Will Hybrids Fail Or Succeed In Sri Lanka?

Californikan · October 1, 2011

On a related note, I do understand what people say about the driving feel and driving fun of an Italian or German car such as an Alfa or Bimmer. I've driven these cars and yes, they have vastly more driving feel and driving fun than a Prius.

But if someone lives and drives mostly in Colombo or any populated area of SL, that power and fun and driving feel is pretty much not being used and useless. When the average speed is less than 40kmph, and it's constant stop and go traffic, the driving fun and the driving feel of a car is not there to use.

If we had UNCRODWDED roads like this to regularly drive on I would agree with the need for a car with driving fun and the driving feel argument made by some people

But when a person drives in these Colombo conditions 80+ % of the time, forget it. I'd rather be driving a Prius.

Californikan · October 1, 2011

Ooohhhh....Ferrari. What power, handling, speed, style, driving feel and driving fun. Yes, absolutely true.

But if one lives and drives in crowded driving conditions such as this, all that is pretty much useless. In these condition better to drive a fuel efficient car that doesn't pollute the environment.

charitha19 · October 1, 2011

First of all, Peri, would you and other please stop misquoting and misrepresenting what I write.

I never said driving a green car could be more fun than driving a supercar, I said it could more satisfying. In a similar way that doing something good or helpful to help another person can be more satisfying than doing that same thing for oneself. There definitively is a satisfaction to driving a low-emissions environmentally friendly car - if one cares about the environment.

And I never said playing a video game could be more fun than driving a supercar. I said going for max kmpl driving a hybrid using the real time kmpl display is similar to going for best score on a video game.

cali.. i know u are fighting a good fight here., trying to convince us all of the wonder of the hybrid and how satisfying it is.. but most people her are true petrol heads who crave for that engine note and G force, i feel sorry for you... why dont u go and tell this to some eco friendly algoriefied people.. atleast u will have a following.. and dicaprio is not the best example for this.. that GF must be cursing him.. but staying with him for the fame and fortune..

charitha19 · October 1, 2011

On a related note, I do understand what people say about the driving feel and driving fun of an Italian or German car such as an Alfa or Bimmer. I've driven these cars and yes, they have vastly more driving feel and driving fun than a Prius.

But if someone lives and drives mostly in Colombo or any populated area of SL, that power and fun and driving feel is pretty much not being used and useless. When the average speed is less than 40kmph, and it's constant stop and go traffic, the driving fun and the driving feel of a car is not there to use.

If we had UNCRODWDED roads like this to regularly drive on I would agree with the need for a car with driving fun and the driving feel argument made by some people

But when a person drives in these Colombo conditions 80+ % of the time, forget it. I'd rather be driving a Prius.

you obviously haven't seen us drive ney.. u poor soul.. VVTI , bugati, and guruG can vouch for my driving in colombo.. its all about the driver.. if u want to feel the rush u can get it in Colombo too my friend... its all about the skill and a country with no rules.. realistically i am bored driving here in toronto.. sure its 120+ in most highways.. but no rush at all.. if u think like that all of us should be driving maruti's or some shit box with some underpowered engine.. but no... we have one of the biggest collection of STI's and GT's i have seen anywhere..

Pericles · October 1, 2011

First of all, Peri, would you and other please stop misquoting and misrepresenting what I write.

Alrighty

I never said driving a green car could be more fun than driving a supercar, I said it could more satisfying. In a similar way that doing something good or helpful to help another person can be more satisfying than doing that same thing for oneself. There definitively is a satisfaction to driving a low-emissions environmentally friendly car - if one cares about the environment.

I disagree. Its quite simple. One is a satisfaction from doing something. The other is an associated action you'll have to think about. More of a "at least I'm saving the env" over "Damn, what a RUSH!". Your basic instincts are left unsatisfied.

As for your example, if you trying doing something good or helpful for another person? Charity is great, if you aren't the one in the position to need it. Put it this way. Giving a starving person a meal will make you feel good. But if you were in the position of that starving person, and there was one meal, giving that up and continuing to starve? No knowing about YOUR next meal? Might make you feel good on a higher level if you're that kind of person, but your base level hunger is still unsatisfied.

Of course, you could be uninterested in food. And you could be uninterested in driving. And I'd say you are.

And I never said playing a video game could be more fun than driving a supercar. I said going for max kmpl driving a hybrid using the real time kmpl display is similar to going for best score on a video game.

uh, balls. If you really think that, you must be playing some really boring video games. Besides, driving is a serious business. Something you obviously don't understand. I know that there are people in America who think that they can put on their makeup, drink coffee, eat their bagels, and wank off looking at porn on the DVD player while driving. But piloting a ton of metal with a load of highly volatile chemicals in a tank is a job that deserves a lot more attention.

I already told this, but since you seem to have missed this. A buddy who went to Stafford to check how things work saw 8 Insights in for repairs. The fault with 6 of them? The owners knocked them up coz they were looking at their damn displays rather than looking at the bloody road while driving! 6 cars out of 8. I guess they must be real high on their video game high score now, huh?

Always remember, you can sit there and argue thinking about Connecticut all you want. This is SL. No lane discipline, no pedestrian discipline, and all manner of dogs, cats and cattle running around the road. If you don't understand, here is the summary.

When driving in SL, YOU KEEP YOUR f**kING EYES ON THE f**kING ROAD!!

Hope you understood it this time.

If we had UNCRODWDED roads like this to regularly drive on I would agree with the need for a car with driving fun and the driving feel argument made by some people

Colombo is a small place Cali. If you want to have some fun, you can get somewhere you can get to a road to do so in pretty quick. And that road isn't exciting, its just some regular smooth curves. You like it? I'm gonna guess you're a NASCAR fan?

Besides, even if you do spend 80% of your time in boring traffic, if you only have a boring car, you're stuck in a boring car that 20% of the time you're not stuck in traffic too. Then you can try hypermiling behind a container truck coz you don't have the power to overtake the bugger on a single lane road.

The Stig · October 1, 2011

I guess you really want to believe what you wrote , but it's not true. With DiCaprio, he is a true diehard environmentalist. I've already gone over in detail why this is so.

And as I already reported, he just bought his hot new girlfriend a 2011 Prius to replace her very un-green gas guzzling Range Rover >> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2028923/Leonardo-Di-Caprio-buys-new-Toyota-Prius-girlfriend-Blake-Lively.html

Okay do explain this, why a prius ?

Why not a nissan leaf ?

Why not a tesla or any other EV car that is "zero emissions" as opposed to a "low emissions" car ?

Its called celebrity endorsement, you might want to google that :rolleyes:

BTW as a marketer myself i have to say that toyota is doing pretty good job with the "promotion" aspect of the 4P's judging by the fact that some people have got their panties all wet when they see a celeb driving their favorite car.

jdnet · October 1, 2011

This thread is about as interesting as watching paint dry.

Ripper · October 1, 2011

well to me...whats clear in all this drama is that... cali might be a treehugger but knows next nothing about driving or about cars.

the whole alloys vs hub-caps was just the tip of the iceberg.

he knows nothing about our roads and can't even comprehend what driving pleasure is.

I drive a diesel double cab now. mere 2.5litres of displacement fired on mechanical injection. no turbo, has a carryboy weighing me down at the back.

each workday, i drive from wattala to colombo 3 and get to take the galle face road. almost every single day i top over 80 on that bit of the road. I've even gone over 100. It's not the smartest thing to say this on a public forum but if people are saying that you can't drive fast in colombo even during rush hour traffic, they dont know what the F they are talking about.

MasterDon · October 1, 2011

LOL..The retard thinks if you have a Ferrari you must do 100+ always,kinda like the idiot who thought Darin was wasting his money bringing down a GTR.I tell you even at slow speeds these cars are special,the sheer excitement of having all that power underneath you,and the pleasure of owning a Ferrari and to be seen in one...

But I can't expect a dumbass with no imagination to understand all that.All this treehugger crap is to hide his cheapness.I honestly feel sorry the person who ends up marrying guys like these and for the eventual offspring.

Cali's Google image search must be working extra hard these days...LOL..I can just imagine the search phrases "Ferrari in traffic" "Empty road" "Leo with Prius" and "Leo Dicaprio nude" "Leo Dicaprio and John Travolta sex scene". :lol:

Edited October 1, 2011 by MasterDon

Ripper · October 1, 2011

LOL..The retard thinks if you have a Ferrari you must do 100+ always,kinda like the idiot who thought Darin was wasting his money bringing down a GTR.I tell you even at slow speeds these cars are special,the sheer excitement of having all that power underneath you,and the pleasure of owning a Ferrari and to be seen in one...

But I can't expect a dumbass with no imagination to understand all that.All this treehugger crap is to hide his cheapness.I honestly feel sorry the person who ends up marrying guys like these and for the eventual offspring.

Cali's Google image search must be working extra hard these days...LOL..I can just imagine the search phrases "Ferrari in traffic" "Empty road" "Leo with Prius" and "Leo Dicaprio nude" "Leo Dicaprio and John Travolta sex scene".

ha ha ha ha...good one matey... and yeah...i thinks it's futile trying to get these guys to understand these things machang!

Schiffer · October 1, 2011

I said, not all euro car owners.... But most of them is like I described...

And I was talking about new technology. At that point wankel rotary is unsuccessful.....

Don't hate the word "HYBRID"..... This is just few additional parts that fixed in to a normal car....

It is just like a turbo charger fixed to a normal car. ( and please understand.... with the necessary modifications ) <----AND AGAIN A "Koheda yanne, malle pol" STORY

Schiffer · October 1, 2011

On a related note, I do understand what people say about the driving feel and driving fun of an Italian or German car such as an Alfa or Bimmer. I've driven these cars and yes, they have vastly more driving feel and driving fun than a Prius.

But if someone lives and drives mostly in Colombo or any populated area of SL, that power and fun and driving feel is pretty much not being used and useless. When the average speed is less than 40kmph, and it's constant stop and go traffic, the driving fun and the driving feel of a car is not there to use.

If we had UNCRODWDED roads like this to regularly drive on I would agree with the need for a car with driving fun and the driving feel argument made by some people

But when a person drives in these Colombo conditions 80+ % of the time, forget it. I'd rather be driving a Prius.

cali, when you were here in SL, you haven't gone out of Colombo haven't you?

ever been to places like Nuwaraeliya or even Kandy. have you ever noticed how bendy the roads are and sometimes how they become a bit empty?

and also even in busy streets most of us have done nearly 100KMPH.. also.. ever gone out early morning? to see how empty and fun to drive the roads are?

nexus · October 1, 2011

this thread should rename like this Will Hybrids Fail and Suck In Sri Lanka?.

Californikan · October 1, 2011

I disagree. Its quite simple. One is a satisfaction from doing something. The other is an associated action you'll have to think about. More of a "at least I'm saving the env" over "Damn, what a RUSH!". Your basic instincts are left unsatisfied.

As for your example, if you trying doing something good or helpful for another person? Charity is great, if you aren't the one in the position to need it. Put it this way. Giving a starving person a meal will make you feel good. But if you were in the position of that starving person, and there was one meal, giving that up and continuing to starve? No knowing about YOUR next meal? Might make you feel good on a higher level if you're that kind of person, but your base level hunger is still unsatisfied.

Of course, you could be uninterested in food. And you could be uninterested in driving. And I'd say you are.

I understand what you are saying and I agree with you when it comes to driving on an empty expressway or a winding road. But in stop and go central Colombo city traffic which is what I seem to mostly drive in in SL, I would much rather be in the Prius than any other car (except a Nissan Leaf). Why? Because the car is made for such conditions much more than a 'drivers car' is and it's very satisfying for me at least to just have the knowledge that I am not contributing in a significant way to the air pollution in Colombo.

I already told this, but since you seem to have missed this. A buddy who went to Stafford to check how things work saw 8 Insights in for repairs. The fault with 6 of them? The owners knocked them up coz they were looking at their damn displays rather than looking at the bloody road while driving! 6 cars out of 8. I guess they must be real high on their video game high score now, huh?

Always remember, you can sit there and argue thinking about Connecticut all you want. This is SL. No lane discipline, no pedestrian discipline, and all manner of dogs, cats and cattle running around the road. If you don't understand, here is the summary.

When driving in SL, YOU KEEP YOUR f**kING EYES ON THE f**kING ROAD!!

Hope you understood it this time.

I caught your Insight story the first time. And I do drive in SL so I know the conditions. These accidents the fault of the driver. These drivers are like the people who get into accidents because they are so busy pressing buttons on their new aftermarket car stereo. SL hybrid drivers should be glancing at the display like they would glance at the speedometer.

Anyways, since these displays are starting to show up in non-hybrid cars and will be commonplace in a few years, people better get used to driving with them.

Colombo is a small place Cali. If you want to have some fun, you can get somewhere you can get to a road to do so in pretty quick. And that road isn't exciting, its just some regular smooth curves. You like it? I'm gonna guess you're a NASCAR fan? Besides, even if you do spend 80% of your time in boring traffic, if you only have a boring car, you're stuck in a boring car that 20% of the time you're not stuck in traffic too. Then you can try hypermiling behind a container truck coz you don't have the power to overtake the bugger on a single lane road.

Actually I'm an F1 fan. Believe it or not I used to be a pedal to the metal driving enthusiast and a big fan of fast powerful cars. And I went to race car driving school when I was 18 but that is a whole other story.

What changed my mind and made me a hybrid & green car fan was trip computers in cars. After I got a car with a trip computer I saw how just a little time in stop and go traffic can kill one's average speed by half or two thirds. Even here in the U.S. where I drive 120-140kmph on the expressway, that high average speed gets reduced to a 50kmph trip average by just a little stop and go traffic. In SL where the average speeds are already so low, I've observed this effect to be even worse. Even driving fast in the open, empty, newly redone roads of the eastern province, I was not able to maintain a decent average speed because of all the conditions you mentioned.

So I'm not knocking fast powerful drivers cars. Just saying because of the unavoidable low average speeds in SL, they don't make sense for most people as their everyday car.

Californikan · October 1, 2011

Okay do explain this, why a prius ?

Why not a nissan leaf ?

Why not a tesla or any other EV car that is "zero emissions" as opposed to a "low emissions" car ?

Its called celebrity endorsement, you might want to google that

BTW as a marketer myself i have to say that toyota is doing pretty good job with the "promotion" aspect of the 4P's judging by the fact that some people have got their panties all wet when they see a celeb driving their favorite car.

He was one of the first to own a Tesla >> http://www.ecorazzi.com/2008/12/28/dicaprio-enjoying-his-unbelievable-tesla-electric-roadster/

The dude owns all the environmentally friendly green cars from different manufacturers and raves about all of them. This disproves the argument that he is being paid by Toyota. He can't be because he is constantly buying and speaking highly of other manufacturers green cars which violates the standard conflict of interest clause in promotional agreements.

It was just in the news that he is the very first person to take delivery of a Fister Karma hybrid >> http://inhabitat.com/leonardo-dicaprio-spotted-driving-his-new-fisker-karma-luxury-ev/

It could be that because of price and range issues with EV's, now is not the time to push them as currently they are not right for most people. A Prius however is an environmentally friendly vehicle that will work for most people's situations.

Californikan · October 1, 2011

cali, when you were here in SL, you haven't gone out of Colombo haven't you?

ever been to places like Nuwaraeliya or even Kandy. have you ever noticed how bendy the roads are and sometimes how they become a bit empty?

and also even in busy streets most of us have done nearly 100KMPH.. also.. ever gone out early morning? to see how empty and fun to drive the roads are?

Yes, I have done all these things. I drove through the eastern province during my last time in SL, a few months ago. Great, empty roads there. I touched 140 on some sections in the Prius.

Californikan · October 2, 2011

Chaps,

I'll just point out the obvious: that the government and people of Sri Lanka obviously don't give a rats ass what the members of Autolanka Forum think about hybrids.

Despite the negative things some Autolanka members say about hybrids, in less than one year the Prius is well on it's way to becoming one of the most popular cars in SL.

Will hybrids succeed in Sri Lanka? No need to ask that question, because they already have.

charitha19 · October 2, 2011

Chaps,

I'll just point out the obvious: that the government and people of Sri Lanka obviously don't give a rats ass what the members of Autolanka Forum think about hybrids.

Despite the negative things some Autolanka members say about hybrids, in less than one year the Prius is well on it's way to becoming one of the most popular cars in SL.

Will hybrids succeed in Sri Lanka? No need to ask that question, because they already have.

hmmmm. the reason is that the taxes were reduced and people are buying it.. if there was a corolla for the same price and gave the same mileage our buggers will defa buy the corolla over the priass.. please get this into your head. just because a model is popular doesn't mean its successful.. wait and see when some other main stream car's price comes down.. our buggers will go and buy that and flood the market with it.. before this it was that god forsaken AXIO.. after that its the priass.. Because of taxes nothing else.. and remember the SL government doesn't give a rats ass about what anyone thinks let alone autolanka.. its commission and perks they are after.. i am sure there is something in it for them through this too..

so spare us the speech.. a prime example is here in toronto.. i hardly see a priass.. its cheap but people still dont buy it.. i see more mustangs and camaro's than that rubbish.. thank god for that..

if u go by your logic.. marutis are the most successful cars in SL. but do u see anyone saying that anywhere..

heavyD · October 2, 2011

Chaps,

I'll just point out the obvious: that the government and people of Sri Lanka obviously don't give a rats ass what the members of Autolanka Forum think about hybrids.

Despite the negative things some Autolanka members say about hybrids, in less than one year the Prius is well on it's way to becoming one of the most popular cars in SL.

Will hybrids succeed in Sri Lanka? No need to ask that question, because they already have.

Of course it will be. It's low on tax and very fuel efficient. Those two factors alone (especially the latter) are enough for laymen to go for it. And it's a Toyota, a brand that is revered and worshiped here.

But that's it. It's not bought for it's eco-friendliness, it's bought cause it's cheap to buy and cheaper to run.

So what you're essentially saying is, you're happy to see the Prius becomes a sales success here, even though it's got nothing to do with saving the environment. That's just fanboyism.

Hybrids are just new tech, like sat nav or self parking assists. We don't hate it.

What we do hate is condescending people like you thinking that hybrids are God's gift to man and that they're better than everything else. They're not. They're just cars. Get over it.

Edited October 2, 2011 by Big_D

zerocool · October 2, 2011

Chaps,

I'll just point out the obvious: that the government and people of Sri Lanka obviously don't give a rats ass what the members of Autolanka Forum think about hybrids.

Despite the negative things some Autolanka members say about hybrids, in less than one year the Prius is well on it's way to becoming one of the most popular cars in SL.

Will hybrids succeed in Sri Lanka? No need to ask that question, because they already have.

Hey joker boy, Autolanka members don't give a rats ass what you think about hybrids, so take your shit elsewhere and let us enjoy our mature discussions.

nexus · October 2, 2011

Chaps,

I'll just point out the obvious: that the government and people of Sri Lanka obviously don't give a rats ass what the members of Autolanka Forum think about hybrids.

Despite the negative things some Autolanka members say about hybrids, in less than one year the Prius is well on it's way to becoming one of the most popular cars in SL.

Will hybrids succeed in Sri Lanka? No need to ask that question, because they already have.

Californikan fella you live in california not in srilanka unlike most members here 24/7 and if you here immediately you will figure out buying hybrids and saving planet is the last thing we worry about now unlike in california been a treehugger and been eco friendly mean a lot but in here 99% don't give a f**k abut that almost all of the people who buy hybrids in srilanka buy them for tax cut fuel mileage and for brand badge those are the main reasons the thing bother me most and make me sick is some of them say they buy them for saving planet and going eco friendly same kind of people who use rivers as they are garbage disposals and fill paddy field and swamps and sell them as land sales this is a far more grater environmental damage than driving petrol car. another thing is some fools claiming they buy hybrids for race against other cars and they say they reach very high speeds i don't know which one is the worst lying or the stupidness the thing is car like prius is build for save fuel and run eco friendly as possible not for racing if you buy it for race against other cars it's like buying a ferrari and try to hypermiling in it and for the record in srilanka we don't give a damn about some holywood star's driving prius to save plant.i have to admit there are maybe very few environmentalist buy them for the right reason in srilanka but they are very rare finding one of them it is like finding needle in haystack so cali here's the thing people of sri lanka and the government don't give a rats a## about buying hybrids and saving the planet and cali i don't say people of sri lanka doesn't care what members Autolanka says again you are live in california not in srilanka if you do some research you can find out how influential Autolanka been in years and now talking about hybrid's it doesn't going to change.

jdnet · October 2, 2011

Californikan fella you live in california not in srilanka unlike most members here 24/7 and if you here immediately you will figure out buying hybrids and saving planet is the last thing we worry about now unlike in california been a treehugger and been eco friendly mean a lot but in here 99% don't give a f**k abut that almost all of the people who buy hybrids in srilanka buy them for tax cut fuel mileage and for brand badge those are the main reasons the thing bother me most and make me sick is some of them say they buy them for saving planet and going eco friendly same kind of people who use rivers as they are garbage disposals and fill paddy field and swamps and sell them as land sales this is a far more grater environmental damage than driving petrol car. another thing is some fools claiming they buy hybrids for race against other cars and they say they reach very high speeds i don't know which one is the worst lying or the stupidness the thing is car like prius is build for save fuel and run eco friendly as possible not for racing if you buy it for race against other cars it's like buying a ferrari and try to hypermiling in it and for the record in srilanka we don't give a damn about some holywood star's driving prius to save plant.i have to admit there are maybe very few environmentalist buy them for the right reason in srilanka but they are very rare finding one of them it is like finding needle in haystack so cali here's the thing people of sri lanka and the government don't give a rats a## about buying hybrids and saving the planet and cali i don't say people of sri lanka doesn't care what members Autolanka says again you are live in california not in srilanka if you do some research you can find out how influential Autolanka been in years and now talking about hybrid's it doesn't going to change.

Good reply, but, please some punctuation. You just gave me a headache.

nexus · October 2, 2011

Good reply, but, please some punctuation. You just gave me a headache.

hey sorry about that JD.

VVTi · October 3, 2011

Saw on this sunday paper a 'seminar' to explain Hybrids to new drivers... talk about milking a cash cow...