If you're basing the decision strictly on economy terms you should buy a Toyota Yaris and be done with it - great mileage and cheap to own. I for one prefer something more interesting and am willing to pay for it. I'm also quite wowed by the Toyota hybrid technology plus I like driving something a little nicer with goodies one can't get on the typical econobox. Hummm....sounds alot like the rational we use to buy Porsches.

 

Bull,
Great point. This is all marketing. I dont want to start a "heated discussion" but I work as an engineer for the Navy and the prius carbon footprint is bigger than a 74 Ford Bronco.
Why? No ones figured out how to dispose of the batteries. So as of right now the energy required to dispose of the batteries is more than the 74 bronco carbon footprint. As stated in a nation wide City government study (mr Texas 911) a compact (not a subcompact)
is better for the environment than a Prius.
The whole global warming argument is up for discussion. Recently respected Norwegian scientists discovered a very similar "global warming" episode in the 1200's etched in stone in a fjords granite floor
that showed a almost identical period. There were no cars or factories back then.
I applaud you doing your part for the environment but research the whole lifecycle of hybrids from crib to casket. You can do more than a hybrid by just buying a more modern fuel efficient vehicle every couple years. They are more recyclable.
Like Dick Cheney said you cant save the world by retiring, getting fat, growing a beard and winning the Nobel prize with false science.

 

We shouldn't support any alternative energy technologies until they are perfected, make financial sense and it's been proven beyond a shadow of doubt that we really need them. Until then, people that buy these things are just being suckers. The green movement is just taking advantage of us for their own financial gain.

Greg H.

 

right now for my daily driver getting 45mpg to previous 18mpg makes me feel less than a sucker

 

I believe Greg was being sarcastic.

 

Last week I bought a 2.0T A4 and get ~25 city and ~35 hwy on a car that puts out 240HP and 290TQ (with a chip). It's a nice semi-luxury car that's fuel efficient and powerful enough to have fun getting from point a to b, not to mention the fact that it's got Quattro. And it's only going to get better. I plan to trade this car in 2010, when the new B8 A4 arrives in North America with a diesel engine. Turbo diesel, to me, is the future. Much better than a tin can hyped up with good and timely marketing IMO. And I mean no offense to others here...I just truly don't like the idea of the Prius but my fiance really wants one.

 

see the smiley face..lighten up..its friday.

 

i looked at the a4 as well as the a3. nice car....

 

Thanks. It's my third Audi and I'm liking it a lot for what it is. I got a black s-line with a manual gearbox and the titanium pakcage. I doubt I'll ever buy anything outside of Porsche and Audi.

 

Ha ha. Greg should know full well about Priusowner here in the Bay Area. No fewer than 5 passed me on the way in this morning.......and I was driving the 911 at a "brisk" pace. Ought to see when I'm in the motorized rollerskate doing a pedestrian 65! THAT'S what cracks me up about the things.

In any case, great what they've done at that price point (because you KNOW how much they're losing on every one). If you like it, buy it!

 

Actually, read again, as there is a current program to deal with the batteries "regular cars" use. If Toyota has a great plan to recycle the batteries when these things truly proliferate (and increase the number of dead batteries exponentially, which is the point), they should share it....they don't except for the low level quantities being sold today. (Or, are they admitting that this is a technology that will go nowhere and the issue won't be real)?

 

Bob,

It doesn't matter. The Prius is a joke, when it comes to energy conserved.
Drive what you have. Adding another car, whether a Prius or else, the energy to manufacture, exceeds the energy saved. The math is simple.

I'd callenge anyone here to live more conservatively than me.

 

My solution is to only live 2 miles from work. I only drive about 4K a year minus a few trips in the RV. I would never in my life pay off the differance in that technology. I have thought about riding my bike to work though. Just don't like the idea of riding home in the rain at 10pm.

 

What part of Toyota recycling the Prius battery don't you understand? You Prius haters sure go out of your way to put the Prius down, usually with faulty "facts" and illogical conclusions.


How often do hybrid batteries need replacing? Is replacement expensive and disposal an environmental problem?

The hybrid battery packs are designed to last for the lifetime of the vehicle, somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000 miles, probably a whole lot longer. The warranty covers the batteries for between eight and ten years, depending on the car maker.

Battery toxicity is a concern, althoug today's hybrids use NiMH batteries, not the environmentally problematic rechargeable nickel cadmium. "Nickel metal hydride batteries are benign. They can be fully recycled," says Ron Cogan, editor of the Green Car Journal. Toyota and Honda say that they will recycle dead batteries and that disposal will pose no toxic hazards. Toyota puts a phone number on each battery, and they pay a $200 "bounty" for each battery to help ensure that it will be properly recycled.

 

You live in Houston with a 993 and an AWD TT.
What part of adding a Prius subtracted from from carbon footprint?