Here You Go Guys - Enjoy Hybrid "Debate" in the UK

Isn't tax (or the lack of) based on carbon emission?

The higher the MPG, the lower carbon emission. Diesel has about 15% more carbon per gallon than gas/petro.

 

Higher mpg has lower carbon emission per mile, it doesn't mean lower carbon mission per person. I know some SUV drivers are much "greener" than some Prius drivers. mpg is nothing but a ratio that measure efficiency. I also would think that a city bus that get 4 mpg carrying 55 people is better for the environment than 55 people driving 55 Prii.

 

I see your point.

Prius can carry 5 people. So, 11 Priuses are better for the environment than that bus.

 

No, I am ashamed to say it but our current incentive is based on neither emission nor efficiency.

It is purely based on the battery size but only between 4-16 kWh in size. Manufacturing emission of the battery doesn't matter. A dirty gas engine mated to the big battery (Fisker Karma) doesn't matter. There is so many loopholes to mention.

The previous incentive was based on MPG so both hybrids and Diesel qualified. I hope they bring back that model.....

 

LOL...seriously? When was the last time you saw 5 people sitting in a Prius sharing a ride going to work? I've seen a whole family sitting in a Prius with kids. But never saw a Prius being full on weekdays during rush hour. The way it looks, people buy Prii because they want to save money on gas so they don't have to share rides.

 

Prius is very popular here because we are not favoring diesel like EU/UK does, and Prius saves much money on fuel especially if you are doing >15000 miles per year (x1.6 for kM). Also we have high price on diesel fuel because we don't give tax preferences to diesel fuel like EU/UK does. If we had as many diesels as EU we'd be known as United States of particulates and NOx. I am under the impression Prius catching on more in EU as the diesel preference is fading a little.

 

re: jnet: I ride a bicycle and count heads in cars as I go to work in downtown Seattle. I probably see around 500 cars per trip, and would estimate that fewer than 5% are carrying more than one person. I bought a Prius to use less gas, and ours is rarely carrying fewer than 3 people, but usually 4 or 5. We do make a point to car pool--and not simply to save money. We've averaged 105mpg over the first 11K miles, so while it's absurd to use a fleet of cars rather than a bus, it might just pencil out fuel-wise.

re: diesel: we rented a small diesel Ford in Europe this summer and I couldn't wait to get home to the Prius. Ok, the Prius is anything but fast, but the diesel was no quicker and came with the attendant narrow power band, smoke, noise, and smell. Don't get me wrong, I've driven big delivery trucks and love diesels in that capacity. But for my own car operating out of my garage (underneath my son's room), the electron is perfect.

 

You can surely find a more interesting outlet for your masochistic tendencies than that... Looks like Jeremy Clarkson goes by Technomatt over there.

 

From "Piston Heads". Says it all.

I get people take the piss out of my car and then eat humble pie when I gloat when they're moaning about the cost of petrol.

Many people who've never driven a Prius have an opinion on it. I have an opinion on Audi and Mini drivers, but that doesn't mean I'm right.

(Audi drivers are usually arrogant big mouths making up for a small 'something', and Mini drivers are usually fat, ugly women in their early 20's. There's a phrase over here; "mingers in minis". A minger is a particularly ugly woman.)

 

Bonefish can you add you location to your profile so we know approx. where you are coming from?

 

There are other good reasons to carpool, but the environmental equivalency argument is not that far out there. 90+% of my trips are to work, but that's only 1.5 miles each way and all in EV mode. I travel at least as many EV miles with the family. About 50% of my PiP miles (5000 miles total) are gasoline and I average over 4 occupants on these. On the EV miles, I average about 2 occupants, but all of these are home solar powered. There are plenty of PiPers getting high passenger miles per gallon.

One also has to consider that plenty of buses are partially full for much of their life cycle. They burn about just as much gas during off-peak hours with just a few people on board.

 

What's the most common reason for anger over the Prius in the UK?

 

Let me guess. UK people don't like the Prius because it's not a domestic brand?

 

You got me wrong. I'm not against carpooling. I was saying from my observation, people don't use Prius for carpooling. I don't live in the city and it is difficult to find people who are willing to share rides. They all want to drive because they want to come and go as they please. Many people have kids so their schedule is unpredictable. I just have a feeling that people buy Prii so that they could afford not to have to carpool.

If you look at the forest instead of just the trees, you would realize that public transportation will help reduce gas consumption for many drivers. If more people take buses and trains, there would be less cars on the roads which help reduce traffic congestion and as a result, less cars would be sitting in traffic idling. The buses themselves may use more gas but it would help others to save more gas.