars for the past 20 years will know how to fix a civic hybrid when it breaks down 5 years from now? there are no articles online or elsewhere to prive this point its just my opinion.

#2 The cost of a hybrid versus a 4cyl commuter car its just insane. when you do the math, it will take you almost 5 years (might be exagerating a little) for it to become worth it when it comes to how much it takes to fill up at the gas station.

#3 Hybrids just seem to be just a temporary fix. Sooner or later were going to either be running on either fuel cells or something else.

Again, most of this is just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt. If it were me id go out and get a 4 door 4cyl compact like a nissan sentra or honda civic. hell, that new 08 saturn astra has some really good looking features. just do some research before biting the bullet and going hybrid. but in the end, it is your decision.

good luck!

 

i say once summer hits, hes going to wish he still had the stang. this is my 2nd winter and mine is just sitting in the garage waiting for srping and every day i think about trading it in since it seems like im just making payments for a car i dont even drive. but once it gets warmer...........i thank god i didnt sell it.

so i say 4 months

 

Here is a Motor Trend article that compares 3 hybrid mid-size sedans, their virtues, and the potential savings you get from each. Here is another one that includes the Civic Hybrid.

 

You are right! I will regret selling the car immediately. In fact I regretted selling the '68 Mustang, '65 Mustang, '79 Cougar, and '97 Mark VIII. You can't ever get those cars back and if you did, they wouldn't be in the same shape anyway. I had an opportunity to repurchase my first car, the '68 Mustang, but when I went to look at it the floorboards had rusted so badly you could fred-flinstone the brakes through the 2' x 2' holes. So yeah, I'll miss the '06 if I go through with this. I have driven the civic hybrid and Prius. The Prius was OK, but the Civic was actually kind of fun,,,, even with an 11 sec 0-60 time.

I've always made a game in squeaking MPG out of the GT. I can average 25+ in the city and about 30 on the highway. But that's about the limit. Some of the good Civic hybrid drivers can average tank after tank in the 60's.

 

Refer to these 2 ideas:

 

I say keep the car and enjoy it!! I do a 30 mile commute daily in mine at least 4 days out of the week. (have second car).

The mixed city/hwy mileage with my normal driving is around 18.

Would it be cheaper to fuel a civic? Sure. Could I park the mustang in the garage and drive a beater every day? Sure.

Would turning it into a weekend toy be as much fun? nope!!!

I have a weekend toy. And as nice as it is, I have more fun getting in the stang every day and heading to work than I do on the weekends in the summer with the other car.

I say keep the stang and buy a nice pre-owned sedan to haul the kiddies around in. Or get a hot 5 seater. Pre-owned audi S4's are in the 27-30K range right now.

 

I wouldnt do it, sorry. I get the family thing and maybe the fuel mileage, but this car is a h*** of a lot better than a civic, and dont forget that you'll have to get the batts changed in the hybrid in a few years, for a substantial amount of $$$

 

Thanks to all for the comments. Here's some extra background for anybody also considering a Civic Hybrid.

-Most Civic Hybrids average in the 40's both on the highway and the city. Unlike the Prius, they have a more convential powertrain which is more effecient on the highway.
-The hypoid CVT in the Prius becomes horribly inefficient at highway speeds whereas the Civic's standard CVT remains effecient.
-Add in low rolling resistance tires, light aerodynamic wheels, underbody aero paneling and the Civic can pull down mid 40's all day on the highway. No other modern convential cars (minus TDI) can do that. The older CRX's and Geo Metro's could pull those numbers but it's impossible to find decent ones now.
-The IMA battery on the Civic lasts about 150K miles. After the battery dies the Civic can operate like a regular car with the exception that the mileage will go down to low 40's. When the Prius battery dies, you are kind of screwed because the Prius CVT relies on the electric motor for reverse. And if you do choose to replace the battery in a Civic it costs around 2 grand.

I considered a TDI and even test drove a Jetta TDI. It was nice, but boring. The Mustang gives you instant gratification and feedback while the Civic has plenty of hybrid tricks to keep you occupied. The TDI gave no feedback at all.

As far as cost difference between a regular car and a hybrid, it's kind of a moot point after the $2100 tax credit because that lowers the cost down to a regular Civic EX. However, if you get hit with alternative minimum tax and can't take the credit then it's going to take a couple years to recoup the difference with current gas prices.

At this point, I'm most likely getting the Civic. I'll keep it for 5-6 years and then pass it down to my son to drive as his first car. At that point, I'll only need four seatbelts and I'll be back in a Mustang.
I've owned three Mustangs and I'll have another. Maybe next time I'll be driving a hybrid Mustang.

 

Jermaine, from experience, w/ my 4 kids, all their friends, my wife and her excursion (MPG?) and living in St. Louis a few years ago, my first question is this, what does your wife drive, what's your 2nd car? If its more fuel efficient than the 'stang, then I can see your reasoning. In my case, I commute around 25 mi. one way, mixed driving w/ my heavy foot. In Michigan. The 'stang gets used every day unless I know we're getting a big snow (4-6"+) and then I'll take the truck. There's no hybrid I could use to replace the big truck, and even with its milage hovering around 19 mpg, the stang is very useful UNLESS we all need to go somewhere or going grocery shopping. If your commute will be on any of the interstates in St. Louis, you're going to be doing 70+ most of the time just to keep up, and when I drove our focus there, I never got into the upper 20's milage-wise, even on the hwy's!! Its your choice and I'm sure whichever way you decide, you'll be satisfied with it, but if it was my decision, I'd keep the 'stang!!

 

You want a family car? Buy an American car, not a Honda.
2008 Ford Taurus, safest car in America.
2008 Ford Fusion - Excellent sedan.
2008 Escape Hybrid, very nice SUV with great gas mileage.

No reason to buy a Honda.

 

thanks for your service in iraq.....

this a joke?

would you really be happy in a honda? think about it,a frigging honda.... and a hybrid to boot (ewww)

suggestions:

-V6 mustang
-escape hybrid