Why do people hate the Prius?

Hell, I know I am (not a lib), but I've been Prius-equipped for less than a year.

And funny, ETC, would you have described the same referenced data as supportive of "global warming" only a few short years ago? Still waiting for that ice age prophesied in the 70s (maybe it was just delayed ).

 

You don't think you're maybe just a bit biased, do you? I'm feeling like some of your replies are coming across as slightly condescending.

—The car is very complex, and that has little to do with the hybrid battery. Yes, it appears to be well built. But it's also one of those cars that, once the warranty expires and it accumulates mileage, has a higher number of items which, should they fail, might cost more to repair than the car is worth. In that regard it's actually very similar to complex luxury cars, which can become very expensive to repair and often end being driven with lots of systems that no longer function. Thing is, in the Prius, most of the systems relate to propulsion, steering, etc. and they have to work.

—If this person says they've got sun in their eyes, I'm not sure the observation that, "guess what, so does everyone else" is necessarily, um, enlightening us to any great degree.

—The cover does deter someone from seeing what's back there, but it is not as secure as a locked trunk. And window tints aren't the answer.

—Radio reception is okay, but the dual antennas in other cars (one in the windshield plus an aerial) work better than the Prius' single antenna.

Yes, the car's great, rah rah, etc., but a dash of realism helps give credibility to some observations. It's a competent economy car, but it also has its limits and liabilities.

 

They don't call it 'Global Warming' any more.
It's "Climate Change"....

I'm actually rather a fan of our nation's policy of limiting domestic production of fossil fuels. If we continue to pay for oil in the Arabian Gulf, Russia, South America, Africa, etc... then we can save domestic supplies for the day when fossil fuels become really scarce. I mean, it's not like we're using real money to pay for it---China is paying for it and we're giving China an I.O.U.
...

There's an old saying:
"If you owe the bank $100, the bank owns you. If you owe the bank a million bucks, you own the bank!"

 

If it even gets scarce in my lifetime. Personally, I'm in favor of building clean, efficient nuclear power plants and just using pure electric vehicles. But we have tons of oil in Alaska and along our coasts. No clue why we don't drill the crap out of it; we'd have more domestic jobs and less reliance on those terrorist bastards.

 

Yeah, but what will minimum wage be by that time? $18/hr? I remember when I started working, it was $4.25, and now it's $8 (here in CA). My grandfather tells me stories of making 10 or 15 cents an hour. People neglect to realize that just because gas goes up, doesn't mean that everything else won't/.

 

I have a question - it seems a lot of people who hate the Prius argue that mining the materials for the battery is a major impact on the environment. Would you say that producing the batteries has little to no impact on the environment, and would you agree that disposal of the battery at the end of it's lifespan also creates no detrimental impact?

 

Solar power is faster to deploy both technically and bureaucratically than nuclear. Same for wind power.

Natural gas is currently cheap and plentiful and can also be used to generate electricity on demand. Though not as free of greenhouse gas as wind, solar, or nuclear it is much easier to bring online than nuclear power. In fact several planned new reactors have been put on hold due the low cost and availability of natural gas.

Not that I am opposed to nuclear power - just acknowledging the current realities in the U.S.

 

That pretty much sums up your opinion on the problems associated with drilling in those regions.

 

Actually the battery mineral issue is a non issue. Those units are all going to be reused or recycled---as are most components in all cars and trucks.

As far as domestic oil is concerned, that's going to be a self-solving issue. Either oil will continue to be a highly valuable strategic commodity, and they'll pull every drop out of the ground that they can find, or there will be a fundamental shift in the way we use energy for transportation, and oil production will continue at a radically reduced rate.
150 years ago, we were pulling every whale we could get our fingers on out of the ocean for their blubber---mostly for lighting of all things. We pretty much don't do that anymore, NOT because all the bed-wetting liberals were throwing temper tantrums (that came later), but because there was that same findamental shift in the demand for fuel. Kerosene supplanted whale oil for lamps.
We'll either make that same leap with fossil fuel for personal transportation use, or oil demand will reach a tipping point where the known reserves will be exploited regardless of concerns over the environment.

As far as nuclear power...and it's pronounced "NEW-CLEAR" Sarah and George, not "NU-QUE-LURE" I'm somewhat biased since I spent years of my life under water in a secondary reactor containment vessel....

I mean...I'm normal....right?

 

We do have tons of oil in untapped reserves. But the problem is that a ton of oil doesn't go very far. Let's do the math:

Oil consumption in the U.S. is about 18,771,000 barrels a day. For average crude oil, a barrel of oil weighs about 405 pounds. That works out to 3,801,127 tons of oil consumed per day. Divide that out and you find that a ton of oil supplies the U.S. for just a tad over one two hundredth of a second, or around 0.022 seconds.

That figure doesn't take into account the energy cost of extracting and refining that oil. Many of the existing reserves are much more costly to extract, so the returns are diminishing.

So sure, you are correct that we have tons of oil, but that doesn't mean it will last very long.

Tom

 

It's not "NEW-CLEE-AR"? (derived from nucleus) ... Definitely not nu-que-lure

 

I'm with ya Skoorbmax...... However I actually get a lot of enjoyment watching a ford f-250 riding my a** and then as he or she (love the girls driving trucks thing) passes me and flips the bird! Go Romney!

 

Nucular

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the variant pronunciation. For other uses, see Nuclear.
Nucular is an [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_dialect"]ad hoc spelling[/ame] of a metathetic pronunciation of the word [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_nucleus"]nuclear[/ame], representing the [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English"]/ˈnjuːkjələr/[/ame] pronunciation of that word instead of the correct pronunciation, /ˈnjuːkliːər/.
While most dictionaries do not list the pronunciation as correct, some recognize it because of its increased usage

 

I just bought a Prius after Christmas and before I started looking to buy it, I was a prius hater. Lets face it. Its a goofy looking car that appeals to nerds and liberals. Lets face reality here...this vehicle won't save the whales. It won't make so much as a dent in the environment. I can drive my old car with 20 mpg for the rest of my life and produce less of a carbon foot print than buying a brand spanking new Prius.

So why did I buy it? Its a compact car with a mid size interior, its got great MPG, and its practical. I don't care about "Saving Mother Earth". For me, it was about the money.

 

"NEW-CLEE-AR" is correct. It has three syllables, and it is pronounced exactly like it is spelled.

Tom

 

I donno guys.. things are so different here. People will go ooooo and aaaaaah when they see my car and (not) hear it move away.

 

Isn't that how President-to-be Jimmy pronounced it when he claimed to be a nuclear engineer?

 

That is actually incorrect. Do a bit more research.

Good to know you are so proud of not caring about environmental issues. Again, do a bit more research and you may change your mind.

 

lol, China will eventually lose patience, I'm afraid, and a lot of folks will be left hurting. The day the dollar loses its world currency reserve status (China and Russia have already moved on) will be a dangerous day in terms of securing all those oil sources. Oh well, milk it while we still can.arty:hwell::rip:

 

That is why I got mine, too. I encountered "prius hate" on a forum yesterday, one guy said he had too much pride to buy one, another went on about the battery replacement costs.

And the math does show that even tapping without qualms US oil reserves (those in ground, I am not talking about strategic) it's still going to be a limited commodity.

In recent years, not just with the Prius, we've seen and will continue to see major improvements in gas economy, partly to satisfy demand, partly to satisfy CAFE. $5/gallon gas is a bit deal now but could be less of one in a decade. A lot of large, powerful vehicles now don't get mileage all that bad. I think the new odyssey for example is rated at 27 and a lot of family sedans mid 30's (highway numbers). If more and more folks are finding that on a typical income they cannot reasonably afford a 14/18 SUV, well it's not the end of the world, there are options. Increasing mileage of the car a little is akin to a reduction in the price at the pump, so other than the cost of goods relying on shipping consumers will adapt as long as it's not forced too quickly.