Prius Mocked for a different reason.

It sounds like your friend has a little issue with one-upmanship. She'll be getting a lame vanity plate for that bug.

Does she own the latest cell-phone and an i-something, too?

 

Pump up them tires, block your grille, practice up on P&G and
take it as a challenge -- get into a serious contest with this
person, compare figures, and see which one of you continues to
do better as warm weather approaches. Turn it into something
fun, in other words, that benefits both of you as you strive to
become examples and spokespeople for your respective vehicle
types.
.
_H*

 

Greener?

No!

Take a look at the emission ratings.

Prius is drastically cleaner, delivering PZEV rather than the diesel's Bin5.
.

 

ask her how much her gas costs, then laugh

 

Your friend is either a liar or an accomplished hypermiler. EPA rating for the Diesel Beetle is 40 mpg highway compared to 45 for the Prius.

Green Vehicle Guide | US EPA

 

Its even worse than that. The last year of the VW TDIs, 2006, it was rated Bin 10. Bin 10 isn't even legal anymore, which is why there are no 2007 or 2008 VW tdis. Supposedly they will be back and "cleaner" in 2009 with Bin 5 emissions.

2006 VW New Beetle TDI vs. 2006 Toyota Prius
CO2 (g/mi): 296.59 vs. 191.04 (55% higher) Greenhouse/Global Warming Gas
CO (g/mi): 0.11 vs. 0.1 (10% higher) Poison / Toxic
NOx (g/mi): 0.55 vs. 0.01 (5400% or 55X higher) Smog / Acid Rain
NMOG (g/mi): 0.0123 vs. 0.009 (37% higher) Formaldehyde & other VOCs, irritant, cancer
HC-NM+NOX-COMP (g/mi): 0.824 vs. 0.03 (2647% or 27.5X higher) composite of main smog ingredients
PM (g/mi): 0.069 vs. 0 (inf higher) asthma, lung development problems in children

Rob

 

It's possibile the VW driver might be hypermiling, but he would go even farther hypermiling a Prius.

In a couple of years, are we going to have Prius III drivers telling the people with their current hybrid they are greener than you? It's people like us that will make those Prius III's possible!

 

Hopefully your coworker will be able to look at the "green" argument holistically (look at the bigger picture). Even with cleaner diesel fuel the VW still pollutes at an alarming rate compared to the Prius. Saying the VW is "greener" because of gas mileage alone is like saying that eating rocks is better for your diet because they have fewer calories.

 

It never ceases to amaze me how much (and frequently) some people exaggerate (trying to be diplomatic here and not use the verb "to lie") their mileage. No way in hell she is getting 59mpg out of a diesel VW. I just had an acquaintance tell me that he was getting "about 20" out of his V10 Ford F350 pickup......I'd bet he's getting closer to "about 10" but it simply isn't worth it to me to prove anything. I tend to be an adherent to the old question "would you rather be happy, or right?" I'll go with the 'happy', and with the Prius I am.

I'll bet if you hooked that Beetle up to a ScanGaugeII you'd get the true mpg capabilities, though......if you like being "right" more than happy!

 

Perhaps she's the butt of a practical joke.

When someone keeps talking about fuel economy, you keep adding fuel to their tank. Eventually they think they're getting unbelievable MPG.

Then you start siphoning and watch their confusion.

 

Hi All,

I took a ride in a new Beetle the other week. It was not a diesel, but the experience makes me think her "highway" speed may be below 40 mph. Because 40 mph and higher there is a loud aero noise about 6 inches outside the rear passengers doors of the Beetle. If ever there was a car that cryed out for aerodynamic improvement, that is one.

Now remember for this to be a wells-to-wheels tie, the Diesel needs to get 113 % the mileage of the gas car. As there is 13% more fuel energy in the diesel.

Why is wells-to-wheels important? Because we are using a fixed resource that is dwidling. So the goal must be to use a minimum amount of petroleum per mile.

 

the funny thing is there is nothing uglier than the modern Beetle.

 

While not a diesel, I had a New Beetle Convertible I sold to get the Prius. If there ever was a car less economical, I'd like to see it. I couldn't figure out how a car with a tiny trunk, even smaller back seats and absolutely dismal power could only muster 20 mpg in mixed driving. I never got that pig over 23 mpg! Besides all the problems I had with a brand new car, it was not that fun to drive. God I hated that car and I bought it new and sold it after just two years!

 

I'd very much like to know the original fonts for these numbers.

In my country VW TDIs use to be the most desirable cars, and there is a large misinformation about emisions.
Latelly even tax reductions for TDIs and diesel in general because less CO2 emisions than gas cars, nothing seem important about NOx and HC!

I think it has something with EU compromises about CO2 reductions, but what about breath health?

Fortunatly the PRIUS has gotten a recent tax reduction too (CO2 always), but EU big cities are getting more and more black smoked thanks to diesel cars.

I'd like some information to show.

 

Somehow you have to get your co-worker to verifiably compete with you. There are examples of Excel spreadsheets here that I found. They are easily edited into something that even a VW owner could use (ouch).

One of the things I like about the Prius is that it enables much more accurate record keeping than any other vehicle I have ever owned. The display shows actual (appx) mileage over the course of the entire tank.

I can tell you that I don't know anyone without this capability (any non Prii) that tracks mileage that way. Without question, they do what I used to do. Fill the tank to overflowing and take a long trip on a highway. As soon as I got off the highway, I would fill the tank again until the pump first clicked off. then I would calculate the mileage. Obviously my mileage benefited from "some gamesmanship" on my part.

Again, I suspect non Prius drivers mileage reports. And I challenge them to keep as accurate records as I do now.

 

Greener? Due to emissions no...but mpgs...
I sold my 2006 VW TDI Jetta (not a Bettle but the same motor) for a 2008 Prius, so I feel like I might have some relevant info.

I put approx 34K miles (18 months) on my Jetta and I liked the car. Great performance, styling and mpg. So, why did I sell it you ask?
Reliability. Period. I did not TRUST that car to run for the extended milage I was putting on it. The details of that are unimportant...

MPGs...I averaged 46 hwy/42 city for the 34k miles...summer,winter, spring and fall. Winter diesel fuel kills your mpg even more than reg gasoline.

Do I get better mpgs with my Prius...YES! But I think the reason is the instant feedback I get from the Prius display. It has "taught" me how to improve my mpgs. I never had this in my Jetta. If I had that info, my mileage would have drastically improved and this info should be included in EVERY car!

Bottom line...IF (and I don't) drove my Prius the way I drove my Jetta, the milage would be very close.
Additionally, there is no comparision between emissions and reliability. Winner=Prius (for me)

Side Bar...IF, and I mean IF, the rail Diesels (late 2008 if EVER) are sold in the US, the Jettas will get better mpgs than the current Prius, EASY. That is under the assumption of a non-hypermilling driving style.

Flame Away!