The fact is so does just about every other vehicle on the market today, foreign or domestic, that is provide the proper preventive maintenance. Very few new car buyers ever keep a vehicle nearly long enough to accumulate that much mileage
>
>>> 80 Knight wrote:
>>>
>>>> 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 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 environmentalists 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' 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 $1.95 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. 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.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> Notwithstanding the other claims, has the first Hummer reached 100,000
>>> miles? Let alone the notional 300,000 mile lifetime.
>>
>> I could tell you that I have seen Hummer's with well over 300,000 miles, >> but
>> without actual DMV proof, the question can't really be answered. >
> I can show you Suburbans with 300,000 miles on them.
>
> But it's an exception. Lots of Japanese cars reach 300,000 easily. >
> Keep slugging away, though. You might convince someone other than > yourself. >
>
>