Time, money and emotion will decide hybrid's true

[Hawk]

Pulling up at a traffic light, I glanced over at a Toyota Prius in the next lane. The trip computer in my Lincoln Navigator test vehicle showed 11.5 mpg and, ruefully, I considered that the Prius driver was potentially stretching each gallon four times farther than my Lincoln.

The episode came back to me last week as Consumer Reports magazine, rightly or wrongly viewed as the bible of vehicle evaluation by many Americans, published a story on the financial aspects of hybrid ownership.


The Strory

[Hawk]

I had a little time so I decided to send the author an email.

Dear John McCormick

I just finished reading your article Time, money and emotion will decide hybrid's true value and I was motivated to write you a short letter. I have read several articles over the last few weeks that read like they were written by the same author. I don’t understand where so many “Journalists” including your self hatched the idea that people who are purchasing hybrid vehicles are doing so to save money. This is simply not the case.

If I was a “Journalist” and I wanted to fined out why people were motivated to purchase hybrid vehicles, I would spend some time reading the numerous online forums dedicated to hybrid vehicles. If a “Journalist” took the time to do this they would quickly find that the vast majority of hybrid vehicle owners purchased their cars to reduce the impact to the global environment and reduce emissions of green house gasses. Hybrid car owners are also motivated to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. And further more hybrid car owners are happy to pay more money for their vehicle to achieve this. This statement from your article,

“Some people are attracted by the ingenious technology itself; others are buying hybrids because they want to feel like they are doing something to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

seems to imply the environmental benefit of hybrid technology is some kind of marketing hype. In my opinion that is totally irresponsible. By driving a PZE (Partial Zero Emission) vehicle instead of a standard vehicle, you are making a direct and positive impact to the health of the environment. This is not a feeling this is a fact.

Another point I would like to offer is this. Any “Journalists” that would like to help the American Auto Industry pull it’s head out of the sand should be pointing out the large and growing number of consumers that are happy to pay more for a vehicle that puts the environment ahead of 4 second quarter miles and seating for 8. I paid over $30,000.00 for my 2006 Prius. I can afford to drive what ever car I want, and I do, a Toyota Prius.

The people purchasing hybrid vehicles now are paving the way for more affordable hybrid vehicles in the future. This will make it possible for people that only care about saving money to have a positive impact on the environment and our economy at the same time.

Paving your future with my Prius

Sincerely
Farrrell Anderson

[unruhly]

Very well put Hawk,

I would have liked to see one additional comment, perhaps you can forward it to the author.

Some buyers, needing to replace aging vehicles, such as myself, are choosing hybrids that are in the exact same price range as other comparable vehicles.
IE. Camry/Accord/Prius. (Mid-size sedans)

With the additional MPGs to help reduce foreign oil dependance as well as help my pocket book at the pump, and the reduced emissions, it became a "no brainer".
$25000.00 for 24 MPG, or $25000.00 for 50 MPGs. Which would you choose?

[jbarnhart]

I took a slightly different tack --

Referring to your article: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...ION03/603150400

I am somewhat amazed at the Consumer Reports bias against hybrid automobiles. Why don't more journalists examine the CR study and uncover the glaring holes in their logic?

1. They compared the Prius (a midsize, according to government regulations) to a Corolla (a compact). Comparing list prices between these two car families is absurd, since the Prius comes with a much higher level of standard equipment than the Corolla, and has far more interior space.

2. They assumed the Prius would depreciate FASTER than gas-engined cars. To date, the opposite has been true. The Prius holds its value MUCH better than other Toyota cars. I can see assuming the depreciation rate will someday be similar to traditional cars, but where is the justification for their assumption?

3. They said the reliability was worse. The Prius has one of the best reliability records of ALL Toyotas. The battery is often cited as a future repair problem that is insurmountable. To date, no Prius batteries have worn out -- even from first-generation cars. Even if the battery did need service at 200,000 miles, how is that different from an engine rebuild? (Remember the Prius gas engine runs only about half the time -- greatly extending its lifetime.) The fact is, the battery is the most reliable part of the Prius. It's also composed of small battery modules, so repairing the battery is not necessarily a big-ticket item.

4. They said the fuel economy was much less than the government estimates. This was not done under any controlled testing but by handing the keys to their staff. Was the Prius driven extra hard to find out if its performance was up to par? Was it driven in mostly cold weather? Did they try more than one sample? Did they take it back to the dealer for a checkup and say, "hey, it's not getting very good milage?" For comparison, the website http://www.greenhybrid.com permits car owners to publish their actual milage figures. Real results: 1600 Prius driven over 23 million miles averaged 47.5 mpg. (source: http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage...-priushsd.html) Still less than the EPA estimate, but much closer to reality than CR's guess (based on my own experience).

In all, the Consumer Reports "study" has all the hallmarks of a hit piece. It appears it was written before any facts were collected, and the facts were skewed to fit their preconceived opinion. I doubt Consumer Reports will ever earn back my respect or trust.

Warm regards,

Joe Barnhart
Santa Clara, CA

P.S. Of course the real question is: Will the Prius save money when compared to your Lincoln Navigator over its useful life?

[keydiver]

If I would have known first that it was in the "Detroit News", I wouldn't have bothered wasting my time reading it.

[janetjanetbobanet]

Knowing we're doing a lot to help keep global warming down and maybe help prevent a few cases of skin cancer along the way is important to me.
And anyway, there are a lot of cars out there not saving their owners money or even costing their owners a great deal of money just for the sake of personal happiness. I'm happy no matter what mine does or doesn't save me.

[VaPrius]

Ever notice how all "journalists" are experts on hybrids and hybrid drivers because they stopped at the same traffic light as a hybrid? Why are they always trying to expose or debunk hybrids? Why do they always talk about doing something good for the environment as if we were deciding between jeans or khakis? I am what most would describe as a very mild environmentalist but even I know that what is good for the environment is good for us and our kids. The last part being of particular importance.

[2Hybrids]

For all the journalists who have gone out of their way to write such drivel, but not to have gone out of their way to actually do research....

I would love for them to read their article again in about 10 years time.

Our kids will say..."what's a Lincoln? Is that the smoky piece of junk stored in granpa's garage?"

[Hawk]

Originally posted by unruhly@Mar 15 2006, 05:22 PM
Very well put Hawk, 

I would have liked to see one additional comment, perhaps you can forward it to the author. 

Some buyers, needing to replace aging vehicles, such as myself, are choosing hybrids that are in the exact same price range as other comparable vehicles.
IE. Camry/Accord/Prius.  (Mid-size sedans)

With the additional MPGs to help reduce foreign oil dependance as well as help my pocket book at the pump, and the reduced emissions, it became a "no brainer".
$25000.00 for 24 MPG, or $25000.00 for 50 MPGs.  Which would you choose?

[snapback]225402[/snapback]

Well if I get a respons I will send it to him. I dont think i will get a respons.

[priusenvy]

Originally posted by 2Hybrids@Mar 16 2006, 03:06 AM
Our kids will say..."what's a Lincoln?  Is that the smoky piece of junk stored in granpa's garage?"

[snapback]225553[/snapback]

I think they're more likely say something similar to what James Kunstler (author of The Long Emergency) once wrote.

Something like: "What's a Lincoln? Oh, it's one of those behemoth vehicles you assholes drove around while burning up in 100 years the greatest natural resource ever given to man. Now crawl off and die, assholes."