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Rebuttals to haters?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by PriusGuy32, Oct 20, 2012.

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  1. PriusGuy32

    PriusGuy32 Prius Driver Extraordinaire

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    Hey guys, just want to know if anybody has any good true solid rebuttals to put Hybrid/Prius haters, REAL good ones, that we could share.

    For example I keep hearing "the Prius battery is so toxic, its from some mine in blah blah blah where labor is awful and nickel is hard to recycle, blah blah blah".
    So my response to the last person who said that to me was "What kind of battery is under your hood? Oh thats right a lead-acid battery. You know, the ones that explode and blind people and contains LEAD, you know the poisonous element that we try so hard to keep out of our food/water system? They arent easily recyclable either but at least mine is used to efficiently propel my car!"

    But thats not really a totally legit argument because the Prius has a small 12v battery (lead?) itself, in the trunk...lol.

    Anybody have any good rebuttals to the battery argument when its presented? Or any other "hater" responses (i.e. its a Japanese car putting Americans out of work, etc)?
     
    #1 PriusGuy32, Oct 20, 2012
  2. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    for the NiMH batteries in the regular prius, I think the nickel is highly recyclable. lead is highly recyclable as well.
     
    #2 John H, Oct 20, 2012
  3. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Well I'm not in the battery business but I do have to buy ten gallons of gas every three or four weeks. So I'm getting 52 MPG, how about you?

    Bob Wilson
     
    #3 bwilson4web, Oct 20, 2012
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  4. Corwyn

    Corwyn Energy Curmudgeon

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    "American car company officers are putting American workers out of work. Both by moving plants overseas AND by building such crappy cars, that I have to buy a Japanese car to get 56 MPG."
     
    #4 Corwyn, Oct 20, 2012
  5. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    That might have worked 4 years ago, not so much today with the American built hybrids like the Camry and the Volt.
     
    #5 John H, Oct 20, 2012
  6. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    If the skeptic has a Camry, Volt, or other USA hybrid they would not have been challenging the Prius owner. . . . unless they are some sort of hybrid cannibal.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #6 bwilson4web, Oct 20, 2012
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  7. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    You should know that 'Chrome plating' does not stick well to steel. So what car makers do, is coat the steel in Copper, then Nickel, and then Chrome plate the Nickel. So when your Chrome plated SUV owner is saying your Battery is made of Nickel, his vehicle may well be covered in it.

    Chrome plating - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    [​IMG]

    This looks like a fair assessment of the Nickel smelter at Sudbury Ontario: Before the 70's it was worse, it is slowly getting better

    Inco Superstack - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
     
    #7 JimboPalmer, Oct 20, 2012
  8. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    Who is considered a hater? In the past, it was anyone who felt threaten that they'd somehow be forced out of their guzzler. Thankfully, it's not that bad anymore. Arguments focusing on the battery are dying fading too. Of course, the rebuttal to that is just pointing out what actually happens with the aquisition of oil. People really don't want to acknowledge that situation.

    My guess is those opposing hybrids stems from two sources. First, they really don't understand how the technology works. They make assumptions, which is easy to do considering how much incorrect, outdated, and misleading information there is still. Change is very difficult when there's uncertainty. Second, they have strong loyalty to an automaker or the domestic market. In that case, they'll say just about anything. Excuses are frequent & abundant. We've heard it all.

    Ultimately, the real-world data speaks for itself. Experiences shared by owners is what gets people to take another look, to overcome what they had previously thought or felt.
     
    #8 john1701a, Oct 20, 2012
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  9. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    agree, but the skeptic that is first and foremost "Buy American" now has several high mpg, high quality, hybrid choices built in the USA.
     
    #9 John H, Oct 20, 2012
  10. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Some of the stuff under the myths and rebuttals section at Prius Wiki might prove useful.
     
    #10 cwerdna, Oct 20, 2012
  11. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    #11 fuzzy1, Oct 20, 2012
  12. Stev0

    Stev0 Honorary Hong Kong Cavalier

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    You get your revenge at the gas station.
     
    #12 Stev0, Oct 20, 2012
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  13. PriusGuy32

    PriusGuy32 Prius Driver Extraordinaire

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    Thanks guys.

    I particularly like the tidbit somebody posted that the chrome bumpers are pre-coated with nickel!! Im putting that fact in my back pocket for later use. :whistle:

    Im from Metro Detroit (Motor City) and my father retired from Chrysler after 35 years, my uncle from Ford after 40 years and my other uncle still works at GM. Surprisingly, I dont get much crap from my Dad, Uncle or other Uncle but I DO catch a lot from my siblings, cousins, etc... My brother says I "sold out on America"....LOL!! Whatever that means. In the meantime, he buys everything (made in China et al.) at Wal-Mart :rolleyes:

    Ive driven a few friends in the car that were skeptics. It seems their misconceptions about the Prius and hybrid vehicles change for the better during/after our ride but who knows, they could just be acting impressed. A friend joked about not being able to merge on the highway (where do people get this stuff anyways?!?). We merged onto I-94 and I demonstrated how the car can actually accelerate//sarcasm. Of course, proving this knocked down my average mpg's :D but I felt I had a duty to fulfill...lol.
     
    #13 PriusGuy32, Oct 20, 2012
  14. dbcassidy

    dbcassidy Toyota Hybrid Nation, 8 Million Strong

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    Me? I just ignore them.:)

    DBCassidy
     
    #14 dbcassidy, Oct 20, 2012
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  15. Corwyn

    Corwyn Energy Curmudgeon

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    No Hater is driving a Volt. Guaranteed.
    And Haters think the Camry is a Japanese car.
     
    #15 Corwyn, Oct 20, 2012
  16. Corwyn

    Corwyn Energy Curmudgeon

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    dagnabited duplicates.
     
    #16 Corwyn, Oct 20, 2012
  17. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Note also that stainless steel is something like 9% nickel. That consumes far far more nickel than do hybrid batteries.
     
    #17 fuzzy1, Oct 20, 2012
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  18. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    A nit-pick... Most stainless steel contains about that much nickel but your point is still valid

    Thanks for putting use of nickel in batteries in perspective in a simple easy to grasp way. Even the mouth breathers should be able to understand that.:cool:
     
    #18 xs650, Oct 20, 2012
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  19. ProximalSuns

    ProximalSuns Senior Member

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    "STFU you Al-Quaida terrorist scum" works well.
     
    #19 ProximalSuns, Oct 20, 2012
  20. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Me too.
    I drive a Prius in the deep South, and I already have one strike against me (I'm a %^$# Yankee...) and over the last 35K miles you know what?
    I don't think I've encountered very much Prius hate at all....well...except from Prius drivers.
    Some of the union hacks sneered at the "0-percent Domestic Content" sticker that I peeled off the car and placed on my filing cabinet, but hey.....my last tank was 57MPG...something like 560 something miles.
    My last fill up was less than $35.

    I think I'll keep ignoring them.... :)
    They're like forum trolls. You ignore them?
    They go away.
     
    #20 ETC(SS), Oct 21, 2012
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