Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage

[drakkie]

The Toyota Prius has become the flagship car for those in our society so environmentally conscious that they are willing to spend a premium to show the world how much they care. Unfortunately for them, their ultimate ‘green car’ is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer.


Before we delve into the seedy underworld of hybrids, you must first understand how a hybrid works. For this, we will use the most popular hybrid on the market, the Toyota Prius.
The Prius is powered by not one, but two engines: a standard 76 horsepower, 1.5-liter gas engine found in most cars today and a battery- powered engine that deals out 67 horsepower and a whooping 295ft/lbs of torque, below 2000 revolutions per minute. Essentially, the Toyota Synergy Drive system, as it is so called, propels the car from a dead stop to up to 30mph. This is where the largest percent of gas is consumed. As any physics major can tell you, it takes more energy to get an object moving than to keep it moving. The battery is recharged through the braking system, as well as when the gasoline engine takes over anywhere north of 30mph. It seems like a great energy efficient and environmentally sound car, right?
You would be right 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.
However, if that was the only issue with the Prius, I wouldn’t be writing this article. It gets much worse.
Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, 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 plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius’ battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist’s nightmare.
“The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside,” said Canadian Greenpeace energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a British-based newspaper.
All of this would be bad enough in and of itself; however, the journey to make a hybrid doesn’t end there. The nickel produced by this disastrous plant is shipped via massive container ship to the largest nickel refinery in Europe. From there, the nickel hops over to China to produce ‘nickel foam.’ From there, it goes to Japan. Finally, the completed batteries are shipped to the United States, finalizing the around-the-world trip required to produce a single Prius battery. Are these not sounding less and less like environmentally sound cars and more like a farce?
Wait, I haven’t even got to the best part yet.
When you pool together all the combined energy it takes to drive and build a Toyota Prius, the flagship car of energy fanatics, it takes almost 50 percent more energy than a Hummer - the Prius’s arch nemesis.
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. That means the Hummer will last three times longer than a Prius and use less combined energy doing it.
So, if you are really an environmentalist - ditch the Prius. Instead, buy one of the most economical cars available - a Toyota Scion xB. The Scion only costs a paltry $0.48 per mile to put on the road. If you are still obsessed over gas mileage - buy a Chevy Aveo and fix that lead foot.
One last fun fact for you: it takes five years to offset the premium price of a Prius. Meaning, you have to wait 60 months to save any money over a non-hybrid car because of lower gas expenses.



http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/edito...asp?NewsID=188

I came across this rather surprising article... Enjoy it !

[Ferrer]

So basically if you want to save the world, drive a V8-engined SUV.

Who cares about the Prius, the proper green car is the Koenigsegg CCXR...

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Ferrer

So basically if you want to save the world, drive a V8-engined SUV.

you should read the whole article, the advice at the end is buying a Scion or a Chevrolet Aveo....(and because this is about the States a Polo diesel or a Panda diesel are not taken into account)

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by henk4

you should read the whole article, the advice at the end is buying a Scion or a Chevrolet Aveo....(and because this is about the States a Polo diesel or a Panda diesel are not taken into account)

Sarcasm, Pieter, sarcasm.

[kingofthering]

I thought this was referring to Ultimatecarpage.com's Prius.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Ferrer

Sarcasm, Pieter, sarcasm.

not really necessary because the points made about the Prius look rather valid....

[drakkie]

By the way, my alto is greener than a Prius according to this ! I get 60-65 mpg in daily traffic with almost constant overdrive and almost no acceleration... Cruise control helps a lot too.

[jediali]

Originally Posted by drakkie

By the way, my alto is greener than a Prius according to this ! I get 60-65 mpg in daily traffic with almost constant overdrive and almost no acceleration... Cruise control helps a lot too.

hmmm, i feel that might be contested! constant overdrive? is your daily driving 45mph? what's cruise control to you? a pile of bricks all of different weights in the passenger foot well?

[derekthetree]

Originally Posted by drakkie

Cruise control helps a lot too.

I would doubt it. A conscientious driver will always outdo a cruise control system in the mpg stakes

[my porsche]

Originally Posted by Ferrer

Who cares about the Prius, the proper green car is the Koenigsegg CCXR...

I like the way you think.

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by drakkie

By the way, my alto is greener than a Prius according to this ! I get 60-65 mpg in daily traffic with almost constant overdrive and almost no acceleration... Cruise control helps a lot too.

Are you sure?

That's what a good modern diesel can do...

[drakkie]

Originally Posted by Ferrer

Are you sure?

That's what a good modern diesel can do...

I'll take pictures of my counter and the receipt of the petrol station when i fill her up again(saturday ?). The clock is now on 380.4 km with about 20% in the tank. The tank is about 25 litres... It did include 250 km's of highway driving and the rest city driving, when it is not so efficient...

I shift to 5th at 55/60 km/h and 4th at 40.

it is a 1.0 right, it doesnt need much fuel...

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by drakkie

I'll take pictures of my counter and the receipt of the petrol station when i fill her up again. The clock is now on 380.4 km with about 20% in the tank. The tank is about 25 litres... It did include 300 km's of highway driving, when it is not so efficient...

I shift to 5th at 55/60 km/h and 4th at 40.

I'm not saying I don't believe you, but on which kind of roads do you drive to get this kind of mileage?

[drakkie]

Originally Posted by jediali

hmmm, i feel that might be contested! constant overdrive? is your daily driving 45mph? what's cruise control to you? a pile of bricks all of different weights in the passenger foot well?

Cruise control is the aftermarket device fitted under the dash. it doesnt hold a specific speed, but locks the gas more or less. in practice it means a constant speed with differences of 10 km/h...

Most of the daily driving is 80 km/h roads or highway driving at around 100 km/h.

[drakkie]

Originally Posted by Ferrer

I'm not saying I don't believe you, but on which kind of roads do you drive to get this kind of mileage?

Quite mixed. I start off with a piece of 60 km/h then 80 for a while (total 15 km). When I turn onto the highway i stay on it for 40 km's then i turn of into the city with many traffic lights and a max. speed of 50 again.