Saw a great bumper sticker on a Prius recently...

"Got Prius Envy?"

 

I had a Prius for a year, so I think I can comment. Who cares about carbon footprint, the Prius is on heck of a great technological tour de force. Its a high performance car, just like any Porsche. The people who knock it just do it to be trendy.

 

Ah... no.

 

Thanks for giving yourself away.

 

I work 15 feet from my office. Sometimes I work in bed, the couch, or the patio. We have 3 SUVs and a Porsche in the house. If I get in car 3x a week during the weekdays, its a busy week for me. I use video conferencing to communicate. Still hop on planes now and then and drive but Im kinda of the bleeding edge of visual communications.

For putting around town and doing errands, I see nothing wrong with a hybrid. People snicker at Porsche drivers.

I'd buy a 2 year old one for like $15-$17k. Still would have 2 SUVs, a Porsche, and a hyrid.

Show me a more efficient way of having a 4th vehicle that gets me 45mph for putting around from point a to b that is a little more environmently friendly and I will probably buy it.

Im kinda of sick paying $50-$60 to fill up my SUVs and I dont drive that much. Both the Explorer and Bronco (queen of all garage queens) average about 13mph.

 

Giving myself away? From what?

 

Carbon footprint is going to be more important in the world of business. When there are tax incentives for business who reduce their carbon footprints, your going to see companies change their behavior more when it comes to things like cars and planes.

My company was just aquired by BT Conferencing (a divison of BT-British Telecom) last week. Our companies combined will one the largest reseller of Cisco Telperence in the world and reducing carbon footprint is a HUGE. I was actually hired over video conferencing back in 2000.

Its cool stuff. I have been in video for 10 years and this has been a Godsend. Plus at $300k-$500k per room, I like the sales!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5INC...eature=related

 

if you really want to decrease your carbon footprint
breath less per minute and eat less beans and other "flatogenic" foods. ha
ds

 

"Prius haters"???? "Faulty facts and illogical conclusions"? I simply asked a question. I guess some are so insecure in their technology decision that they can't even tolerate (or answer) a question. Possible the name should be changed to Pious?

 

You have that backwards................In many cases, you will find that people who buy them just do it to be trendy, as with many early adopters of any new technology.

 

Hey I answered your first question yet you ignored it. Seemed like you were just trying to cause a stir. Just passing along some facts about the Prius.

 

what part of getting 45mpg is so confusing...i had a choice...i choose better gas mileage.

 

Is this your question?

Toyota has a plan. When you get a new battery, they take the old one out of your car and then send it to a plant for a process called recycling. The batteries are returned to a central distribution facility on the same trucks that bring the new batteries to the dealer. They reuse most of the materials in the batteries. Actually, its basically the same process used to get rid of conventional lead acid batteries, only the nickel in Nimh batteries is not as dangerous as lead. Recycling is much cheaper than obtaining new materials, especially for the minerals, so there is some motivation to do this.

Interestingly, this isn't new technology. They have been using and recycling the same type of batteries in cellphones, cameras and powertools for years. In Kalifornia, recycling batteries is the law: its illegal to dispose of any battery in the garbage.

Here are some articles about hybrids. In case you didn't hear, the "Dust to Dust" report has been pretty well refuted.

Prius Versus Hummer: A Nickel for Your Thoughts:
http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200711/...
Battery Toxicity: http://www.hybridcars.com/battery-toxici...
Hummer versus Prius: "Dust to Dust" Report Misleads the Media and Public with Bad Science:
http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_...
Prius Versus HUMMER: Exploding the Myth:
http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto_New...
Giving Directions: No, the Hummer Actually Isn't More Energy Efficient Than A Prius, Let's Put This "Debate" To Rest:
http://www.betterworldclub.com/articles/...
Heard the One About the Hummer?:
http://www.toyota.com/html/dyncon/2007/s...

Admittedly, Hybrid is a young, stop-gap technology. But I bet you would prefer early adopters overpay to fund R&D rather than the government tax everyone and pay for it. (Overpay is a relative term. I still get pissed off at how much IBM charged me for that 8088 computer as compared to what I use now)
It seems to me that technology can be advanced in two ways: the early adopters overpay for the first models or the government pays for the R&D. I guess Hybrid technology has little little military application so the government isn't really interested. In either case, people down the road who buy the later iterations benefit.

Of course long term, hydrogen fuel cells are a better deal than hybrid, but it is so young a technology that I don't think its known when it will actually pencil out. It might not scale for awhile (if ever) and hydrogen hybrid might be part of the deal, who knows? I believe we should be exploring all avenues of research.

What alternative fuel technology are you promoting?

Greg H.

 

My wife has a 2007 Prius as her commuter. So far 25,000+ miles and zero problems. She averaged 53 MPG in warm weather and 48 MPG in the winter. Connecticut imposes a 10 year 150,000 mile battery warranty on the manufacturers of Hybrid vehicles (your states may do the same). None-the-less, she bought the Toyota 100K bumper to bumper warranty for $795.00. Trendy, maybe, but $350. to $400. per month in fuel cost savings appeals to the wallet.

 

Any and all that are economically viable for all involved in order for them to be sustainable, not subsidized on life support.

From years in CE industry, I'm pretty familiar with battery technologies, their manf. costs, and recycling programs...both economically viable plans as well as Gov't mandated plans.

Thanks.