I was hesitant to post this because it come close to advocacy yet I found it via Google News. I'm hoping @john1701a adds his insights as he has history dealing with Prius-skeptics. There is little distance between Prius and plugin skeptics: Electric Car Myth Buster — Efficiency | CleanTechnica . . . We recently heard from CleanTechnica reader Martin Hemdricks, who told us about a scurrilous indictment of electric cars that recently showed up in his email inbox. It charged that electric cars put all their carbon emissions into the atmosphere before they drive a single mile. It went on to say an electric car needs to drive 15 miles or more 365 days a year for 10 yearsbefore making any positive contribution to the environment. Not true. These sorts of bizarre statements are routine. One way you can tell they are all coming from the same source is they all make the same absurd claims — electric cars are only for wealthy people, electric cars waste taxpayer dollars on giveaways to the rich, electric cars create just as many fine particulates as a modern diesel car because of brake and tire wear. . . . This afternoon a friend at a bar asked if I had to spend '$5,000 for a Prius battery.' I pointed out that is a dealer price versus independent mechanic. Replacing a blown engine at the same dealer would cost $5,000 unless it was under warranty. My impression is the same lies told about the Prius are being recycled by the ant-EV thieves. I remember @john1701a has history dealing with the liars and the fools who parrot their nonsense. Bob Wilson
I still remember that first time witnessing a freak out. My mere mention of a hybrid sent that SUV owner into a state of panic, as if she had been confronted by death itself. Rumors of these new green vehicles had caught her attention and created such a deep fear of losing her SUV, the encounter with me triggered an intense emotional reaction. Her faced turned red and she started screaming about having to give up that vehicle she loved so much. It was surreal. It was 17 years ago. The crazy large SUVs hadn't been introduced yet. Gas was less $1 per gallon. The term "climate change" hadn't even been coined yet. We were just blissfully consuming oil with little concern for carbon or smog emissions. Think about how much has happened since then. Proving an automotive-grade battery could be robust enough to last the lifetime of a vehicle was still a monumental challenge. Most people didn't even believe they could deliver enough power to propel the vehicle to be safe on roads. Most people also thought that hybrids needed to be plugged in to recharge. It was a very different time. When Prius began to shock the world, greenwash attempts emerged in abundance. Many were exploits of misconceptions. Those hoping to undermine steps forward pushed assumptions in the wrong direction, leading you to incorrect conclusions. As time proceeded, the deceptions got more vindictive. Eventually, things became desperate. Rather than just omit vital information to mislead, some turned to dishonesty. They would just outright lie. They just plain did not care. They weren't ready for their world to change. The most effective tool I have found to combat those efforts to retain the status quo was video loaded with lots of data. It's extremely difficult to distort reality with such detail information readily available. The footage reinforces Prius reputation while at the same time exposes claims of supposed superior technologies as meritless. Just ask the antagonist to show you their data. Long story short, there are people who will work to impede progress any way they can.
Seeing how the EV1 and Rav4 EV were on the road before the Prius here, these likely started with EVs. I heard global warming on a British sit com from the early '80s that starred Judi Dench.
I remember getting a 'Hummer is more efficient' email from a contentious jerk in the neighborhood. You can believe it, it is on the Internet.
