My main hope in getting the prius was to reduce emissions/pollution. And when I say equal out i mean compared to buying a car that uses less energy to create but gets less mpg. my main concern is the prius still the most environmentally friendly car i could buy even though i wont drive a jillion miles on it.
I sometimes make the mistake of assuming someone can follow the reasoning without resorting to a crayola and Big Chief pad...
It won't take a jillion miles. I doubt it will even require 100,000. Even so, I assume that when your family is done with the vehicle, someone else will drive it? Or are you planning on not maintaining it and just tossing it in a junkyard? Assuming that you will sell the vehicle and someone else will drive it, you would do the same with a less fuel efficient vehicle? If so, then even when you are done with the vehicle it will continue to produce less pollution than some other vehicle you might have been done with. Assuming that the vehicle is reasonably well taken care of, it is likely to exceeed 100,000 miles in it's lifetime. So go ahead and buy it, and feel good about it.
If you really want to be sure you're being environmentally friendly, buy a used car with a bad engine and have someone convert it to total electric. Otherwise, the Prius is currently the best you can do with a "normal" car. The shear number of times you are in your Prius with the gas engine NOT running is priceless...
is the prius worth it as a pure electric car? NO actual proof ========= various estimates are based on the actual cost per gallon at the time of purchase the following amounts DO NOT include the $1,400 i got from the IRS for buying it stats as of 07/28/2008 miles driven = 34,946 cost @ 25 mpg (estimated to date) = 4673.92 cost @ 18 mpg (based on a suv/ estimated to date) = 6,487.80 actual cost of gasoline = 2739.94 actual money saved (drumroll) 1,933.98 compared to the 25 mpg i was getting
How long did it take to drive 35,000 mile. That's over 2 1/2 years for most people. 24 mpg and $75 a month is a more realistic comparison to a car rather than an 18 mpg Hummer. $75 a month is about what the Prius was saving me.
My question is, can they give solid proof that Toyota uses more energy to build a Prius. Quoting that "Hummer is more environmentally friendly than the Prius" article doesn't work since that article itself is based on rumours and "supposéd" facts that the author just decided to conjure up. If you want, go grab a smart LOL. Same driving height as a RAV4. It's nearly 95% recyclable and even some of the parts made for the smart is recycled material. The plant's electricity is from a renewable source and everything in the plant is recycled and reused. But then again, most of that can be applied to Toyota's plant here in Cambridge, ON where it assembles the Corolla, Matrix and RX. If you want to satisfy your guilt, why not buy a used Prius then? Say a 2006 that still has the basic warranty?
I think the "Hummer more emvironmentall sound than a Prius" schtik was from Rush Limbaugh....nuff said. Maybe not, the inclusion of photos of the mines from the 80s should cover it's credability. But for assuaging guit nothing beats a bamboo bicycyle.
What's important to you? You can get a Nissan Altima Sport for $20,000 and do better than 24 miles per gallon. Much better performance and a more comfortable interior than the Prius. However, it's a bigger threat to the Tasmanian Fuit bat. Edmunds Powertrains and Performance The four-cylinder engine provides enough giddy-up for most buyers ¯ zero to 60 mph is achieved in the mid-7-second range. In our tests, a 3.5 SE sedan with the CVT ran to 60 mph in just 6.6 seconds, while a six-speed manual coupe we tested did it in 6.2 secondsFuel economy is impressive considering the car's power; four-cylinder/CVT sedans have a 23 mpg city/31 mpg highway rating
well i was planning on selling the prius to another driver when my family is done with if, so if somebody will actually take it that would be great. Also i'm not going to buy a new car, because i'm a 16 year old boy that lives in LA. What more do you expect. So i'm pretty convinced that I made the right choice and that i'm actually helping out.
You are going to be the coolest kid in High School. Have you seen what you can DO with a Prius? Seriously, kudos to you!
jps000 - why do you feel that way? if you do have an 08 #2, i'm sure there will be a LINE of people ready willing and able to take your "problem" off your hand.
the best thing you can do for the environment is DO NOT drive at all! any car whether it is a prius or a VW Diesel! everytime you start a car you are using fossil fuels, and spewing toxins into the atmosphere.
