Letters to the Editor
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A little short
If you're going to write about eco-friendly cars that aren't hybrids, you really should do your homework and at least enumerate them; rather than just joyride in a few and mention some mileage numbers that anyone who cared could find online in an instant. I totally agree with the premise of this article, but it could have benefited from a little more diligence.
It could have also benefited from a little bit more clue about basic science. If you don't have that, then maybe you should look for better backup than a mechanic in Portland. What's with the notion that a plug-in electrics are the ultimate in eco-friendly? Has there been a battery breakthrough I haven't heard about? Does electricity at the pump all come from windmills? Burning coal to create steam to turn a turbine to push electrons over long haul transmission lines to charge a giant toxic battery to power an electric motor to turn the wheels on a car has got to be one of the most inefficient and absolute dumbest ways to protect the environment I ever heard of. Maybe someday we'll have a good clean source of electric energy like fusion, and good clean power cells to store power. So far, that's just a dream.
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I'm with Rebecca
The Prius is all image, no substance.
Me, I drive a 1985 Toyota Corolla - its mileage is better than most modern cars, *especially* the SUV's. Bonus - It's so simple and basic I can maintain it myself.
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Smart Cars
Oh yes, the version sold in North america has a diesel engine.
Seriously? Nice! That means you can run it on vegetable oil.
Is VW selling diesels in the US? I thought I heard that they are, or are going to, but I don't know if that was just a rumor.
The Smart Car is *perfect* for tootling around in the city, if you also happen to live in the city. It's definitely less-perfect if you want to travel outside the immediate area.
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No substance?
The Prius is all image, no substance.
Me, I drive a 1985 Toyota Corolla - its mileage is better than most modern cars, *especially* the SUV's.
No substance? It's a four door sedan that seats five and gets at minimum 40 mpg, often higher. Pretty straightforward substance, I think...
I don't deny that they hype can overshadow other questions (recyclability, price, tire wear, etc..), but in a world where people commute alone for two hours a day in a 6,000 pound Navigator, we need whatever offsets we can get, right?
However, I'm glad that your Corolla is hanging in there! No matter what, it's ALWAYS good to resist the urge to add another car to the junkheap. Producing the new car that many people regularly feel the need to buy pollutes and wastes energy even if they never drive it. That's one of the reasons why I'm hanging on to my Prius (that and the money!).
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No substance ..
Yeah, I probably did overstate the case there ... the Prius is a good car if you can afford it - 40mpg is not to be sneezed at. I was reacting more to the exaggerated claims for it (60mpg) and the impression people form that there's nothing better.
Good point re recycling cars - buying a new car is a huge hit on the environment compared to keeping a old one running for a bit longer.
I loves my Toyota Corella - they're a classic, very basic and simple and just keep going and going, the antithesis of planned obsolesce. I doubt anything similar can be brought today from the major car makers.
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I don't get this...
Since when is $22,000 expensive? Every car other than a subcompact costs well above that. I have a Prius. I bought it in 2003 for $21,000 and got a $2,000 federal tax credit. The thing is virtually maintenance free. It gets about 40 mpg in good weather, less when it's really cold out. That's better than ANY gas-fueled car, except the teeny ones (maybe).Like all Toyotas, it runs like a top.
I don't get this, this urge to bash the Prius. I can see ignorant Republicans doing it, but not the supposed enlightened.
A hybrid SUV is a con job. Why waste the technology on a lumbering fat ass of a "car" that gets at best 28 mpg. A family of four can fit in a Prius and get 40.
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Another way to reduce...
If you are a white collar drone like myself, another way to reduce auto emissions is to get your company to let you telecommute one day a week. Once a week isn't going to turn everyone at work into strangers, and a 20% reduction is nothing to sneeze at.
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obsolescence
I loves my Toyota Corella - they're a classic, very basic and simple and just keep going and going, the antithesis of planned obsolesce
Yup, cars are a bit further along on the development curve than most consumer products. They also depreciate so quickly, there isn't a big incentive to trade them in early.
The very non-green tech industry is a big offender here: "If it's old for a gerbil, it's old for a computer".
But as long as you get a car with seat belts and airbags, the marginal safety changes in automobiles year after year are rarely worth an upgrade. And if you ARE driving a 1955 Corvette, you're probably not commuting in heavy traffic or going long distances at highway speed anyway.
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Since when is $22,000 expensive?
Since for a lot of people - not everyone makes enough money to buy new cars. You're way out of touch.
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prius envy
sounds like some prius envy goin' on here.
I can tell you from first-hand experience that if you're willing to drive with some moderation, intelligence, and heavy use of cruise-control on the freeway (in other words, letting the computer find the most efficient way to accellerate and decellerate the car), you can get close to 60 mpg in average driving.
I almost never use the gas pedal when driving on the freeway, or anywhere that a relatively constant speed, or slow accelleration or decelleration, is an option.
It's people who insist on driving hybrids with a heavy foot, jackrabbit starts and 80 mph on the freeway, who are getting 40 mpg. That's ridiculous. That kind of mpg shows a near total lack of understanding of how to drive a Prius.
I've had my 2007 prius for a year. It's been a *great* car, and I've gotten over 55mpg in mixed driving for the last 6 months. Even when I drive 80, occasionally, on the freeway, 'cause I'm late.
It's all these idiots who don't understand how to drive the car who get lousy mileage. Typical idiot American drivers who barely understand the first thing about the technology they're driving around in. It's a joke.
I can't wait for a full electric. But, I despair of automakers ever building one, until circumstances force them to, because of the financial incentives to the industry to continue building ICE vehicles. That's the real scandal. That automakers could, right now, build a nearly maintainence free full electric vehicle...nice car too...but they don't, because the political and financial will is just not there.