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.
I've read similar articles but this is the most clear. Why would you buy a car with an effective life of only 100K miles ? (100K miles is expected life of the battery, replacement cost in today's dollars about $8K I'm told).
300,000 miles from a Hummer? I don’t mind a legitimate critique of the Prius but this seems stacked in the opposite direction.
Disclaimer: I wouldn’t buy a prius on a bet, neither would I drive a Hummer.
Must have been posted under a different title but I’ve seen it on FR as well as other places.
This article has been widely discounted.
Ive said this from the beginning.
Anyone who has ever owned a cordless drill knows that the batteries are a problem.
BTW, I am told that you can overcome the problem of Battery “memory” by applying a high amount of amperage at the batteries rated voltage across its terminals of the defective battery.
This apparently will blow away the memory junction in the battery.
Caveat: “Kids... dont try this at home”
Hybrid advocates (leftists and politicians) are ignoring price and economic analysis. The advocates have decided that hybrids are a winning technology worthy of large tax subsidies. Even with the large subsidies, the economic analysis does not make sense for most drivers. The subsidies are inhibiting other more promising ideas such as the low emissions diesel technologies from coming to market. At this time, the price and economic analysis indicate that hybrids are not the solution to energy and environment problems.
More fun facts:
Did you know that you can make a light out of a Dill Pickle?
Take a lamp cord and strip the wires at the end. Then wrap each wire around a nail.
Insert the nails, + and - in opposing ends of the pickle.
plug the lamp cord into a wall socket and watch the pickle light up a glorious orange, like a fluorescent light!
Caveat: Kids... Don’t try this at home!
> ... Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer ...
Even Rush has had to backtrack on this one.
The article is over the top. Nonetheless ...
Anyone looking for a high mileage vehicle needs to
consider the huckster hybrids with a wary eye.
What cost per mile do they get, the way you drive?
What is the cost per mile over the full useful life?
What hidden subsidies are inflating the claims?
Will you be able to ditch the used-up vehicle and
avoid hazmat fees for disposing of the batts?
(may be no problem today, but what about in 10 yrs)
We considered hybrids and bought a diesel (VW TDI).
Of course, the EPA and blue states have got things
so screwed up you can’t buy a new TDI here now.
This article regurgitates a bunch of urban legends.
The 100k mile canard is handily refuted by many owners who have handily passed that mileage. In fact, the battery is warranted in California for 150k miles.
And $8k to replace the battery? That’s totally false.
Excellent information, thank you.
You have a point. Compare the Prius to my Focus, which has continued to surprise me with its quality and driving fun.
From March this year.”Search” didn’t find this.
???
Good to see this out there again, but don’t say “search” didn’t find it.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1848688/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1800912/posts
Right. I think it’s a stretch to compare the Prius to the Hummer. The article would have been much more effective if, for instance, they compared the Prius to a Ford midsize like the Taurus.
Go Hyundai!
Anyone who has ever owned a cordless drill knows that the batteries are a problem.
BTW, I am told that you can overcome the problem of Battery “memory” by applying a high amount of amperage at the batteries rated voltage across its terminals of the defective battery.
This apparently will blow away the memory junction in the battery.
Caveat: “Kids... dont try this at home”
The only way you can apply more amperage is to either up the voltage or lower the resistance of the circuit. Neither one seems very feasible when charging batteries.
Not charging the battery....”clearing” the battery
Just crank up the amps on a power supply and tap the terminals for a split second.
Caveat: I dont condone this experiment
Where's the KABOOM?
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