GPMike

This is true. An impact study was done a year ago. If you factor in environmental impact from raw materials through assembly, usage and then death/recycling of the automobile....the Jeep Wrangler is more green than the Prius.

4xfordbronc

I have a 98 Toyota corolla. It is manual 5 speed also. I get about 35-40 mpg on average on highway and city. Its a no frills ride that does its job. Oh... it also has 225000 miles on it and going strong.

Just looked on Edmunds for a True Market Value of a 98 Corolla. Its about 4K. A lot cheaper than a hybrid. You could just get liability ins. and registration is like 50-60 bucks per year.

ChuckV

If all you care about is saving money, Prius isn't a good option. I'd take more than 200,000 miles to make up the difference in price of 35-40mpg vs 45-50 mpg.

ace123

here's my thinking on the matter:
Supporting the research with a purchase is a perfectly valid argument that i agree with, but i don't do that because personally, i think technology is advancing at a sufficient rate to overcome the weaknesses without me making the sacrifices. better someone who doesnt see it as a sacrifice to drive a low performance car purchase the hybrid.

if you purchased a cheap, efficient commute-only-hold-the-extras car, (corolla, VW TDI, etc) the greater portion of your driving is done on a cheap, efficient car, and when you actually need the utility or whatever feature you can drive a second, larger/more powerful vehicle. meeting your demands with greater exactness will cut out the inefficiency YOU create, while automakers simultaneously improve newer cars' efficiency.

i support your thinking 100%, although i don't agree strongly enough to apply it myself. but the 'one person can make a difference' attitude is spot-on, as that's how mass movements occur over time. another guy at my work has the same attitude and motivation as you, so you have others making a difference by thinking exactly how you do.
_______________________

also, this is a form of thinking rare in american culture regarding efficiency/environment: i live downtown in a nicely done, small (700ft2), well-insulated apartment with my wife. i don't commuting an hour every day like my coworkers; i commute 7 miles. it pay about $50/month to heat or cool our place. the short drive and small apartment make up much more than offsetting a larger home far out in the suburbs with an efficient car. even if i drove an old tahoe around town, because i drive so much less, our family may have less impact than someone who lives where they have a long commute and offset that by using an efficient car.

Fanman

This was discussed in a previous thread. The people that are claiming that a Prius damages the environment more than an SUV are working on old & incorrect information. If you dropped the nickel metal hydride batteries into the ocean than they would be devestating to the environment, but that premise of a hybrid being dirty did not take into account that almost 100% of the battery is recyclable.

That like saying that nuclear power is one of the dirtiest energies. It's simplly false if you are using todays technology. 30 years ago the waste was horrific. Today you can reclaim 98% of it.

And some of the calculations are completely dependent on numbers thrown out. In terms of making your money, it depends on what numbers you plug in.

The Honda Civic Hybrid is still a whopping $2100 federal Tax Credit rebate.

Price difference between a Civic LX/EX = $5000/$3000

Federal Tax Credit = $2100
Avg. Gasoline Saving = $500/year (difference between 30 mpg combined & 42 mpg combined over a 12,000 mi./year driving schedule @ $4/gallon).

Within 2 years, you have already made up the difference between a Civic EX & Civic Hybrid & for the LX, it's 6 years.

Since the Prius has sold it's allotment of Hybrid cars, there is no longer any federal tax credit. It will save you roughly $550 year in gas savings.

If it's strictly a money saving exercise, might really want to look at a Civic Hybrid vs. a Toyota Prius. Though they are offering some good deals on the Prius now.

archtop

^ Greener Pastures for Car Batteries

The carmakers are waiting in the wings. Toyota and Honda place decals with a toll-free number on their hybrid battery packs. Toyota offers a $200 bounty to ensure that every battery comes back to the company. In a press release, Toyota states, "Every part of the battery, from the precious metals to the plastic, plates, steel case and the wiring, is recycled." Honda collects the battery and transfers it to a preferred recycler to follow their prescribed process: disassembling and sorting the materials; shredding the plastic material; recovering and processing the metal; and neutralizing the alkaline material before sending it to a landfill.

Honda, Toyota and the entire auto industry are pumping millions of dollars into research regarding lithium ion batteries for tomorrow's cars. Their primary motivation is to reduce the cost and increase the potency of hybrid batteries. Fortunately, supplanting lead and nickel batteries with rechargeable lithium batteries is also promising from an environmental perspective. Instead of clogging landfills with more toxic chemicals, hybrids

ZDan

Source?

If it's the CNW "study", there are serious problems with it, including amortizing a Prius over 109k miles vs. a Hummer over 379k miles. They knew what conclusions they wanted to reach, and hideously skewed their "analysis" to achieve this.

If it's another source, I'm all ears.

cravnpup

God that "Hummer vs. Prius" marketing campaign really worked. It certainly has the majority of you convinced..

Fanman

Here is Toyota's Response to the CNW Marketing Study :

Recycled Rubbish?

CNW Marketing Research Inc.

GT-R_regulator

Seriously, stop spewing bullshiat!

That "study" by the CNW was done by a bunch of morons, like yourself, whose brains have yet to evolve any more than those of monkeys'.

Stop spewing at once!!!!!!!!!!!!