Need a reply for this ANTI-TOYOTA article

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prius The First @ Jan 18 2007, 12:36 PM) [snapback]377254[/snapback]</div>

This has been discussed here before, try the search feature. If I remember right, this factory or whatever was created long before hybrid cars were a reality. Google is your friend, too.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prius The First @ Jan 18 2007, 02:36 PM) [snapback]377254[/snapback]</div>

Hi Prius1,

Old news and throughly debunked in another thread. Do a Search on "Stainless Steel" .

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prius The First @ Jan 18 2007, 02:15 PM) [snapback]377358[/snapback]</div>

Didnt mean to sound snarky or anything, just trying to be helpful. After all, sometimes folks don't notice the search feature etc.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prius The First @ Jan 18 2007, 12:36 PM) [snapback]377254[/snapback]</div>

It might also be worth noting that all modern cars use nickel, both for stainless steel exhausts and in other alloys in the car. The average vehicle appears to use about 50 lbs of nickel. I have a post in the prior Sudbury thread that says that. It's not clear that a 3000 lb Prius with 22lbs of nickel in the battery actually, in fact, uses more nickel than the average US passenger vehicle.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(chogan @ Jan 18 2007, 03:55 PM) [snapback]377379[/snapback]</div>

The prior Sudbury thread also notes that the mine in question produces 109,000 tons of nickel a year (of which Toyota bought 1000).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Beryl Octet @ Jan 18 2007, 01:24 PM) [snapback]377368[/snapback]</div>

To be honest, the search feature doesn't work real well. You have to use one single word or have the exact phrase to get any results that will include the desired result. I prefer to use the advanced features of Google that let you search in a particular domain.

But in this case, searching on Sudbury would probably be pretty effective.

So the points so far are:
1. This is not a Toyota factory,
2. nickel is used in stainless steel which is common to all vehicles,
3. 1% of this plant's output goes to Toyota, and not exclusively for the Prius (the Prius may use 50% more nickel than a similarly-sized non-hybrid, probably less since it has aluminum panels, so the Tundra is probably a bigger consumer)
4. Ni-cad batteries in kids' toys probably have more to do with that landscape than the Prius does
5. Air pollution controls went into effect over the last 15 years, these trees probably died before that, at least they surely were poisoned before that.

But this is a good wake-up call. Many, many of our consumables would be scrutinized closer if we could see where they came from - for instance, for many clearcutting the tropics is a vague concern, until you realize it's feeding things like cheap Chinese-made furniture for sale at CostCo. The meat industry is another area where simple pictures can change people's views.

Going to their website is interesting, since their pictures all include green trees, I didn't see any pictures of ores. They did tout their contribution to the Prius in some of their past reports, trying to be green by association, so they may have brought in on themselves, to a degree.

I added a comment to the UK article, basically giving the points I mention above.

 

i like toyota, but it's true that producing cars produces a lot of waste at the same time. making 1 prius is a lot worse for the environment than making 1 non-hybrid card. the eco-friendliness of the prius in sum begins after years of owning one. so don't just buy-sell-buy like crazy! buy-keep-keep-keep for life! then the prius is best

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nerfer @ Jan 18 2007, 04:52 PM) [snapback]377410[/snapback]</div>

I tried adding a comment there a couple weeks back and it never did show up online.

 

I tried to post this, we will see if it is allowed:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MegansPrius @ Jan 18 2007, 04:52 PM) [snapback]377483[/snapback]</div>

Yep, mine didn't show up either. One other comment for the Prius The First: GM is the parent company of the Saturn Vue hybrid, which also uses NiMH batteries.

 

They probably fired the poor turd who wrote the article. "Toyota Factory" ... The journalist (term used loosly) probably has friends at GM. What a tool.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(davedog @ Jan 18 2007, 04:40 PM) [snapback]377474[/snapback]</div>

Wrong. Producing one Prius is not worse than producing one non-hybrid. Think, Hummer, Expedition, and all the Crysler products filling up auto junk yards because they self-destruct in less than three years.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dr Ed @ Jan 27 2007, 10:10 PM) [snapback]381866[/snapback]</div>

Not wrong about the buy-sell like crazy. Take care of your Prius and it should outlast most cars. I least I intend to do so.

Dave M.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(davedog @ Jan 18 2007, 02:40 PM) [snapback]377474[/snapback]</div>

I am not sure if building a prius is worse for the environment as compared to a COMPARABLE weight car... I have wondered about that myself... it does afterall have more components (especially the battery) than a typical car. I wonder if a specific study has been done on it.

Regarding Keep-Keep-Keep... I agree with you and do keep my cars for a long time because it is most cost effective. However, as I have gotten older, I realized that from an environmental point of view it makes no difference - as long as you sell your Prius and don't scrap it, it will provide the same benefit (just someone else is driving it). In fact, you could argue that by selling it and then buying another one - you would be helping fill the world with Prius'es... instead of Hummers...

Good morning everyone - It's 6:30 PM here....

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(davedog @ Jan 18 2007, 06:40 PM) [snapback]377474[/snapback]</div>

June 2003

How long do you keep your car? It seems that 25k miles is OK.

 

Hi HSD,

Ooh -- Like those wheel on the Prius Gen 2 in that PDF!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(davedog @ Jan 18 2007, 06:40 PM) [snapback]377474[/snapback]</div>

Hugh :blink: Did you bother to read the rebuttal above? Certainly you haven't read many prior PC posts. Not only is the Prius NOT more polluting while under construction, toyota has pledged to attempt ZERO waste during production.

Hear anything like that from GM?