I'm new car shopping, your experience with mobile installs sought

I'd love to hear from anyone with horror stories, clever tips, or "Hey, it was easier than I thought" for mobile installations in the following vehicles:
Toyota Camray Hybrid
Toyota Prius
Toyota Highlander Hybrid
Ford Fusion Hybrid
Honda Accord Hybrid
or their non-hybrid cousins.

I will be installing VHF/UHF, maybe HF as well.

 

You are undertaking a daunting challenge in attempting to use HF radio in a hybrid:
http://k0bg.com/hybrid.html

VHF/UHF may be more attainable. Maybe.

Good luck.

 

There was a guy recently published in QST I believe that not only runs HF, he powers his house off his Prius in case of emergencies. Let me see if I can find a link ...

 

I'd contact Alan K0BG for advice. He's the best "mobile guru" I know.

 

After thinking through every possible way to mount a 2m antenna on my car, I tried a local company that specialized in mounting antennas for various government agencies. Unfortunately they said the only way to gain access to the roof area on my car (due to the installation sequence of airbags and sunroof) was to remove the rear window. They were out of my price range.

I settled for mag mount.

 

Airbags and accessories are a big problem. For ease of install, look toward government/public safety fleet vehicles. These are usually middle of the product line models lacking some of the high end features, but make it easier to install ancillary equipment.
For example, police and government entities buy Chevy Tahoe LS and LT, but not usually LTZ or Yukon/Escalade versions of the vehicle.
Chevy Impalas for police vehicles usually had column shift instead of floor shift knobs, this left the console are for radios, computers and light/siren controls. Think like that for the ease of installation.

 

Sorry, forgot about this thread. Found an even older article but not the one mentioned above.
http://priups.com/press/priups-qst-article.jpg

 

Get the Highlander, the one with a real engine in it. Nice vehicle, less likely to have to scrape you and your family off the underside of a big rig if someone has a bad day.

 

As nice as it is to step into the 21st Century, the auto makers have only tossed together parts and pieces without any regard to extraneous RF and how it affects others, only so long as they get a functional vehicle to line their pockets. It is annoying with the interference I get with my 04 Dodge, these hybrids would be 100 times worse.

 

http://www.eham.net/ehamforum/smf/index.php?topic=81265.0