"Hybrid parking spaces only" now at Westfield Hornsby.

**neil** · 22-01-2012, 11:54 AM

Was at Hornsby Westfield yesterday and right up next to one of the entrances into
the shopping centre they are currently painting two green allocated parking spaces for Hybrids only.
Not sure if they are going to be recharging points as well or just for parking.

Anyway does anyone know where I can get a diesel/Hybrid badge from ?????

**wai** · 22-01-2012, 09:59 PM

This is the politically correct police in action. It is amazing how people get sucked into believing the hype.

The other day I heard that the Honda Hybrid can go a whole 3 minutes on batteries alone!

My Caddy Maxi Life TDI250 will probably be better than the hybrids able to use the spaces but I won't be able to use them. Good thing I don't shop at Westfield Hornsby.

What next? Maybe spaces for people who travel to Westfield with at least 3 people in the car? Maybe cars with heavy window tints that reduce the demand on air conditioners, one better still, spaces for cars without air conditioners? Maybe for cars with space saver spare wheels (because they reduce weight)?

The list goes on.

Bless their little hearts. Now you know why you pay more at these shopping centres.

**PassatB6** · 23-01-2012, 08:51 AM

Originally Posted by wai

This is the politically correct police in action. It is amazing how people get sucked into believing the hype.

The other day I heard that the Honda Hybrid can go a whole 3 minutes on batteries alone!

My Caddy Maxi Life TDI250 will probably be better than the hybrids able to use the spaces but I won't be able to use them. Good thing I don't shop at Westfield Hornsby.

What next? Maybe spaces for people who travel to Westfield with at least 3 people in the car? Maybe cars with heavy window tints that reduce the demand on air conditioners, one better still, spaces for cars without air conditioners? Maybe for cars with space saver spare wheels (because they reduce weight)?

The list goes on.

Bless their little hearts. Now you know why you pay more at these shopping centres.

Maybe they're getting ready to put in 'pay for charge' system for electric vehicles. If its just a PC endorsement of hybrids it shows how Hybrids have won the publcity wars even though we all know that diesels are often more economical. If this becomes commonplace someone needs to mount a campaign to get 'special' parking spaces for diesel cars too.

**The_Hawk** · 23-01-2012, 09:42 AM

Prius: 3.9L/100km - $39k
Polo 77TSI: 5.5L/100km - $29k
Polo 66TDI: 4.6L/100km - $26k

Without even talking resale value or the cost of replacement batteries there is $10k plus in savings on a Polo and at the "on paper" difference of 0.7L/100km difference in the TDI Polo, assuming the cost of diesel is equal to that of 98 petrol and you run the Prius on that...

At $1.50/L it takes ~960,000km to save $10,000
At $2.00/L it takes ~720,000km to save $10,000
Even at $5.00/L it takes ~290,000km to save $10,000

At an average of 20,000km a year it would cost you $105/year more to run a Polo TDI than a Prius in fuel alone... want to spend the extra?

As for parking, I have no issue with electric charging points if that's what they end up being... but somehow I don't see that any time soon... as for being near the entrance... that's so people can see how green Westfields are being!

Plan B: Get a Ford F650 and park it across both spaces

**wai** · 23-01-2012, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by The_Hawk

Prius: 3.9L/100km - $39k
Polo 77TSI: 5.5L/100km - $29k
Polo 66TDI: 4.6L/100km - $26k

Without even talking resale value or the cost of replacement batteries there is $10k plus in savings on a Polo and at the "on paper" difference of 0.7L/100km difference in the TDI Polo, assuming the cost of diesel is equal to that of 98 petrol and you run the Prius on that...

At $1.50/L it takes ~960,000km to save $10,000
At $2.00/L it takes ~720,000km to save $10,000
Even at $5.00/L it takes ~290,000km to save $10,000

At an average of 20,000km a year it would cost you $105/year more to run a Polo TDI than a Prius in fuel alone... want to spend the extra?

The difference in fuel consumption between the Prius and the Polo is 1.6L/100km, so for 20,000 km/year you would have used 320 litres extra.

At $1.50 / litre, it would cost an extra $512 per year, or take you around 19.5 years to run the Prius to recover the extra $10,000 you spent buying it.

At $2.00 / litre, it would cost an extra $640 per year, or take you around 15.5 years to run the Prius to recover the extra $10,000 you spent buying it.

Even at $5.00 / litre, it would cost an extra $1600 per year, or take you around 6.5 years to run the Prius to recover the extra $10,000 you spent buying it.

So it comes down to justifying spending $10,000 more for a Prius, particularly if you do not intend keeping it for 15 years. By the time petrol reached $5.00 / litre in today's terms, cars would be well out of the reach of the average individual, and talk of hybrids would be something that a couple of "old guys" would be nattering about on a park bench

It is rare for cars to be kept for long periods. When you have a big outlay, you have to keep the vehicle for a lot longer than most people currently do to recover the extra you paid for a fuel saving feature.

Throw diesel into the mix and the disadvantage the Prius has becomes much greater. The price of diesel does not fluctuate the same amount as petrol does. I drove to Bendigo over the Christmas break and the price of diesel remained fairly constant at around $1.50 / litre. It was actually more expensive in Sydney (around 1c/litre) than Albury. During that same time Premium ULP 95 has varied between $1.50 and $1.65 per litre. Even today, diesel is $1.499 per litre, standard ULP is $1.459 per litre and Premium ULP 95 is $1.659 per litre.

Lastly toss in a battery pack replacement and you start all over again

Drive fewer km per year, or do not achieve the claimed fuel consumption figures, and you can start all over again...again