Posted on 03/18/2008 10:47:00 AM PDT by 60Gunner
If the public ever stopped to think for themselves, the 'eco-friendly' hybrid would be banned from our highways.
They are not 'green.' They are, in fact, blacker than Hitler's bastard heart.
Do any of these bunny-hugging, sign-waving morons stop to think about what it takes to make just one of those big-assed batteries? Come to think of it, do any of these idiots stop to think about what it takes to recycle one- which is necessary every five years!?
Of course not. And you can bet your sweet ass that none of the proponents of these toxic deathtraps is about to tell you, either. All they say is that they use less gas. And after all, isn't that what it's all about?
Last summer, when I asked these questions of a greeniac sign-waver who preached the Gospel According to Al "St. Fat Dumbass" Gore, the poor little fly cleared his throat and said tentatively, "Well, that's still a problem that hasn't been solved. But we should still do it, because by the time the mass of batteries has to be exchanged, we'll have the technology to do it."
I smiled wickedly and rejoined, "So what you are saying is that in spite of the fact that these batteries are shockingly toxic to produce, and shocking toxic to recycle, we should still buy only hybrid cars?"
"Well, yes, because they still use less gas."
I must have looked as appalled at his lack of critical thinking as I actually was, because he defensively asked, "What...?"
"Do you have any idea how utterly and patently stupid your rationale is?"
"What do you mean?" The young man bristled.
"I mean, you rail and rant about how America is destroying our ecosystem because of the huge so-called 'carbon footprint' we leave due to our use of petroleum, but you are more than happy to advocate forcing us to buy cars that are even more toxic to the environment- and far more dangerous to the consumer- when you don't even have a frigging clue as to what's really going on here."
"They are not dangerous!" retorted the misguided idiot.
"Oh, yes they are," I shot back, leaning forward. "Think about it. How much does that big-assed battery weigh?"
"I dunno."
"A helluva lot. And if you are driving at 60 miles an hour and aren't watching where you are going while texting your Earth Mama and have a head-on collision with someone else, or a bridge median, guess what the last thing to go through your mind will be?"
"What?"
"That big-assed battery, pal. And if you manage to survive being crushed by the battery, what do you think will be all over your mangled body?"
"I dunno."
"The stuff that was in the battery, Brainiac. And you know what else? No medic team in its right frigging mind is gonna come anywear near your sorry mangled ass while that big old battery is dicharging all of its energy and acid all over you and that ugly-assed car. So you'll sit there in your carbon-neutral happy-wagon and boil your skin off until a hazmat team shows up to make it safe, which could take a long, lonnnnnnnnng time, considering how fast the Department of Transportation moves these days."
I paused for another breath while a few other Berkenstock Boneheads directed their attention towards our exchange, then continued:
"Now just suppose you survive your traumatic injuries and the additional insult of being stewed by your battery. Let's even go so far as to say that you survive the trip to my ER in a bumpy, cold medic unit. Do you think I'm going to let your sorry, toxic ass into my ER and jeopardize the health and safety of my staff and other patients? HELLLLLLLLLLL, NO. You're getting your ass scrubbed down of ALL toxic materials OUTSIDE before you get into one of my rooms. Here's a brutal truth, bud: Someone who is stewing in battery acid because he didn't think for himself before buying one of your Utopia-Mobiles isn't even close to being worth four of my people getting poisoned trying to save his stupid ass."
I turned on my heel, walked to my 26 MPG, 340HP Mustang, revved up with a lusty, throaty roar, and rolled down my window.
"Peace out, dude," I said as I roared out of the parking lot and drove to work.
“Well, gosh, since version 1.0 is not absolutely perfect, we should scrap the entire thing.”
No, since version 1.0 is hideously dangerous, a person is a fool to buy or ride in one.
“even a horse has to be broken before you can ride it.”
And they’re riding hybrids before they’re ready. This is like trying to ride a rodeo bronc right out of the chute.
ok but don’t have the govt ban it. let the market decide whether these cars are worth it. And don’t blame a car for accidents.
You posted: at $3.50 per gallon, you would have to drive more than 65,975 miles to get past the break even point. That is assuming 35 mpg with the standard Honda.
***
I am paying $3.25 per gallon right now, averaging about 48.5 mpg in my 2005 Prius. I have nearly 113K miles on it so far (no problems encountered to date, and battery appears to be operating fully). I think I have made up the difference from my previous car, a 2002 VW Passat, which got about 24 mpg, using premium fuel. I like the car, except for the assumptions by some that I am an enviro-nut.
Assuming a 10 MPG difference, an average of 15,000 miles for 5 years, and $4.00 gasoline, the savings would be; $30,000, less the $6600 price differential, yields $23,400 savings.
However; the Prius will need a battery before the 5 years is up, so subtract another $6,000, leaving a net savings of $17,400.
“With all that pent-up anger against the enviros”
We should all be furious with the eco-whackos, and we should rain that fury down whenever they raise their ugly, stupid heads.
I don’t think the battery is likely to need replacement in 5 years as you indicate. I think in the field they are lasting far longer. Mine is still doing great at 113K miles.
But there could be a large demand for the hybrid down the road and little demand for the all gas model, so you could get back the extra $ you put into it when you go to resell it. The resale value is hard to know with any certainty.
Yep, hybrid cars are the answer - NOT. Even without the battery, they’re so small, if hit by a big truck or car, the passengers are going to get worse injuries.
But, that’s ok, the greenies are willing to sacrifice a few human lives, to save the planet from Global Warming.
The People’s Car. Folks wagon, 2008.
As it should be for most things (everything else being equal).
Unless you can point to specific externalities (positive or negative); market forces are best at allocating resources & price is the “bottom line” that summarizes what the market is trying to tell us.
Of course, it's apparent by the vehicle that you chose to drive that you place zero value on sports-car performance. It's up to each individual to decide what they value.
Very good!
Are you in a warm climate?
Something capable of moving at 60 MPH is going to include a large energy source. There is no such thing as a totally safe large energy source — uncontrolled releases of large amounts of energy are harmful to children and other living things. That’s life. If you can’t deal with the fact that the universe is dangerous, maybe you should crawl back under your bed. QED.
Kinda like my brother in law, who rationalizes his inability to give up chewing tobacco with the notion that there will be a cure for cancer by the time he might need one.
“26 MPG, 340HP Mustang”
sweet. what mustang is this?
I think your math is faulty.
15,000 miles * 5 years = 75,000 miles.
75,000 miles @ 35mpg = 2142.85 gallons of gas.
75,000 miles @ 45mpg = 1666.66 gallons of gas.
476 gallons @ $4/gallon = $1904 in savings.
I’ve been TRYING to make that point for more than a decade.
These GREEN solutions are NOT green at all but BLACK (as Gunner observes).
They are only green where the idiot econazis USE them (read that California, Colorado, etc.) The PRODUCTION of them is shoved off to not very clean already places (like Cleveland, Pittsburgh, etc.) where the concentrating of the toxins used in their manufacture exacerbate conditions in an already marginal environment (relative to the “clean” environment in which the econazis prefer to live).
The econazis just don’t want to see, drink or smell it.
Talk about hypocrisy!
But then, the statists have never been troubled by their failure to think.
North Carolina. Moderate. Plenty warm in summer....
No, since version 1.0 is hideously dangerous, a person is a fool to buy or ride in one.
________
Care to share statistics on ‘hideously dangerous’?
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