I'm willing to bet the majority of their citations would be from certain publications bylined "CNW Marketing."

Ah
So what!
I'd hate to drive a Peugeot, Citroën or Ford. I want a reliable car.

All he's saying is that smaller is better:

From ft.com:

Why chose a Prius to compare to much smaller cars? Why not a Hummer? Or a conventional Corolla? The only reason I can think of is to get this headline:
New Study Disses Prius

They can cut it anyway they want, the Prius was and still is a leader in getting us to use less fuel and pollute less. Yes, the Prius will be out done in the years ahead but it helped lead us down this path.

Im glad to see the conventional technology is catching up. But as other have said nothing would have been done without the Prius and Insight and I'm actually depressed how little competition they still have.

They claim they will catch up in 12-18 months.... must be a coincidence that Toyota is launching their new Prius in that time frame no?

I'm glad that automakers try to go green and they try to get people to drive smaller cars. I hope someone overtakes the Prius soon. I'll be the first in line (for our second car).

The research seems to be aimed at the energy efficient scoring system we have in the UK, a scale of A to G which is set on the basis of CO2 emission only. I find it funny in a black humour way that they found the need to add band G, at the wrong end of the scale (226g CO2 per km), last year.

The scale being based on CO2 it is not the whole story in environmental awareness, but it is a good start in making people aware of the unseen differences between cars. Most road users can figure it out without the label, however if they can improve on what we have all the better.

How about a rating label for the driver?

I think this quote sums it up:

Man, people will do anything to try to bring you down but when it comes down to it they can't seem to get it right. Good to know the benchmark has been set. This is why many people I know bought this car. To start something!

Here's a few more details from http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/news.php?sid=1081&page=1

It really does sound like CNW v.2.0:

Conventionally engined superminis dominate the top ranks. The scientists gave half their score based on each cars' emissions of CO2, NOx and other pollutants; the other half of the score was calculated from vehicles' construction, energy costs, recyclability and size. The higher the score, the cleaner the car:

• 1st Smart Roadster - 66.2 points
• 2nd Smart Fortwo Cabriolet - 59.8
• 3rd Citroen C1 1.0 - 40.1
• 4th Peugeot 107 1.0 - 38.6
• 5th Citroen C1 1.4 HDI - 31.3
• 6th Fiat Panda 1.2 Dualogic - 28.4
• 7th Ford Ka 1.3 - 27.5
• 8th Toyota Yaris 1.0 - 27.2
• 9th Fiat Panda 100hp - 23.6
• 10th Pegueot 206 1.4 - 23.5
• 11th Mini Cooper D - 23.3
• 12th Toyota Prius 1.5 - 23.2

The report authors at research agency Clifford Thames and Cardiff University acknowledge that it's difficult to compare differently sized cars, but it applied the same methodology to all models in its survey
...
Although the petrol-electric Prius appeared in twelfth position, it was held back by its whole-life environmental impact, researchers said.
.

Look as I might, I can't find the actual source report anywhere -- nor do most mentions of it give it a title.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MegansPrius @ Sep 27 2007, 10:18 AM) [snapback]518439[/snapback]</div>

I wonder why their 12th place choice has higher sales over the winning first 11 'best' cars ... you know ... with the other 11 superior cars being so much more ... superior.
Must be stupid customers

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hill @ Sep 27 2007, 03:28 PM) [snapback]518449[/snapback]</div>

Over this side of the pond the Ford Ka out sells the Prius 10 to 1. Bear in mind this is a UK study looking at EU cars.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Boulder Bum @ Sep 27 2007, 01:30 AM) [snapback]518347[/snapback]</div>

It's nice to know they're not biased in any way and staying away from subjective conclusions :lol:

Better non-hybrid cars in 12-18 months? In western nations? Maybe I'm not as informed as they are, but the American market isn't introducing a conventional car of the Prius size that would rate better on their system. Not even close. Meanwhile, the Prius line will be extended with a small car option that would really blow away the competition given their particular rating method.

Wonder how the Insight would've fared on their system.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hill @ Sep 27 2007, 09:28 AM) [snapback]518449[/snapback]</div>

You can't put too much into that. People tend to buy for economic, practicality and status reasons, not green reasons.

Though one of the reasons we bought the Prius was to encourage the technology. Greenness was very much a factor.

For other cars, I have no doubt other reasons are paramount.

This study is valid only if you do not take into account real life useability of the vehicles involved. If you take into account the passenger load rating for each vehicle you will find you need 2.5 vehicles to transport the same number of passengers in the top two cars. Bringing the actual rating for the Smart Roadster to a 26.48 and the Smart 42 to 23.92 and soforth on down the list.

I'm sure that many of the other 4 passenger cars listed (I only personally know of the Yaris which does have an adequate back seat) only have back seats that would be comfortable for small children and not for adults on trips of any length. I had a Jaguar XJ12 that was a four passenger car but I would not even want my people I don't like riding back there.

If you take usability into account the Prius still comes at near or at the top.

I hate graffiti even if it is environmental. How do you conduct an honest comparison between a car that exists today and a car that might exist tomorrow, then draw such ominous conclusions?

Quoted from:

http://www.clifford-thames.com/news.aspx?P...5&NewsID=24 Bold type added by me:

Clifford Thames Environmental Research subject of Financial Times article

The Cardiff University/Clifford Thames Environmental Rating system for Vehicles (ERV) took a
significant step forward as it was the subject of a pair of Financial Times articles today.

David Riemenschneider, CEO of Clifford Thames said:
"Our work with Cardiff University is beginning to gain traction, which will be helpful in clearing-up the confusion that exists in the various environmental claims and eco-branding in the marketplace".

He continued:
"It is our desire that the ERV rating system will be used to help drive the market toward cleaner
vehicles, much like Euro NCAP rating system did for vehicle safety".

In the Cardiff University /Clifford Thames study, the Bentley Arnage ranks as the worst of the 3,000 vehicles/models studied while the Smart range of vehicles ranks the best. In terms of high-volume "City" cars, the Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo are among the best, with ERV scores exceeding that of the Toyota Prius hybrid.

Richard Barber, Clifford Thames Strategy and Business Development director said:
"While the Prius is presently the best among vehicles its size, we are seeing advances in traditional
powertrain technology that will help other vehicles close the gap or even leapfrog existing hybrid
solutions"

For more information on the ERV study, please contact info@clifford-thames.com

Well, while I don't usually jump on the Prius "yeah" bandwagon, as the car is not perfect and good criticisms will lead to a better car, this appears to be a prime example of skewing the contestants.

The Prius is, like, twice as big as any of the cars above it. It’s like saying "well you know that Hummer H2 is very fuel efficient compared to the Rav4, Ford Escape, Saturn Vue or the like" DUH!

Looking for the next Gen Prius with 80 mpg or more.

P.S. Actually I could care less that the Prius has a smaller CO2 footprint since CO2 rise is not a "precursor" to GW but is a subsequent sign. I drive because of the MPG and not wanting to send my cash to Iran and that nut in Venezuela. I'd drive this car, even at 45 mpg, if it clubbed baby seals to that kind of mileage. Really, baby seals! ;-)

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(wkramer @ Sep 27 2007, 10:21 AM) [snapback]518470[/snapback]</div>

That depends on what you use the vehicle for. The extra 4 seats in my Prius and TDI do me absolutely no good 95% of the time when I'm using the vehicle to commute to work. The Prius is far too large for my needs as a second vehicle. Right now we are projecting that we will replace the VW in 2010 and hopefully there will be more small cars like the Smart available.