Very true. I have a work colleague who believes in every conceivable conspiracy theories out there and of course the prius hate conspiracy he loved to throw at me. The usual "replace battery every 3 years", "too expensive", "environmentally damaging to produce", "battery being dumped in a landfill, creating more damage to the environment", etc etc. Most of you know these are untrue, I have to spend considerable time untangle these myths. It's true hybrid is not for everyone; you have to do distance to make it financially sound, most if us do because our work place is in the middle of nowhere. This myth may no longer exist after the introduction of Prius c. The landfill debate is untrue too. I believe Toyota is putting a bounty on each battery and the electric motor because they can be recycled and reuse. So far, I haven't seen a landfill full of hybrid batteries. More damaging to produce claim is one I have to go to great lengths to explain. If you are planning to keep the car for a while and run it till it drops, Prius has been, time and time again, proven to be cleaner than most cars. This calculations were done independent of Toyota, also the amount of nickel and rare earth resources consumed for producing all hybrids from Toyota is probably less than (total % required for hybrids vs total mined per year) for other industries. Then again you have garbaged media houses that still embrace the "Hummer is more environmentally friendlier than the Prius" diarrhoea. I am approaching 80,000km on mine, I will ask him a simple question; how many things he needed to replace on his MAZDA6 after 80,000km? All I can tell him that my Prius needed to replace nothing! Not even the brake pads! He also think getting a diesel is the way to go. By all means do that if you can put up with all the things of owning one. I just reminded him to watch out for hefty servicing bills and maintenance costs. Diesel fuels are more expensive to buy in Australia, so his argument of being ahead financially is flawed from the start. As you can see, most if these reasons to hate a Prius are flawed in a lot of ways. So do your research, talk about it here and you will find most could be busted as easy as they were created. Enjoy your new ride! GT-I9100T ?
no one has ever commented on my choice of car, esp. with such apparent disdain. if they want to buy my gas and pay the maintenance costs, i'll drive anything
You want a good, practical showstopper? When they crap on your car ask them if they think a 1966 Mustang is cool? When they say well, yeah, it's a Mustang proceed to show them that a v-8 4bbl Mustang has almost identical 0-60 and 1/4mi times as a Prius while the Prius doubles its fuel economy and more than doubles its usability. Mustang: 0-60 10.9 second 1/4mi 17.9 seconds Prius v: 0-60 10.2 seconds 1/4 mi 17.6 seconds That's right, a Wagon whoops up on an icon.
You got it right here and quite nautical at that. :thumb: I'm not sure anyone masters adjusting their sails figuratively or literally. We all get a little weather helm now and again. My car doesn't say much about me. It's not a political statement or anything else other than reliable transportation with good gas mileage and cargo space. Maybe I'm the odd one out. W
Speak for your own purchase, not mine. Considering the distance I intend to drive this car (250,000 miles, only slightly more than its predecessor), I absolutely intend to save money. And that doesn't include the extra saving to the deliberate timing of my purchase, during a sales tax exemption and a price war against Honda. At today's prices, all nonhybrids purchased by this household since 1985 had or will have lifetime fuel bills much larger than their purchase price. (Prior cars didn't last long enough to do the same.) Unless Newt's fantasy of $1.13 gas becomes reality, this Prius will easily make up its so-called 'price premium'.
I think people hate because they fear. They are afraid all those things people use as justification for buying a prius (running out of oil, global warming, wrecking the planet). So, if they don't buy a prius, those things won't be happening. If they hate the Prius, it definitely won't be happening. I mean really, if the oil really was running out, one would be stupid to buy a gas guzzler, right? Since, one isn't stupid, and did buy a gas guzzler, oil can't be running out. Q.E.D.
I'm a conservative republican and I own two Prius'. So much for the political statementtheory. iPad ?
When the CNW junk-science (now thoroughly debunked) first came out, I too spent considerable amounts of time looking thru the spreadsheets they had up, but were still present (but scattered) in their garbage PDFs along w/the various "articles" (which still unfortunately live on). I ended up compiling a lot of the links debunking the garbage (including what I wrote on my350z.com) at Environmental - Prius Wiki. If you have other reputable sources and analyses not already covered there, please add them to the Wikia.
Just speaking for the average, 7 years of ownership, 12,000 a year. If you use a vehicle where you can do a direct comparison of hybrid vs. non-hybrid like the Camry, it's pretty much a break even financially. Camry LE $22K 28MPG Camry LEH $26K 41MPG Cost of fuel $5/gal 12,000 miles a year (US avg) 7 years (Avg. us ownership) You'd save about $700, a 3% difference in cash. On the "political end", environment and oil imports, you'd put out 30% less carbon. You'd cut your fuel imports by 30%. So the "savings" is much more heavily weighted to the "political" statement made by high efficiency cars.
According to your numbers, you'd save close to $700 (close to $680) PER YEAR. So you would have made back the $4k difference before 7 years.
Thanks I'm already being called a tree hugger. My political reputation is already considered suspect.
The $680 is total savings over for 5.88 years to be precise. The bottom line remains the same, fuel savings is negligible, get some MBA to do Future Value, Present Value of having $4K to invest and likely it's break even at 7 years. It's hard to make the financial argument. At 30% less oil used and 30% less greenhouse gas emissions, the "political" argument is much stronger.
That's because you ARE a tree hugger. Strap a stuffed moose to the hood, wear some fur, throw them off the trail.
How are you guys doing your math? 12000 x 7 = 84000 miles over 7 years Camry = 28MPG so 84000/28MPG = 3000 gallons over 7 years CamryH = 41MPG so 84000/41MPG = 2048.78 gallons over 7 years CamryH saves 3000 - 2048.78 = 951.22 gallons over 7 years at $5 per gallon x 951.22 gallons = $4756.1 over 7 years (which is already more than the difference of price in the 2 cars) divide that by 7, $679.44 PER YEAR.. not over 5 years. I know this is a bit off topic, and I agree, this is a very simplistic view of cost savings, but I couldn't ignore the basic math errors...
There is something wrong with all those reports pointing to: TrueCar.com study stating we are not saving any money by buying hybrid cars. The study done by TrueCar.com has very narrow view point and is flaud. Is it some kind of delay tactics sponsored by America Auto Industry? Are they afraid of "Prius C"
You are assuming that the resale value is the same. I just looked at Kelly Blue book for the value of a 2007 (they didn't have a 2005 hybrid Camry) and the Camry non-hybrid was worth $12K and the hybrid $14,286. (This is for standard options in excellent condition) There will be less difference in a 7 year old car - say $2000. Add this to your $700 savings in fuel beyond the hybrid premium and you come out $2,700 dollars ahead with a hybrid. This is about 10% savings and would be even more if fuel costs increase. kevin
I think he is subtracting the price difference between the conventional and hybrid car ($4000). However he is not taking into account the higher second hand value of the hybrid - see my other post. kevin
