want to buy a hybrid car? think again

[MG1968]

I've never been impressed with any of the claims made by hybrid car manufacturers. Their overall cost effectiveness doesn't justify their price premium. I've found a good article that somewhat exposes the environmental damage done while producing the Toyota Prius.

The Recorder

if you went by the old government EPA estimates, which netted the Prius an incredible 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles per gallon on the highway. Unfortunately for Toyota, the government realized how unrealistic their EPA tests were, which consisted of highway speeds limited to 55mph and acceleration of only 3.3 mph per second. The new tests which affect all 2008 models give a much more realistic rating with highway speeds of 80mph and acceleration of 8mph per second. This has dropped the Prius’s EPA down by 25 percent to an average of 45mpg. This now puts the Toyota within spitting distance of cars like the Chevy Aveo, which costs less then half what the Prius costs.

not to mention the Chevy Aveo would be cheaper to maintain. Those battery packs in the Prius and other hybrids cost thousands of dollars.

the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.

The article also details the trip around the world the nickel makes. Mined in Canada, shipped to Europe, then shipped to Japan where the batteries are produced, then they are finally shipped back to the assembly lines in the US. With "carbon footprint" becoming the buzzword of the environmental movement, the Prius' footprint is ridiculously large.

Through a study by CNW Marketing called “Dust to Dust,” the total combined energy is taken from all the electrical, fuel, transportation, materials (metal, plastic, etc) and hundreds of other factors over the expected lifetime of a vehicle. The Prius costs an average of $3.25 per mile driven over a lifetime of 100,000 miles - the expected lifespan of the Hybrid.

The Hummer, on the other hand, costs a more fiscal $1.95 per mile to put on the road over an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles

a Toyota Scion xB costs a paltry $0.48 per mile to put on the road.

I'm sure the debate doesn't end here. Personally, I like the look of the newer Prius, but for $30K I can think of 10 cars I'd rather have and have at least $10K left over.

 

[TennTradition]

I've never been impressed with any of the claims made by hybrid car manufacturers. Their overall cost effectiveness doesn't justify their price premium. I've found a good article that somewhat exposes the environmental damage done while producing the Toyota Prius.

The Recorder



not to mention the Chevy Aveo would be cheaper to maintain. Those battery packs in the Prius and other hybrids cost thousands of dollars.



The article also details the trip around the world the nickel makes. Mined in Canada, shipped to Europe, then shipped to Japan where the batteries are produced, then they are finally shipped back to the assembly lines in the US. With "carbon footprint" becoming the buzzword of the environmental movement, the Prius' footprint is ridiculously large.







I'm sure the debate doesn't end here. Personally, I like the look of the newer Prius, but for $30K I can think of 10 cars I'd rather have and have at least $10K left over.

The carbon footprint issues you bring up are interesting. I think that you would have a hard time arguing the economic effectiveness of a hybrid car. I think that the only people buying them right now are doing so based on environmental conscious. If issues such as this carbon footprint issue were brought to the forefront, that might siginificantly hurt their sales. Of course, other autos may have a similar initial footprint (for other reasons) which means that they would still be doing some good.

However, I hope that people continue buying cars like these. It will help the market and help move research towards actually producing something more cost and energy effective.