[SOC] Fw: Intersesting story about Hybrid cars

[Bob Krueger]

de WB9UKQ,  Bob

. Read this before you consider buying one of those "Hybrid" cars!!



Hello Everybody.

Thought you might find this of interest since your government is subsidizing 
the manufacturing of these vehicles by issuing tax credits to buyers. 
Please share any information or opinions you have, pro or con, regarding 
this article and/or the big push to use ethanol as an alternative fuel!

Regarding the latter, for several years now the EPA has been lacing the 
gasoline supply in the Portland area with ethanol during the winter months 
under the premise that doing so cuts harmful emissions, thus improving air 
quality.  The only problem is that gas mileage drops a whopping 10-15% (2-3% 
if you believe the EPA) and the increased fuel consumption defeats the 
purpose.  Meanwhile, the battle rages on as to how much harm, if any, 
burning ethanol does to an engine.

Isn't it a damn shame, that ever since we sat in the gas lines in the 
1970's, our elected officials, not wishing to bite the hand holding the 
campaign funds that got them elected, have opted to keep their heads in the 
sand rather than deal with a problem that everyone knew would eventually 
come back to bite us!  Wake up America-before it's too late!  The shot clock 
is running, and you're nearly out of time!







Current issue:  March 7, 2007 Central Connecticut State University

Editorial & Commentary

March 7, 2007
Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage
By Chris Demorro
Staff Writer

The Toyota Prius has become the flagship car for those in our society so 
environmentally conscious that they are willing to spend a premium to show 
the world how much they care. Unfortunately for them, their ultimate 'green 
car' is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes 
more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer.
Before we delve into the seedy underworld of hybrids, you must first 
understand how a hybrid works. For this, we will use the most popular hybrid 
on the market, the Toyota Prius.

The Prius is powered by not one, but two engines: a standard 76 horsepower, 
1.5-liter gas engine found in most cars today and a battery- powered engine 
that deals out 67 horsepower and a whooping 295ft/lbs of torque, below 2000 
revolutions per minute. Essentially, the Toyota Synergy Drive system, as it 
is so called, propels the car from a dead stop to up to 30mph. This is where 
the largest percent of gas is consumed. As any physics major can tell you, 
it takes more energy to get an object moving than to keep it moving. The 
battery is recharged through the braking system, as well as when the 
gasoline engine takes over anywhere north of 30mph. It seems like a great 
energy efficient and environmentally sound car, right?

You would be right if you went by the old government EPA estimates, which 
netted the Prius an incredible 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles 
per gallon on the highway. Unfortunately for Toyota, the government realized 
how unrealistic their EPA tests were, which consisted of highway speeds 
limited to 55mph and acceleration of only 3.3 mph per second. The new tests 
which affect all 2008 models give a much more realistic rating with highway 
speeds of 80mph and acceleration of 8mph per second. This has dropped the 
Prius's EPA down by 25 percent to an average of 45mpg. This now puts the 
Toyota within spitting distance of cars like the Chevy Aveo, which costs 
less then half what the Prius costs.

However, if that was the only issue with the Prius, I wouldn't be writing 
this article. It gets much worse.

Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that 
is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the 
Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is 
mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so 
much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used 
the 'dead zone' around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the 
plant is devoid of any life for miles.

The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius' battery and 
Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the 
plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming 
every environmentalist's nightmare.

"The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the 
soil slid down off the hillside," said Canadian Greenpeace 
energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a 
British-based newspaper.

All of this would be bad enough in and of itself; however, the journey to 
make a hybrid doesn't end there. The nickel produced by this disastrous 
plant is shipped via massive container ship to the largest nickel refinery 
in Europe. From there, the nickel hops over to China to produce 'nickel 
foam.' From there, it goes to Japan. Finally, the completed batteries are 
shipped to the United States, finalizing the around-the-world trip required 
to produce a single Prius battery. Are these not sounding less and less like 
environmentally sound cars and more like a farce?

Wait, I haven't even got to the best part yet.

When you pool together all the combined energy it takes to drive and build a 
Toyota Prius, the flagship car of energy fanatics, it takes almost 50 
percent more energy than a Hummer - the Prius's arch nemesis.

Through a study by CNW Marketing called "Dust to Dust," the total combined 
energy is taken from all the electrical, fuel, transportation, materials 
(metal, plastic, etc) and hundreds of other factors over the expected 
lifetime of a vehicle. The Prius costs an average of $3.25 per mile driven 
over a lifetime of 100,000 miles - the expected lifespan of the Hybrid.

The Hummer, on the other hand, costs a more fiscal $195 per mile to put on 
the road over an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles. That means the Hummer 
will last three times longer than a Prius and use less combined energy doing 
it.

So, if you are really an environmentalist - ditch the Prius. Instead, buy 
one of the most economical cars available - a Toyota Scion xB. The Scion 
only costs a paltry $0.48 per mile to put on the road. If you are still 
obsessed over gas mileage - buy a Chevy Aveo and fix that lead foot.

One last fun fact for you: it takes five years to offset the premium price 
of a Prius. Meaning, you have to wait 60 months to save any money over a 
non-hybrid car because of lower gas expenses.
The Recorder