Prius Myths and their Rebuttals

[Speedwing]

I loved reading this thread from the beginning! "When gas gets back to $3.50 per gallon ....." someone wrote. We are way passed that number!!!!

Prius .... SOLD OUT! SUV's ..... not selling, poor trade in value.

2008 Prius bought May 3rd, 2008 ....... Loving it!
2005 MINI Cooper "Hendrix" bought used July 2007 ...... loves to corner! Fun to drive!
2000 Chevy Silverado 4.8 V-8 basic 8 foot bed, no frills work truck .... 4x4 for Winter and hauling when required.
1996 Impala SS Show Car ..... 2 tons of V-8 fun that loves her status as a garage queen collectible signed by Dale Earnhardt Senior! Not Burgandy or Black .... she is GREEN.
1983 FXDG Harley..... 1 of 811 made.

I love all our vehicles in there own special ways.

Thanks for a great thread. At $4 per gallon I find I do not have to defend the Prius very often!

[ctbering]

I would venture to say most non-Prius owners believe the myths about the the life of the hybrid battery and its replacement costs being prohibitive. I know that until I started asking questions and reading available articles including Consumer Repots that I realized what the benefits were of owning a Prius....and this interest was ignited only after driving a Prius rental for a week. I still have no clue how much the battery costs but I heard (also a myth?) that the Prius in Japan and Europe have a swtich that allows the driver to use the Prius exclusively on the hybrid battery. I heard the reason that there is no switch on american models is that Toyota was required to warranty the battery for 100 k miles or eight years and running the car exclusively on the battery shortens the battery lifespan significantly.
The other 'fear' that is perpetuated about the Prius is being in an accident and getting electrocuted. I heard that fireman feared rescues of people hurt in a Prius because they felt they could be electrocuted. I heard there are ways for the rescuers to disarm the high voltage electric current .
Can anyone comment on any of the facts or fables?

[rfruth]

The Prius is "new" and generally people don't like change.

[hiremichaelreid]

Originally Posted by ctbering

I would venture to say most non-Prius owners believe the myths about the the life of the hybrid battery and its replacement costs being prohibitive. I know that until I started asking questions and reading available articles including Consumer Repots that I realized what the benefits were of owning a Prius....and this interest was ignited only after driving a Prius rental for a week. I still have no clue how much the battery costs but I heard (also a myth?) that the Prius in Japan and Europe have a swtich that allows the driver to use the Prius exclusively on the hybrid battery. I heard the reason that there is no switch on american models is that Toyota was required to warranty the battery for 100 k miles or eight years and running the car exclusively on the battery shortens the battery lifespan significantly.
The other 'fear' that is perpetuated about the Prius is being in an accident and getting electrocuted. I heard that fireman feared rescues of people hurt in a Prius because they felt they could be electrocuted. I heard there are ways for the rescuers to disarm the high voltage electric current .
Can anyone comment on any of the facts or fables?

Yes, I was looking at Civics and Corollas two months ago. When the Honda salesguy mentioned the Civic Hybrid had $4k in gov't rebates, versus $1k on the regular Civic, I quickly dismissed the hybrid idea, because I still had the old (now IMO) mindset about hybrids:

- Hybrids were complicated, expensive to buy, potentially risky and expensive to fix, and the gas savings doesn't pay for the added costs.

The gas savings issue is no longer true with current fuel prices IMO.

And as most os uf here know now, the Prius should be one of the lowest maintenance cost cars in it's class. Reports are that HV batteries are $3k or so now. I'm hoping/expecting that aftermarket, improved tech batteries for same price or better will be available in 8 years.

Yes, Prii outside of North America have EV switches. They don't help much, unless you know when and when not to use it.

There was some concern about rescue workers but that has been largely dealt with now, although some emergency personnel in some areas may not be fully up to speed on what they need to know.

[ctbering]

Last April my wife and I had to make an emergency trip out of town. We rented a Prius....after driving it from the airport to the hotel my wife and I immediately made the decision to purchase one. For the remainder of the week I called over 20 Toyota dealerships where I live. I had verbal agreements on two Prius', tried to give my credit card for down payment on one. Both were sold before I arrived home. I continued to call dealerships all over the State. I had another agreement that fell through by the time I drove to the dealership. I finally called a dealership that had a Prius waiting to be shipped from Portland Oregon. I discovered this on the afternoon after I had outpatient surgery. The salesman said if you make it down here i an hour I will hold it for you. After that, I can't, by order of the manager. I drove 40 miles with bandages on my face from the surgery. The salesman apologized profusely but said he could not hold this car because it was in such huge demand. Maybe the stars were aligned for me that day, I don't know, I was extremely fortunate to get the model, the package and color we wanted...and the salesman gave me a very fair deal (blue book) on my 2004 Highlander Limited, which they have since sold.
I will miss that Highlander if I ever take long vacations up mountain terrain or driving in a snow blizzard...other than that, I feel like the cat who swallowed the canary...just feel so lucky we have car equipped in every way to deal with the horrible gas crisis. I just got my first 50 mile + mpg since I have owned it. I never got the gas mileage advertised in my Highlander no matter how I took it easy on the pedal.

[QuelleFromage]

It IS funny in hindsight how most of the naysayers have gone away as gas creeps inexorably towards $5. In So Cal, Prii are in such demand that they are the "it" car and suddenly people are laughing at SUVs. I bought my Prius because of a sense of responsibility to the environment, not really as a gas saver, but the gas crisis is what has severely adjusted attitudes here.

I do hear the battery life myth a lot though, and also the "environmental" comment that the battery is very hard to dispose of- that is probably the myth I hear most often.

[ronvalencia]

Originally Posted by porkfriedrice

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bulldog @ Feb 9 2007, 08:46 PM) [snapback]387809[/snapback]</div>



Again i thought i read somewhere about Lithium ion which is gunna be used in cars sooner or later amnyways. how much more trouble would that have been than use harmful nickel?
When did i say a H2 is greener than a prius? that thought has never crossed my mind. secondly, I dont have a problem with their trucks, its just that they advertise seeming so for the good of the enviroment yet twofacedly want all the money in the full size market as well. GM trucks have among the best mpg compared to other trucks. Toyota has around the worst. At least Honda has a commited ideal behind their reputation, unless they join in on the full size truck market. It has also admitted it has exploited the weak yen and strong dollar to maximize profits. Also, addressing th tarrifs,Ive heard Japan has hidden fees disguised as crash testing that are built in thousands per car. even importing cars into the US, like the Aveo, GM has to pay a thousand dollars per car to the UAW. Its all true. GM supports the domestic econmy by contributing billions in taxes and its cars' parts are still mostly (83%) american parts. All the money that goes into on a domestic is put into their bottom line in an american based company.
While ford still has some issues, overall GM has come leaps and bounds from a decade or two and i belive are almost level. Buick has consistantly rated above honda, toyota, and acura in quality for a while. If you dont trust JD Power and assosciates, I would like to know what you do trust, perhaps, consumer reports? i dont belive the way they test cars and quality is very good and i dont trust them when it comes to cars.
secondly, I cant say i have driven any GM car, or any car at all. I dont see that as particulary strange as most kids in 8th grade do not drive either. I admit the US auto industry has made some humongous and potentially fatal mistakes in the past, but hom much whould it benifit the world if the big 2.5 suddenly collapesed? The US economy cannot sustain another huge hit an we are already in hot water as it is. Now i'm not gunna preach about a moral duty to purchase domestic, as that would be an affront to this country and its very basis of freedom. The reason GM depended on its large SUVs and trucks is exactly because of the large profit margin. Simply put, GM or ford does not make any (or rather very very little)money from small to midsize cars. subtract any legacy costs, ie retirement pay and health benifits, it simply does not make economic sence. Japanese companies dont have to pay this because the japanese government takes over these costs. The largest reason to make cars were just to prevent the loss of share to competitors. Clearly, the theres efforts were not completely sucessful. Efforts have been underway for a while to restrructure and results are alredy coming to fruition. Witness not only the GM truck and CAR of the year. the North American Car of the year being the Saturn Aura, from GM, and the Chevy Silverado. Upcoming is the Chevy Malibu. Lookit up if you want more. From the commercials ive seen, apparently the ford fusion beat the camry and accord in a head to head comparison. Its up to you to decide that one though. If you want proof of Japanese intervention, here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cons...ronics_industry
find protectionism.
there is no american electronics industry article. Dell is the last largest electronics company that is American.
dont you find it the least suspisious that even though the television was invented in Ohio, United States, there is no vestige of an american television corperation? Its all Sony to Panasonic.

Intel Corporation (USA/multi-national) is world’s largest semi-conductor/electronics corporation in the world. DELL is just an OEM i.e. out-source it's manufacturing to ODMs e.g. Compal, Quanta

The magic behind the laptop PC brands;
ODM list project - Who really made your laptop? - Tech Support Forums - TechIMO.com

More than 95 percent of the world’s desktops/workstations/laptops/servers/media-centres are powered by Intel and AMD (USA/multi-national).

[bwilson4web]

MYTH: Prius in electric mode is hazardous to pedestrians and the blind

FACTS AND DATA:

1. Prius has the same pedestrian accident rate as ordinary cars (Source: ANALYSIS OF BLIND PEDESTRIAN DEATHS
   AND INJURIES FROM MOTOR VEHICLE CRASHES, 2002-2006
   
   Christopher Hogan, Ph.D
   Direct Research, LLC
   226 Glen Ave., SW
   Vienna, VA 22180
   chogan@directresearch.com
   
   April 21, 2008)
2. "No deaths of legally blind pedestrians involved a Prius or any other hybrid vehicle" (Source: ibid)
3. An average of 5-6 blind pedestrian deaths out 4,700 pedestrian and cyclist deaths per year. (Source: ibid)
4. Researchers hired by the blind report "the problem" occurs at speeds under 15-28 mph. (Source: Prof. Rosenblum video report June 23, 2008 at Docket No. NHTSA-2008-0108)
5. The blind reject technological solutions that depend upon batteries (Deborah Kent Stein, June 23, 2008 statement at Docket No. NHTSA-2008-0108)
6. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration refuses to include hybrid owners in their rule making (e-mail refusal by Debbie Ascone, Office of the Senior Associate Administrator for Vehicle Safety and confirmed by the associate administrator for NHTSA at NHTSA-2008-0108, June 23, 2008)
7. HR 5734 (I call the "Bell the Hybrid Act") authorizes research in one response, sound emission, no other technical solutions will be pursued.
8. In 2006, 25 children were killed in 50 backover accidents by ordinary cars with their engine running and exhaust pipe under the rear bumper. (Source: Backover and Non-Crash Events Special Crash Investigations Protecting Children in and Around Cars Lifesavers 2008 April 13, 2008 Augustus “Chip”Chidester National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.)
9. "Noise Masking" means many ordinary cars are not detectable by the blind because of the background sound level. (Source: Les Blomberg, Noise Pollution Clearinghouse, June 23, 2008, Docket No. NHTSA-2008-0108.)
10. Making a Prius as loud as an ordinary car only ensures 4,700 pedestrian fatalities per year, we have made no progress.

Sometimes a myth makes it as far as the halls of Congress but reality answers only to facts and data. The only way this myth survives is if we fail to share these facts with our representatives and newspapers and media. This one is as real as HR 5734 and 2008 is an election year.

Bob Wilson
625k Inc.
9011 Randall Rd.
Huntsville, AL 35802

[LenS]

Prius isn't a "REAL" car because Toyota is paying over $30,000(?) to build each one. If they really sold them at a profit the cost would be prohibitive.

Just heard this one over 4th of July weekend. I did not have any dollar figures to discuss it. Anyone have info on a statement like this?

[LenS]

Paul Eisenstein in a June 11th, 2008 article titled "Find a Hybrid - If You Can" on the TheCarConnection.com states at the end of the article: "It is generally accepted that Toyota subsidized the early Prius to the tune of $10,000 apiece. Today, the company insists it is making money on every hybrid, but I'm among those who believes this can only be the result of Hollywood-style accounting."