So it looks like I'll be in the market for a new vehicle some time between now and next summer. We're a growing family, so upsizing from the xA is going to be a must. However, I'm not sure I can kick the habit of 'accessorizing' my cars. We're looking at the Camry Hybrid and the Prius, and the Camry will probably win out for a number of reasons. So my question is this: Are performance parts made for the 4-cylinder, non-hybrid Camry compatible with the Camry Hybrid? What about entertainment? Does the hybrid electric drive system do anything to make regular car stereo upgrades incompatible? I'd love to hear from Camry Hybrid owners about what they've been able to do with their cars, as well as from folks with specific knowledge about what to expect.

 

you can run intakes and exhaust.

and it being hybrid does not hurt stereo. but the 12v electrical system does use a smallish battery.

 

don't be a fool, hybrids are a complete waste of money. the toyota prius actually costs more to operate per mile than the hummer h2.

if your in the market for an economical family hauler, just stick to conventional gasoline engines.

the added cost and premium cost of buying a hybrid take years to recoupe themselves in fuel savings if any.

if your really looking for something super fuel efficient, get something like a vw diesel. its performance and mpg puts hybrids to shame.

hybrids are designed to get their best mpg in bumper to bumper stop and go driving, i don't know what kind of traffic you get in anchorage alaska, but i don't think the hybrid will deliver on any of its selling points in that environment. i mean, wouldn't it be bad if the gas engine shut off while running on electricity, and got too cold to restart again in the winter, leaving you on a fleeting amount of electrical power left in the battery? sounds like a serious liability to me. but it is your car, your money, your life, but i think hybrids a waste of technology and resources.

 

Darren, thanks for the info. That pretty much answered the question entirely.

Christian, thanks for offering your opinion, but I have spent quite a bit of time evaluating the options and I respectfully disagree with you. The Camry is an awesome car, and I believe that it's reasonable to invest in developing hybrid technology since I can easily afford it.

Out of curiosity, does anybody know of some Hybrid Camrys that have been worked on? Links would be great!

 

sorry, i just seriously hate hybrids and they are seriously more costly overal to the environment than what people consider truely earth destroying vehicles like SUV's.

but why would you by a hybrid and modify it to make it faster? why not just start out with the regular camry, way more parts for that engine, and it will be faster and more fuel efficient in that type of environment. or get a camry v6. that v6 is so wicked powerful it is amazing.

i go on, but anyway, your life, your money, your decisions. hope your happy with whatever you decide.

 

draxcaliber....
i'm not sure people are buying hybrids because they want something cheaper. we are trying to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. my mom drives a civic hybrid. it wasn't purchased for gas savings, although i will tell you that her average mpg is 44. i would be interested in seeing where you got your information about the prius costing more per mile than a hummer without the cost of the car counting in the equation. my dad also drives a fully electric car. he plugs it in at night and costs us about a quarter to charge it overnight. we've tested this with an inline meter and calculated with the current charge from the electric company.

 

as for mods...i don't know about the camry hybrid but on the prius you can add a switch to the dash that shorts two pins on the ecu and put it into fully electric mode. toyota disabled this in the united states but it's a fairly common mod. it's available on the car in other countries. there might be something similar on the camry. would suggest you try a forum dedicated to the camry hybrid. i'm sure one exists

 

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto...96.A12220.html

gas-hybrid cars are not going to dramatically reduce dependence on foriegn oil.

bio-diesel powered cars would work way better because we all know there is no shortage of fried foods in this country.

and maybe even a bio-diesel hybrid.

 

i'm waitin for the vw rabbit to come out in a TDI biodiesel...i heard its should b in the states around late 2008...Diesel is the best in fuel efficeintcy there is..in europe they all drive diesels, they r sayin there in the process in makin a diesel powered car that does almost a 100mpg

 

Hybrids are the best practical solution so far to reduce auto greenhouse gasses and to improve auto mpg.
The whole "the batteries are evil" ploy is utter BS.
Biodiesel is cool except supply will never meet the demand.
Diesel is cool but hard to keep the particulates down. US diesel sources are dirtier than european sources.
Biofuel is just down right idiotic. Cannot even remotely supply the demand. It takes 3 times as much to go as far as gasoline alone. The ratio most likely to be used is 85% gasoline and 15% alcohol. Pointless. Not to mention all the pesticides and chemical fertilizers that are already ruining the environment at the current production rates.
Hybrids will become obsolete anyways once technology progresses farther for either electric batteries or hydrogen fuel.

Come on fusion and/or zero resistance conductivity at tolerant temps!

 

Faster wouldn't be my goal. More fuel economy would be. For example, my stock xA got about 36 mpg highway consistently. After adding intake, header, and exhaust, I'm now up to about 41. I'd like to do the same thing with the Camry Hybrid.

 

Stop complaining about the environment going to hell, it's all bullcrap. Besides, if you're driving a vehicle that is 2001 and newer, it runs cleaner then all the beaters out there (95 and below).....so you wanna really help the environment, buy a new car and stop worrying about what you are putting in it. The US has enough oil within its respective borders to fuel itself hundred-fold, we just dont want to drill for it. blah blah. Go hug a tree.

 

pwnd

 

Well I think your wrong man...... We should use ethanol and sythetic oil then no more use of dyno oil lol and no emissions atleast really harmful ones...... And you guys gotta realize just cuz the mpg is high doesnt mean it has better emissions then a car that gets less.... as for the hugging the trees yah they can go do that lol hahahahahahahahaha!!!! HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

 

QUIT YOUR _____ING JABRONIES!!!!! sorry my finger got stuck on ctrl v...... lol

 

hey man, don't come crying to me when this happens to you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKTGpXrXL_U

 

There is no reason why every single point-a-to-point-b commuter car in this country shouldn't be running off of what McDonalds pours into their fryers.

None.

 

Really, I didn't intend this thread to be a chance for folks to argue over the politics of hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels. If we could please confine posts to the topic that I started, there would be no need to debate such things.

 

Just to replace 10% of our oil supply with ethanol would require that 25% or our agricultural land would have to be dedicated to growing corn. And could you please edit your post to reduce the smilies and make this thread readable?

Except for the fact that it's nowhere near enough to fuel even 1% of drivers. Just so you can prove it to yourself, take a look at the size of one of those underground gas tanks at your local gas station. Then compare it to the size of a grease trap outside your local McD's. It's like the difference between an NFL lineman and an oompa loompa.


I'm sure there are plenty of things you could do to a Camry Hybrid to personalize and trick it out, but you're going to have to work for it. There's nothing ready made for it.

It's good to know that the hybrid technology does not interfere with stereo functions.

 

1 acre of corn will generate 328 gallons of ethanol per year. 1 acre of switchgrass can produce 1100-1500 gallons of ethanol per year. Switchgrass is easy to maintain and costs less per acre than corn. so my question is why aren't we growing more switchgrass to produce ethanol