Pedro356C

I''m favorable to the hybrid/electric cars of all sorts...one more Prius on the road...one less soccer mom driving an Escalade right beside me!

Vintage cars...yeah baby...that's what you are driving...DO NOT contribute to Global Warming...we are such a small group after all...

I like Porsches and I like to breath air...hopefully we can have both if "they" drive tons of Prius and stuff...

FotoVeloce

Interesting.. BUT.. where in the world did he come up with the idea a Hummer is going to last 300,000 miles? We are not talking about the military diesel powered one here, but the civilian gas version. Any Chevy that lasts more than 100,000 miles is setting a record, IMHO. That of course totally blows his cost per mile estimate. Maybe I'm just not groking this... so if it's logic deficeny on my part. please correct me.

I think he also missed mentioning the environmental impacts of those batteries when they must be disposed of. Not exactly kind to the environment either.

FotoVeloce

Come on now, Al Gore and myself are putting together a hell of a business selling these things, mainly to Hollywood idiots!

RallyJon

There were lots of flaws in that article. However, even without the flaws and even with the (largely unknown) actual $$$ cost and cost to the environment of disposing/recycling of the batteries, there is a real point to be made about lifecycle costs. Would be nice if someone without an agenda on either side would take a shot at it.

FotoVeloce

LOL. That's classid. "Partial Zero". That's bull*** speak if I've ever heard it!! That's funnier than the crap I hear come out of the salesman in the office next to me.

Partial Zero. Geez.. that's golden!!!

texas911

That's because Toyota recycles the batteries.

TD in DC

I like the prius. I don't like the attitude that some people who buy it have, or the way in which some people (not Toyota BTW) tout its benefits. It is not cheaper. Is it more environmentally friendly than other types of cars? Hard to tell, but I do know it will depend a lot on how the car is used, maintained, and disposed of. I note that many of the snottiest people do not use the car in the way it should be used to remain true to its concept.

I much prefer the "hidden" technology approach like those implemented with the Lexus hybrids.

ZombiePorsche44

I'll never own a Prius, Birkenstocks or hemp clothing........ZP44

FotoVeloce

Well I'm sure that is 'waste neutral'. Are they teleported to Japan or are they placed on cargo ships? What about other nasty metals in the battery that cannot be recycled. Chemicals used in the process. What about electricity (generated with fosil fules or possibly nuclear) it takes to run the recycle process.

Rationalize all you like, it's no great boon to our environment. It's a feel-good ploy. I mean if you LIKE the car, then by all means drive it, but if you bought it to save Mother Earth, I think you were sold a big plastic ball of BS.

texas911

Oh man, now this is getting silly. Yea, the emissions on a giant 6L V-8 is exactly the same as a 1.5L 4 cylinder engine!

And re. the battery...

You mean unlike the millions of millions of LEAD ACID batteries out there already in conventional cars? Or am I rationalizing that part?

Boeing 717

"I just bought a Prius in March. I love it. There is a lot of negative backlash out there towrds Prius's and lots of mis-information. Like this story that a Prius is environmentally worse than a Hummer because of the way it was built. In short, its BS. Some fake rightwing "reporting" agency put out a report that claims,"

Well seeing how you are saying this is a right wing reporting agency that must make you a left winger, which is fine......; however, well see how you feel when your left wing commy buddies in their new "religious" movement of "man made global warming" take away your RIGHT to drive a porsche or any other car that you like or they simply tax you so much for that right that you wont want to.

JERRY

Boeing 717

And by the way that article comes from a liberal arts college in connecticut where Democrats out number repubicans more that 2 to 1. Wether or not the writer was conservative i do not know, But central connecticut state is hardly a "right wing reporting agency" dude.

Ray S

Don't knock Chevy's. As far as Chevy's lasting over 100,000 miles, take a look at the odometer during your next cab ride. Chevy has been making everything from cop cars to taxi cabs for years and the cabbies in the Chicago area regularly drive them beyond 300K.

2Many Cars

As is common with these types of "discussions" people tend to get bogged down in the (often shaky) statistics and generalizations.

On the image front: Let's face it most cars carry an "image" of a driver type and many are not good. PCars are definitely included here, so don't kid yourself, some drivers hate us just because of what we drive. Personally, I try not to use the same kind of generalization when I look at other drivers but you all can make your own decisions on that front.

On the it doesn't matter front: The Prius is a first step in solving a basic problem of transportation. It doesn't (and won't) solve it but it's a step in the right direction. In a few years we'll have plug in hybrids that will make a difference. Yeah I know the power comes from somewhere but plug-ins will charge at night when most power plants are normally idling and the capacity is there for very low incremental cost and it's a lot easier to control the emissions at the plant. Everyone took turns laughing and whining when CA passed emissions laws in the late 60s to clear the air in LA. You know what it took a while but it worked! Sorry but that's indisputable. Battery technology will rapidly improve and the market for hybrids will be there waiting. I'll bet in ten years when my wife's Prius battery needs replacing they'll be a much better, cheaper replacement. Anyone want to take the other side of that bet? Oh, and I don't think we'll be scrapping the car just because the battery needs replacing at 100,000 miles. How about a Prius and two replacement batteries at 300,000 miles vs. the Hummer?

Come on guys, you're getting way too wound up with this. I enjoy my wife's Prius and love my 993. I guess that makes me either a granola loving tree hugger or an a@@hole Porsche driver or both. You decide, I'll just be enjoying my cars.

Ray S

You completely ignored the conventional SULEV vehicles I mentioned in my post. The FACT is you are incorrect, the Prius's emissions are not "near zero".