Why do people hate the Prius?

I should mention that the Prius now has sequential non-personalized, but these plates are going to the Jetta. The irony of it - I got the idea from another Prius in Pasadena - her plates said NOT A LIB.

 

Yeah, burning them would be bad, especially when you could turn them into 2x4's.
That way, you're storing the carbon from those old trees inside a house somewhere...and clearing out all of the old-growth forests will allow new growth forrests to grow and capture more carbon from the atmosphere. Right?

Ok....maybe not...
It's no goofier than anything else I've heard on the subject....

 

I strongly believe that if we just burned MORE trees, we'd cool the planet. If we can make the atmosphere thick enough so that it's a semi-night all the time the sun won't get down to the surface and we'll get cooling. It's a win-win for everyone, rainforests must burn to save us!

 

That is really sad ablut your brother inlaw. Perhaps he is at retirement age and ca't deal with the latest tech? If he isn't near retirement age, a career change is in order. With he current "head in the sand" attitude about the Prius and Camry, he won't last much longer in his current field.

Dbcassidy

 

BTW I got the consumer reports this xmas and Chrysler is basically the worst brand of the major ones. Unlike the other domestics it doesn't seem to be getting better. The ONLY vehicle CR recommends is the Dodge Ram 1500. The rest should basically be sent straight to the junk yard. That the brand still exists is testament to the fact that people make bad decisions.

 

This pretty much explains your defense of fox news and the rest of your politically charged posts. LOL Why is it that people like you and those on the extreme opposite side feel they must express their world view constantly?

 

I like your philosophy, and with some exceptions, would tend to agree. Makes me wonder if the environmentalists prefer to build their houses out of mud instead of wood...

 

It's too bad Lee Iococca can't come back to resurrect Chrysler. I learned how to drive on a Dodge Caravan - steering was really good, but the van otherwise SUCKED. Worse piece of s**t I've driven.

 

My politically charged posts? I don't believe the majority of my posts had any political bias inherent in them.

People like me express my world view? What about those educated people with Obama stickers on their cars, especially hybrids? Wait, I can't say anything. Obama and Carter were the best Presidents ever. I know our economy is the best it's ever been, and I'm glad we're not at war with anyone.

As for Fox News, if you don't like it, change the channel. We discussed this in my Poli Sci class last quarter. If you don't like what's on, nobody's forcing you to watch. Yet everyone thinks other news channels are perfect. Pure hypocrisy.

 

Your license plate says it all....

As for those with Obama stickers on their car, I believe I covered them in my original question as well.

 

Trees will sequester more carbon alive and in their native habitat than when used as a building material for a house. Especially when you consider the loss of native habitat when that housing community is created. Even in a low density housing or rural setting, there are too many negatives involved to think of this as a plus.

 

But I could be Green, Libertarian, Republican, Tea, or Independent. It seems everyone gets offended by my plates, but Obama stickers are supposed to be the status quo.

I hope gas gets to be $5/ga here in California soon so I have a better reason to move out of state...

 

I'm lost on this whole thing with carbon emissions and carbon credits. Could someone please explain how this works and how this is relevant to the environment? Or these companies where you purchase carbon "credits"? I'm thinking it's a Ponzi scheme under the auspices of being a non-profit.

 

I'm not offended. I was just making an observation. I like it when people have differing opinions. I just prefer those opinions to be based on fact and research and not refuse geh eard on a radio show. That is not intended for you.

 

Actually I blame global warming on recycling, the Internet, and Google.

Before recycling and the Internet, people read newspapers and magazines ... then threw them away to buried in landfills where the carbon is safely sequestered. New trees were planted, grew to maturity pulling carbon dioxide from the air, and were harvested to make more paper which would then in turn be buried.

With recycling and the Internet this no longer happens. Physical newspaper readership has drastically declined. Magazines are out of vogue. What little paper is used no longer comes from trees but from recycled paper. Trees no longer grow and capture carbon just to be safely sequestered in land fills.

Adding to this is the electricity demand for servers and search engines. In the US this electricity comes mostly from coal fired plants which put additional carbon into the air. Google searches and viewing websites such as this add additional carbon every second.

Turning the trees into lumber for housing is an alternative, but only time will tell if it as efficient as landfills.

 

You're definitely on the right track.
1. Create something which you can value.
2. Come up for a good reason for its existence.
3. Market it to the public.
4. Make money.

 

"Why do people hate the Prius?"

REASON #1: Fox News has convinced the mush-minds that having a car that gets excellent fuel economy is somehow bad for America.

-Brad

 

For some this is the reason. That pride is going to cost them increasingly as gas continues to rise (for how long or to what extent who knows, though).

 

Can you quote an exact episode? I don't question the validity of whether vehicles with excellent fuel economy are good for the environment or pocket book, but rather, does TCO justifiy it. TCO = total cost of ownership, one of the buzzwords we used in IT when making acquisitions. Say you have a Corolla that costs $15000 and gets 30mpg, and then you have a Prius that gets 45mpg and costs $30000. Also add in long term cost of maintenance, whether you do it yourself or take it to a dealer, including replacement of major components. Finally, factor in things such as the hybrid batteries, and what environmental impact mining the materials to make them has on the environments. What I'm interested in most is a vehicle that can achieve high fuel economy without the need for additional equipment, that is, an ICE or electric propulsion vehicle without secondary equipment providing power that achieves high mpgs.

Am I making sense here?

 

We talked about something similar in a pre-law class. Mind you, the professor is very far on the left and a big proponent of Jerry Brown, partially due to his past employer. He told us about many non-profits that do something similar to this, paying only as required to the gov't in taxes. He said nothing precludes them from using the money as they see fit. And the professor's former employer was the California Attorney General's office.