The Hybrid Hoax

Well, the author of that article isn't biased...
You know, there are so many tax breaks for wealthy people and businesses, I don't think a tax break for a environmentally friendly piece of technology is a bad thing. He fails to mention the Toyota tax break will be over this year and that the tax break will help the domestic manufacturers over a longer time.

True, the Prius didn't need the credit to sell, but , but it would have looked bad if they had singled out a Japanese company to be exempt from the credit.

 

Compared to the billions of dollars of tax breaks and subsidies targeted directly at the fossil fuel industry, the hybrid tax break is just a drop in the bucket. Take into account the absurd SUV business tax adjustments for value depreciation, and the hybrid tax credit isn't even worth mentioning.

I know there are thousands of conservatives who own Prius' and other hybrids for many different reasons, and I by mo means am lumping every "conservative" together in the same group, but I just can't figure out why so many of these conservative magazines have such an aversion to the hybrid vehicle.

Let's forget environmental considerations for now and just focus on geopolitical ones. I have to believe that the overwhelming number of American citizens believe it is in our best interests to ween ourselves off foriegn oil. Of course, I don't have the time or energy to go into a legnthy diatribe on the whole middle east situation and how that affects our security, so I'll juust focus on our own hemisphere.

The US gets a good chunk of our oil from Venezuala. I used to think that Hugo Chavez, the Venezualean president was just a tin pot communist, but he a real danger to the US. He is actively supporting anti-american candidates throughout latin america with money from US consumers, ie oil. I just don't think this is the type of person most americans want to bolster, which is exactly what we are doing everytime we pump gas into our cars.

I know hybrids are an imperfect solution to or energy issues, heck no solution ever comes without it's pitfalls, but I'd like the Weeky Standard to come up with a plan that reduces our oil use by 30-40% like a full hybrid does. It seems like that magazine and a few others with the same ideological ilk are very good and complaining about hybrids, but very bad at coming up with alternate solutions.

Just my two cents.

Peace,
Cosmo

 

You all realize where this comes from The Weekly Standard is a subsidiary of The News Corporation, owned by the unbiased Ruppert Murdoch. The man who supports Hannaty and O'Reilly. What do expect from a just to the right of Attila the Hun newspaper. So the Prius doesn't get exactly the mileage that's posted on the window sticker, show me a car that does. As far as the mileage I still average around 46 mpg, which is better than most other cars out there. Who wants a stinky diesel car with fuel that hard to find unless your on or near a highway. Looks who's bitching about tax credits, the Republicans over the last six or so years have given away tax rebates to those who make millions while allowing the AMT to slowly drift down so now if you make around 70k all your deductions go up in smoke. Let's see what happens whne the gov't has to bail out GM and possibly Ford. This adminstration has it a** backwards.

 

I just tried responding to the article, but was stymied because I will not subscribe to that piece of trash and that's the only way you can reply. So I guess the trolls win this round.

 

People who get 35 MPG city in their Prius are doing something wrong, and is more telling of the driver than the car. Maybe short trips or something...

I can't read this article. It's so full of bull...

 

Yeah FBear, I understand that. This is the type of "conservative" that i despise.

No mention of emissions, where hybrids truly shine.

 

What really makes no sense is that he is speaking out against a tax break. Generally, the conservative answer to most questions is tax cuts and tax breaks. Remember the recent argument that the reason the economy is underperforming is due to the uncertainty of the permanance of about $150billion dollars in tax cuts? Yeah, that's why I don't make big ticket purchases...I'm not sure if the estate tax is going to be there in 4 years and my capital gains tax will go up...from zero to zero.

 

I think its part of an anti-scientific attitude. I remember that when the artificial fluoridation of water supplies was under discussion about 30 years ago there was a paper in the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN called "The Anti-Scientific Attitude" which discussed this. Someone had done a survey of attitudes in a small American town and discovered that this attitude was common. The experts could not understand why in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrating the benefits of fluoridation, many folk were against it in an irrational way.

This is not exclusive to America and there are still many people who reject scientific advances, often for strange and irrational reasons. Some are journalists, even editors.

 

I think the issue here is the perceived perception of hybrids, is that mainly "liberals" drive them. Therefore, since there was no outcry against the tax break in the "liberal" media, the "liberal" drivers are hypocrites. They cry out against tax breaks for Conservative drivers of Yukons, but when liberals get them, they don't cry out.

 

Typical right-wing drivel, self-serving half-truths and usually outright lies. You could tell it is a Murdoc inspired hit piece just by the wording. I'm ony suprised they didn't blame Clinton. If I spoke to my mother the way right wingers speak to the American people I would get slapped.

 

Hi everyone. First time poster. As a PROUD owner of a 2006 Prius, option package 8, driftwood pearl color, both me and my wife love the car. We have had the car now for 2 weeks and have 800 miles on it. Gas mileage in this breakin period is 42 mpg. We are up in wisconsin, Packer country, and are still dealing with the cold weather but expect to see better mileage with the warm weather and utilizing all the driving tricks we are learning on this site. I am going to raise the tire pressure to see what difference thats make in fuel economy. EPA estimates are always off and the only way to improve mpg is thru driver awareness. Am still learning and am trying to break old driving habits. Later Bill & Nancy.

 

Hi Wagman,

42 mpg in Wisconsin weather this time of year is no easy feat I'd wager. The rest of your post is spot on.

<unabashed gloating> Albuquerque NM has been very kind to my Prius this winter. Dry roads, and Temps to the 50's the past couple of days, along with a couple of long leisurely city drives have my most recent tank at 62.9 mpg over 180 miles. I actually saw 65 mpg on the tank before I headed back uphill to home this morning.

So yeah, when the climate improves you are going to see really nice numbers

 

Well, *up to* for the Prius would be 120 US mpg. Now you are talking disappointment !

 

Hi EricGo

I would be gloating too with mileage like that

Wagman

 

As with most backwards-looking people, yes he is but that's normal for him. He doesn't know and doesn't care. If you ever get the chance to watch the rerun of 60 Minutes' interview with Nancy Reagan (I don't know if Ronnie was in his first or second term), the interviewer mentions CNN and she didn't know what he was talking about! She'd never heard of CNN. That's the kind of mentality that you're dealing with there. They always spit out that word "liberal" as if it was a profanity. The boneheaded viewpoint of America's past; even though they don't know it yet.

 

Easy now - let's not make sweeping generalizations.

 

Thanks Cosmo, I prefer this much more rational and tempered comment of yours to some of the other rants.

BTW, let's not forget the "security subsidy" of several dollars for each gallon of gas we consume. In my view, the hybrid subsidy is offset by not having to subsidize the military/security apparatus required to secure the flow of additional gallons of gas. If enough people started thinking about this, we could, as you suggest, wean ourselves (at least to some degree) from our addiction to oil produced by countries led by despots, dictators, and worse.

 

True points