While true that using "average US grid" still shows the Volt is dirtier than a Prius, the calc unfairly favors the Volt because Volt use does not magically increase clean energy production.
That's like saying 325 Volts were sold in the first year, which is only a month of sales (December 2010). Using a decade old hybrid penetration standard is pretty low. When Prius c come out, it won't be measured against 2001 classic Prius sales standard.
It sure will be nice when we get the sticker for Prius c, since that's the more appropriate size to compare with Volt. .
So are you going to compare prius c to Gen III liftback and expect them to move 15,000 units a month or something?
I suggest using gw's spin, backwards: How many Prius were sold in Japan 12 months since production began, compared to Volt sales in Japan over the first 12 months since production began ? Something:zilch
It will be a worthy measure. A new member of the Prius family outselling the Liftback Prius. It can happen.
Don't really have much time this week.. but I have not idea where you got your numbers, like 2001? The US grid is gettign much greener. (e.g. CO has mandates to reach 33% Renewable by 2020, and already has a problem with excess wind capacity most nights, whic is why I went wind for now and will add PV later). If you want to refine your model, Look for more recent data Last ones I recall were EPA estimates of 558 gCO2/kWr and the international energy commission us estimate of 508. (Note EPA ignores the heat value of co-production plants, IEA includes it, see P109 of http://www.iea.org/co2highlights/co2highlights.pdf. Don't know where you are getting your computations but from the models I've used an HV at 47 mpg emits roughly the same CO2 as an EV powered by a power grid emitting 580 gCO2/kW. The US grid average is already at or below that. Admittedly the Volt is not a pure EV, which is why I cannot really answer yet.. have to build/run a more complete model. But finally even if its not as green now.. my power supply will be getting greener and greener so its not if the Volt is green, its when. To those saying buying wind power its greenwashing, if we don't by renewable and pay a premium its hard to justify the increase. CO wend from a plan for 15% by 2020 to a requirement for 30% by 2020, in part because the customers step up and bought the capacity. In a market with supply and demand, if the demand is there, they supply will generally follow.
Toyota sold over 30,000 prius units over 2.5 years before selling any in U.S., lets compare worldwide sales of Pips and Volts in 2014.
Only if people stop buying the liftback, no way Toyota is going to instantly double its market share.
" CO wend from a plan for 15% by 2020 to a requirement for 30% by 2020, in part because the customers step up and bought the capacity." You know as well as I do that the capacity is bought, greenwashing premium or not. You have no data to support an argument that the premium increased clean energy production. I can however easily explain CO's current clean energy portfolio as a mixture of market economics, regulatory decree, public subsidy, and a tincture of corporate green cred PR.
OK, read it again when you have the time. These numbers you are citing are 'combustion' i.e. at the power plant boiler, upstream emissions are estimated as additional 8-12%, if you add this you come very close to my number. There is no point of adding gasoline upstream emission and ignoring power plant upstream emissions. And the chart compares the Volt to the regular Prius...wait until the PiP sticker comes...
Thank you. In my book not making an extra $1.00 selling excess home produced power back to the grid by charging the Volt instead, is greener than burning close to a gallon of gas on my 40+ mile round trip commute, but to each their own.
Toyota must accept responsibility for their poor marketing strategy, they had units available to ship years before August 2000, literally.
That's not correct either. United States got gen-1 of Prius an entire year before Japan. It had prismatic cells in the pack rather than D, a larger traction motor, and an engine offering more horsepower. That model wasn't available before August 2000. .
It also said So I guess congratulations are in order to the Volt, it marginally outsold the first-year Prius despite having about twice as long to do it and gas prices that are over $3 and a crap load more money thrown into marketing of it. Certificate of accomplishment should be ready any day. Are we seriously trying to pretend that the Volt's sales are somehow not so bad because they compare kind of favorably (not really, since they still sold at a slower rate) with a Prius the first year it came out, over a decade ago? I thought all this time we weren't supposed to compare the Volt to the Prius and it wasn't fair, so I guess that rule was thrown out. Well then, Prius sold more units in December 2011 than Volt did all year.
FauxNews does it again! Citing Fox to anyone with a braincell is like citing Wikipedia to an English teacher...
