In article <5e4c628e.0405221104.275bd313@posting.google.com >, matthew@lasarletter.com (Matthew Lasar) wrote:
>But what if the battery
>fails after eight years? Suppliers I spoke with said new batteries for
>the vehicle in question cost six thousand dollars! Does anybody really
>know how long these batteries will last? Am I taking a substantial
>risk by buying a hybrid car?

Will it fail in 8 years? Don't know. Wouldn't believe any answer
you get here. The NiMH batteries used by Honda are run on a very
shallow state of charge cycle, and at conservative powers, as
opposed to a pure EV where they are deep cycled.. Presumably
this will greatly help their lifetime. But aside from someone who
is directly working with this battery technology, and even then,
data on the lifetime is probably not definitive or easy to come
by..

$6K?? First, call your local Honda parts dept and ask what they
charge for a new battery. I'd guess more like $1500. But there
are other parts such as the motor and power control electronics
that might also eventually need replacing.

What will it cost in 8 years? Yes, the technology will get
cheaper, *if* it is widely supported. Honda probably is obliged
to carry replacement parts for longer than that. But if for some
reason the technology turns into a dead-end, they may not be
cheap. Still, my guess is they'll be cheaper. But that's only a
reasonable guess.