My wife currently has a 2005 Ford Explore, which she loves. The lease expires in August and it is time to start looking. Falling in line with our ‘green’ philosophy, we have decided to look for a hybrid car, hoping to save money on fuel and help the environment.
When we went looking to purchase a car for me last summer, we had been thinking about environmental issues and the rising cost of gas. I have owned Honda Accords for years, and have always been happy, but frankly I had grown bored of the same car. This is not to say anything bad about the Accord, I just wanted something different. Since I have had a great experience with Hondas, we went there.
When I went into the local Honda dealer, they had some very nice Civics available that were hybrids. It was strange, though, as the salesman talked me out of the car. They went with the theory that with the additional cost, it would take five years to make back the savings in gas. While the Civic was nice, why would I get a car the dealer would not recommend? Needless to say, I bought something else, but not a hybrid.
Fast forward eight months, we are now looking for a car for my wife and we really WANT to go green. With three daughters, it may be tough.
We walked into a Toyota dealer today, and they had no Prius’ in stock! Nothing to even test drive! They showed us a Hybrid Camry, but the mileage is not nearly the same and this is not what we ere looking to get. The car is strikingly similar to the Honda Accord, but the mileage is not even close to the Prius. I was also startled to see a note on the window of the sticker price ‘Market adjustment, $3995’. While the salesman kept saying ‘don’t worry, don’t worry’… we worried… and left.
Next we wanted to check out the Ford Escape, the Ford Hybrid SUV. It looks nice, and with our big family an SUV is helpful. Not only did they not have any available to look at, they said they won’t get any. If we want to get one, we have to find a dealer in California or New York. Yikes!
Our quest continues…