Which cars are the greenest? You'd be surprised

IsrAmeriPrius · Jul 28, 2007

Now it is in The Globe and Mail:

[Excerpts]

Which cars are the greenest? You'd be surprised

By Neil Reynolds

CNW identified 4,000 "data points" for each car, ranging from the energy consumed in research and development to energy consumed in junkyard disposal. It calculated the electrical energy needed to produce each pound of parts. It calculated greenhouse gas emissions. It calculated mileage, too - adjusting for the differences between rush-hour Tokyo and rural America.

The company describes this exercise as "dust to dust" analysis. CNW has now published its second annual report, a 400-page production.

To keep it relatively free of technical jargon, the company expresses energy requirement as the dollar cost of energy for every mile across a vehicle's anticipated years of use - "U.S. dollars per lifetime mile." Thus it reports the lifetime energy requirement of a Hummer as $1.90 a mile; the lifetime energy requirement of a Prius as $2.86 a mile.

It reports by model name and by category. For 22 models of economy cars, the average lifetime energy cost is $0.85. For six models of pickup trucks, it's $2.58. For 14 models of smaller-sized sports utility vehicles, it's $2.07; for nine models of larger-sized SUVs, it's $3.98. For 10 models of gas-electric hybrids, it's $3.65.

Compare the SUVs against the hybrids and you get a sweep in favour of conventional technology. The best-rated smaller SUVs are more than twice as eco-friendly as the hybrids: Dodge's Durango, $1.57; Ford's Explorer, $1.61; Chevrolet's TrailBlazer, $1.61; Jeep's Grand Cherokee, $1.80.

The luxury cars that rival hybrids: Lincoln's Town Car, $2.66; Acura's RL, $2.80; Cadillac's CTS, $3.19; BMW's 5 Series, $3.19; Mercedes-Benz's E-Class, $3.48; Toyota Land Cruiser 80 series, $3.49; Cadillac's STS (Seville), $3.56; Cadillac's DTS (DeVille), $3.65.

CNW's assessment of the hybrids has irritated some of the car companies.

Toyota says that CNW credited Prius with only half its 200,000 lifetime miles. CNW says that Prius owners drive less than 7,500 miles a year - meaning that these cars will be scrapped long before they use their expected lifetime mileage (in 26 years). CNW says that hybrids fare poorly because of increased complexity. Honda's conventional Accord gets rated at $2.18; its Accord Hybrid gets rated at $3.29 - an environmental cost 50 per cent higher.

Take the batteries, for example. Toyota buys 1,000 tonnes of nickel a year from Ontario (mined and smelted in Sudbury). This nickel gets shipped to Wales for refining, then to China, for further processing, and then to Toyota's battery plant in Tokyo - a 10,000-mile trip, mostly by petrol-gulping container ships and diesel-powered locomotives.

Toyota, however, still has some of the greenest vehicles on earth. The Scion has the lowest energy cost of all at 48 cents a mile. The Corolla, at 72 cents, and the Echo (Yaris), at 77 cents, are also in the best-on-earth class. Low-energy competitors include Dodge's Neon (64 cents) and Saturn's Ion (67 cents).[/b]
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Earthling · Jul 28, 2007

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Jul 28 2007, 11:20 AM) [snapback]486666[/snapback]</div>

Now it is in The Globe and Mail:

[Excerpts]
[/b]
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Not that crap again!

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto_News/...196.A12220.html

Harry

efusco · Jul 28, 2007

somebody e-mail this guy the corrected data.

ohershey · Jul 28, 2007

I was feeling a little cranky this morning - by back hurts and I'm out of coffee, so:

Dear Mr. Reynolds-

I am extremely disappointed and frustrated by your re-publication of the CNW report. While it makes for sensational headlines, it is extremely flawed, and possibly in some places, simply false. I would refer you to this excellent analysis of the assumptions and data behind this report:

http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_of...er_vs_prius.pdf

I find this constant re-publication of flawed, discredited, but sensational news to be disenheartening, and think that it reflects poorly on you as a reporter and your publication's standards.

Please excuse my tone - I do not mean or want to imply an attack on your personal integrity, but unfortunately my frustration is real and tends to color any discussion I have of this subject. I mean this e-mail to simply inform you of aspects you were not aware of about your article. Perhaps a follow-up, with more detailed analysis of the data, would be appropriate.[/b]
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cwerdna · Jul 28, 2007

Argh! Not more dumb reporting on that CNW BS again.

The writer also needs to look at http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/a...in_page_id=1770, http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=1...mp;#entry272611 and http://www.my350z.com/forum/showpost.php?p...mp;postcount=25.

IsrAmeriPrius · Jul 28, 2007

What I found most interesting is that CNW now partly attributes the high price of "dust to dust" energy consumption of the Prius to the low annual mileage driven by its owners.

Am I the only one that finds this rationale to be ridiculous? Durangos, Explorers, TrailBlazers and Grand Cherokees are more eco-friendly because their owners drive more?

Why can't these morons compare apples to apples as opposed to comparing apples to pumpkins?

Rangerdavid · Jul 28, 2007

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Jul 28 2007, 03:50 PM) [snapback]486764[/snapback]</div>

What I found most interesting is that CNW now partly attributes the high price of "dust to dust" energy consumption of the Prius to the low annual mileage driven by its owners.

Am I the only one that finds this rational to be ridiculous? Durangos, Explorers, TrailBlazers and Grand Cherokees are more eco-friendly because their owners drive more?

Why can't these morons compare apples to apples as opposed to comparing apples to pumpkins?
[/b]
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here is a link to the "Crave" article that I posted in a separate thread a couple of days ago.

http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9750840-1.html

NOW, I've found a .pdf file of the entire Report from the Pacific Institute, by Dr. Peter H. Gleick from May, 2007, entitled

Hummer v. Prius, "Dust to Dust" report misleads the media and public with bad science.
I'll try to attach it here for you all to read. Its fairly short, and a quick download.

*EDIT* hay!! where's the attachment button??? I cant upload the document!! anyway, here's the link::

http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_of...er_vs_prius.pdf

hope this works ya'll....

MikeSF · Jul 28, 2007

Mad Hatter: I'd simply have a text file with the body of what you wrote, and every time you see a story quote CNW, click email, copy paste, and maybe add in the name of the writer for a personal touch

vtie · Jul 29, 2007

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Jul 28 2007, 09:50 PM) [snapback]486764[/snapback]</div>

What I found most interesting is that CNW now partly attributes the high price of "dust to dust" energy consumption of the Prius to the low annual mileage driven by its owners.

Am I the only one that finds this rationale to be ridiculous? Durangos, Explorers, TrailBlazers and Grand Cherokees are more eco-friendly because their owners drive more?
[/b]
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Indeed. I have seen a lot of statistical mistakes, some subtle and others not so subtle. But this must be the most ridiculous argument that I have seen in a publication since a long time.

jiepsie · Jul 29, 2007

Join the discussion on this article here.. 80 comments so far, but not a lot of factual info.

jayman · Jul 29, 2007

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Jul 28 2007, 10:20 AM) [snapback]486666[/snapback]</div>

Now it is in The Globe and Mail:
[/b]
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Isr - what do you expect from The Globe and Mail? They're a well-known shrill for the Liberal Party of Canada. For awhile they were also owned by the monopolistic Bell Canada, so the many telephone problems in Bell Canada's service area were never reported. If TGAM reported the sun rose in the East and set in the West, I'd want independant confirmation!

jay

Which cars are the greenest? You'd be surprised

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