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Posted on 09/30/2007 9:14:48 AM PDT by 1066AD
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 $0.48 per mile to put on the road. If you are still obsessed over gas mileage - buy a Chevy Aveo and fix that lead foot.
One last fun fact for you: it takes five years to offset the premium price of a Prius. Meaning, you have to wait 60 months to save any money over a non-hybrid car because of lower gas expenses.
bttt greeny weany
I didn’t know nickle was such a dangerous material.
Not to nitpick so much, but how to apply large amounts of amperage without lots of voltage to push those amps through? Better that those drill manufacturers switch to LiIon instead of the 60$ NiMH that I am buying now. As far as the pickle thing, I’m going to try that, but since the a.c. line switches polarity 60 times per second, there really is no + or - . Freegards.
On the pickle...use a galvanized nail(zinc) and a copper electrode for best results.
Caveat: I dont condone this ;0)
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That is a really nice car, would like to see it without all the numbers, etc, on it.
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It’s not powerful enough for you!
Snicker, it may not have the ‘pickup’ my Lincoln does!!
This article was debunked....
but there are studies which show the Prius costing a lot more than most cars in terms of money, production, etc.
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About 90 cubic inches plus an auxiliary electric motor from a Hoover vacuum cleaner
It outruns grocery carts
Lol, and I thought it was a speedy car!
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I always knew the batteries would be a huge financial and environmental problemo!
I just checked the Yahoo autos site. The Prius didn’t get good ratings on anything but mileage. I guess it depends on why you buy the car. After all it is a car not magic.
bump
It’s not out of the ordinary for GM trucks to reach that expectation.
Can you imagine what the driver in that little Jap junk box would look like in a head-on with an H2? Their headstones could say “Died getting 45 MPG”. I don’t want my family riding in one of those things.
A lemon factor may be involved. It is very possible that bad cars are manufactured. Products are not perfect. Only motivated people take the time to write these reviews.
I think the problem with the Prius in many cases is the driver. Just as the drivers of other types of vehicles can be jerks, so can the drivers of the Prius. We have a guy at work that owns one. He goes around with one of those holier than thou attitudes harassing non-hybrid drivers. Someday he will get a broken nose if it tries it on the wrong person.
I was not impressed with the Subaru mileage but I have other people say the same about winter driving. I bought a 2005 Escape. With the smallest engine and a 5 speed I get 26 to 30 mpg depending on traffic. That is better than the rated hybrid mpg at $9k cheaper. The prices are closer now.
GM indicates it needs to sell the Hummer line, however
NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp’s (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) iconic Hummer brand could fetch up to $750 million in a sale, but would likely generate little interest and the company would probably have to look overseas to attract even a few buyers.
I think Tata Motors should buy Hummer and add it to the Jaguar lineup.
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