Wheels of Fortune

A series of fortunate and unfortunate circumstances lead the EPA top-rated Toyota Prius to become the right car at the right time. We test the 2008 offering.



WHEELS OF FORTUNE

When the second-generation Toyota Prius arrived back in the fall of 2003, it was met with a reception not unlike that of a stranger in a small town. After all, it looked and operated unlike any of the popular vehicles of the time. The EPA outlandishly claimed that the Prius was capable of 51 miles per gallon on the highway and 60 miles per gallon around town.

Lots of people flocked to the car with open arms, and it collected a number of car-of-the-year awards. However, a vocal number of skeptics weighed in heavily. Among the charges: The car had poor resale value; the EPA ratings were artificially skewed in favor of hybrids; emergency workers risk danger when cutting through doors with high-voltage wires; the hybrid batteries caused more damage to the environment than non-hybrid vehicles; and the most shocking charge of all – the Hummer created a smaller environmental footprint than the Prius.

Toyota responded with a press release pointing out that the hybrid wires run through the floor hump in the middle of the car and not the doors, that the hybrid batteries are 100 percent recyclable, and that, to date, very few Priuses have required hybrid battery replacement - despite being on the road since 2000 (starting with the first-generation Prius).

The Daily Mail, originators of an article charging that the making of hybrid batteries irreparably harmed the landscape, later retracted the article. The photograph that ran with the article was evidently taken several decades ago, and the nickel mining company has since been coveted by the Canadian government for transforming the land into an eco-friendly environment.

The Hummer comparison originated from a report by CWN, comparing the total energy used in developing and manufacturing a vehicle, as well as the energy used during the life of the vehicle's operation. CWN raised some eyebrows when it concluded that the total life cycle energy used for a Prius was greater than that of a Hummer. The report has since been heavily criticized by both the automotive press and the environmental experts as materially flawed. Chief among the criticisms: CNW assumed that the lifespan of the Prius is just over 100,000 miles. Meanwhile, Priuschat.com has started a 100,000 mile club. Several Prius taxis are now in operation, one having gone over 300,000 miles on the same batteries.

The critics of the EPA ratings fared better. In 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency revised its testing procedures to better reflect real-world driving conditions. The results: The Prius is now rated at 48 mpg in the city, 45 on the highway, and 46 overall. But the EPA ratings of all other vehicles were also impacted, and the EPA still considers the Prius to be the most fuel-efficient car sold in America.

GM’s North American chief, Bob Lutz, was one of the more vocal early critics of hybrid cars. “It’s not economically viable at this point,” Lutz proclaimed in January of 2002. Lutz wrongly assumed that people would buy hybrids based on whether they were cost-effective. In reality, people bought hybrids for a variety of reasons. Chief among them was environmental – not only did it pollute less, it consumed about 600 gallons less fossil fuel per year than a comparable non-hybrid car, and thus lessened our dependence on petroleum oil. After sales of the second-generation Prius went through the roof, Lutz recanted, and said he mistakenly failed to account for the emotional factor of hybrid ownership.

Even Consumer Reports got into the cost-effectiveness debate, originally reported that the premium price of hybrid vehicles would not be recouped in fuel cost-savings over five years for most owners. Immediately after publishing the report, however, a few sharp-eyed accountants noted a critical error in how Consumer Reports calculated its statistics. Consequently, CR issued a retraction, noting that most Prius owners would, in fact, recoup their costs over five years of ownership due to fuel savings.

With gasoline prices steadily increasing, however, even the cost-effectiveness argument was up-ended. In its latest New Car issue, Consumer Reports ranks the Prius as the least expensive family car to own, when factoring in depreciation, fuel costs, insurance costs, and reliability. The survey also found the Prius to be the most reliable family car as well as the most satisfying vehicle to own overall.

So, after nine years since the original Prius went on sale in the USA, and after five years since the second-generation Prius reached our shores, the car has finally won over all but its most die-hard skeptics. Demand for the Prius is so high now, that some people (who don’t want to wait for availability on a new Prius) are paying over sticker price – for used Priuses.

More:
http://lacar.com/pre/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=986