interesting article about the Prius

[n2knee]

March 7, 2007

Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage
By Chris Demorro
Staff Writer


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.

thoughts and comments? yan din ang nasa isip ko noon...

[Horsepower]

Any kid who has taken Physics in High school would’ve known that.


Hybrid cars use batteries. Batteries die over time (and short at that!). You then need to dispose these batteries. That's another environmental problem.

I hope that article is not for Hummer promotion because that's another stupid petrol guzzling american vehicle.

[Camgen6]

And to say California is the toughest state when it comes to environment. I still don't know why they sell like hot cakes. That's why EU will never go hybrid mas gusto nila diesel (smart choice).

[n2knee]

Any kid who has taken Physics in High school would’ve known that.


Hybrid cars use batteries. Batteries die over time (and short at that!). You then need to dispose these batteries. That's another environmental problem.

I hope that article is not for Hummer promotion because that's another stupid petrol guzzling american vehicle.

i hope so too...and i don't think it's black propaganda..

[n2knee]

And to say California is the toughest state when it comes to environment. I still don't know why they sell like hot cakes. That's why EU will never go hybrid mas gusto nila diesel (smart choice).

i think alam ko answer nyan. they see the celebrities in hollywood driving these cars, because these celelbrities want to be perceived as environmetally concious. it becomes a chain reaction. sa Berkely, CA (lugar ng mga tree hugging hippies ) ang dami ng Prius.

[Taurus]

buy one of the most economical cars available - a Toyota Scion xB

really??? a Scion - economical?

If you are still obsessed over gas mileage - buy a Chevy Aveo

and here's another one...Aveo???






sayang Chris Demorro wasn't able to check other cars...

[n2knee]

really??? a Scion - economical?





and here's another one...Aveo???






sayang Chris Demorro wasn't able to check other cars...

don't quote me dude...i did not say that...get your eyes checked!

the author probably meant the scion xb economical in terms of cost of ownership, which includes purchase price and maintenance and not just gas mileage alone.

[niky]

The xB is economical. It's a Toyota Echo platform expanded to fit American size people.

A lot of us have known this for years. When you remove the tax breaks given by the government and the money Toyota loses on each Prius built... they don't really make any economical sense at all.

Or environmental sense. Most small vehicles make more sense than the Prius.

[n2knee]

this only proves that Toyota's marketing strategy in North America is working.

[mazdamazda]

This is what we've been talking about here in the forums over the past few years.