Any truck owners? Prius vs truck

[sprocket3]

And then went and got one of those "My truck neutralizes two Prius' " bumper stickers

You must have a little truck if it get's 25 MPG.

 

[jimwsea]

You can hate them all you want, but I save a lot of cash every month since she gets about 48 MPG instead of 11 running around town.

What I don't understand is all the people that have them and drive them real fast. I get passed by Prius drivers all the time and I know they are not getting very good MPG at those speeds. We really have to baby ours around to get close to 50. It's just like any other car in that regard.

Two years or so ago, Consumer reports did a "real-world" test on hybrids, gassers and diesels. Apparently, the EPA estimates were based on more constant speeds, no radio or lights. The hybrids got significantly lower mpg than the EPA suggests; gassers got slightly lower than the EPA estimate, and diesels got a bit more than the EPA estimate. The EPA even admitted their estimates were not realistic, but decided to keep them instead of updating them.

Prius owners I know complained about their mpg being much lower than the sticker. One friend in Seattle uses it mostly for short trips, but had trouble getting over 45 mpg (his was rated 61 in the city). I average 45 with my VW TDI. I hear there was a class-action lawsuit against Toyota because of the low mpgs.

As mentioned, along with the environmental cost of manufacturing the battery, the Prius is not a great savings. But even crazier to me is the Smart Car.

 

[sprocket3]

Two years or so ago, Consumer reports did a "real-world" test on hybrids, gassers and diesels. Apparently, the EPA estimates were based on more constant speeds, no radio or lights. The hybrids got significantly lower mpg than the EPA suggests; gassers got slightly lower than the EPA estimate, and diesels got a bit more than the EPA estimate. The EPA even admitted their estimates were not realistic, but decided to keep them instead of updating them.

Prius owners I know complained about their mpg being much lower than the sticker. One friend in Seattle uses it mostly for short trips, but had trouble getting over 45 mpg (his was rated 61 in the city). I average 45 with my VW TDI. I hear there was a class-action lawsuit against Toyota because of the low mpgs.

As mentioned, along with the environmental cost of manufacturing the battery, the Prius is not a great savings. But even crazier to me is the Smart Car.

I never said they are perfect or the best value. I told my wife it would be better to get a Matrix and put $8000 in the bank for gas. She didn't like that idea much. Ours gets just under 50 in town or highway, but you have to work to get that. Meaning you have to drive a certain way and watch the computer real well. Any car will produce different MPG results with different drivers. I'm sure a lot of idiots buy these and drive real fast then get upset when it only gets 40 MPG.

I looked at Jetta TDIs as well. Very nice car, though she doesn't do much freeway driving which is the best place for the TDI in my book. After owning two Audi cars I'm not sure I would feel confident in the TDI for a long term purchase.

I'm a car junky and the Prius does nothing for me. It's just a cheap method of getting from here to there. Can't really fault the car for that. Lithium mines, coal mines, diamond mines, oil spills? There are costs for everything and the Prius reduced our costs.

 

[Barefoot343]

True, but what really matters is symbology. Driving a prius lets other eco-minded people know that you care about polar bears and baby seals. Having a Obama bumper sticker on it = bonus points. Being eco-minded, it is your duty to chew-out any "ignorant" people you may run across while you live life the correct way. Few things are more satisfying than demonstrating superior knowledge about the environment to the stupid people, with their diesel trucks and children and all.

hahahaha... great post and you are correct on all points. I see the "I am an environmental savior and you are a stupid earth hater" stare everyday so I know exactly what you are saying.

 

[CharonPDX]

You also realize that many conservatives drive them because of the statement it makes for energy independence and weaning off foreign oil, right?

And for those that are interested in such things, it makes a great "SHTF" vehicle: good driving range, good cargo capacity, easy to adapt to allow it to act as a 110/220V generator! (See PriUPS. I have mine with an additional battery that lets me drive solely on battery power for about 15 miles, enough for my daily commute, that cost $2000. With the PriUPS mod, I have a generator that gets me through an eight-hour power outage on less than a gallon of gas, that travels with me automatically.)

 

[sprocket3]

You also realize that many conservatives drive them because of the statement it makes for energy independence and weaning off foreign oil, right?

And for those that are interested in such things, it makes a great "SHTF" vehicle: good driving range, good cargo capacity, easy to adapt to allow it to act as a 110/220V generator! (See PriUPS. I have mine with an additional battery that lets me drive solely on battery power for about 15 miles, enough for my daily commute, that cost $2000. With the PriUPS mod, I have a generator that gets me through an eight-hour power outage on less than a gallon of gas, that travels with me automatically.)

And because we save enough on gas to buy a new handgun every other month. Well actually all fuel savings get burned up when i drive my built Land Cruiser. But that's a whole different story.

 

[rufus]

You also realize that many conservatives drive them because of the statement it makes for energy independence and weaning off foreign oil, right?

Is it the statement that is important or actually doing something about energy independence like, um, drilling here, building pipelines and refineries?

Don't get me wrong, and I don't care what people drive or ride, but I see a lot of folks that like to play both sides of the eco-fence. They scream energy independence but are dead set against building pipelines and oil refineries. Mention drilling and they immediately start bashing Palin, why I don't know. :huh:

 

[CharonPDX]

Is it the statement that is important or actually doing something about energy independence like, um, drilling here, building pipelines and refineries?

Don't get me wrong, and I don't care what people drive or ride, but I see a lot of folks that like to play both sides of the eco-fence. They scream energy independence but are dead set against building pipelines and oil refineries. Mention drilling and they immediately start bashing Palin, why I don't know. :huh:

That's why I said it was largely conservatives that buy them for energy independence. Personally, I'm very much an environmentalist-liberal, but I also support RESPONSIBLE local sourcing. Which to me means more domestic oil, but with strict (and actually enforced) safety and environmental safeguards. It's worse for the environment to have wars in the Middle East over oil than it is to drill responsibly offshore.

 

[SON*OF*LIBERTY]

I work as an electrical technical specialist in the energy field related to "green energy" and "smart grids". I can honestly say that "environmentalism" as it is largely sold to the public is a complete scam.

It is currently being kept alive by mandate and federal interjection.

 

[rufus]

That's why I said it was largely conservatives that buy them for energy independence. Personally, I'm very much an environmentalist-liberal, but I also support RESPONSIBLE local sourcing. Which to me means more domestic oil, but with strict (and actually enforced) safety and environmental safeguards. It's worse for the environment to have wars in the Middle East over oil than it is to drill responsibly offshore.

Sounds good to me.

I'm not aware of anyone who wants to destroy the environment, and all laws/regulations should always be enforced. It's when we start selective enforcement when things go all sideways.

 

[juandelaselva]

.

 

[CharonPDX]

Careful. Some Prius drivers chose them b/c of geopolitical reasons, rather than pink-o-commie-global-warming-propaganda reasons. The issues I have with Priuses (Priae?) is the 'stigma' that goes with them. For a while mine was the only one in Multnomah County (likely all of Oregon) with an NRA sticker on it. Nonetheless, be careful when applying your observations/stereotypes to ALL Prius drivers

BTW, my other rig is a mid 90's Powerstroke F250, (since you judge all men by the car they drive... personally, my standard of measure of manhood is by their ability to hold their liquor (said, of course, in jest)) therefore, my Dick is at the very least as big as yours.

Yours may have been the only one with an NRA sticker, but mine is probably the only one with a SAF sticker. :-D

 

[oasis618]

She kinda seems like an offline troll... in a couple of different ways.

 

[ironmike86]

yup I don't like Prius but my Aunt bought one and it have 200k. The batteries are recycled and reused. The gas saving from her previous Car probally paid for the 1/2 Prius. I'm a 4x4 guy but with the price of gas I need a commuter. I think I wouldn't have been so nice to that bubblegum. And I never thought of the gas saving as $$ to pay for a new gun. I figure any 4 banger would save me $150 -$200 a month in gas. Since I pay ~$400. Every 3-4 months I can but a nice piece. Hmmmm??

 

[pinecenega]

Sorry, this was disproven. The "study" was based on *MANY* false assumptions (among them, that the H2 would be "recycled" after 300,000 miles, and the Prius would be just tossed into a landfill at 100,000. (My Prius is already way past 100K and going strong, there are some Priuses in use as taxi cabs going strong past 300K.) Also, the Prius uses Nickel Metal Hydride batteries, which, yes, one of the original Nickel mines in Canada is a wasteland, but most Nickel these days (ESPECIALLY for use in batteries,) is recycled, and even new-mined Nickel generally comes from "not nearly as bad" mines. In a complete "life cycle analysis" by an independent group, the Prius became "more environmentally friendly" than a Camry at about 70,000 miles.

The "original source is horrendous, therefore the environmentally friendly technology isn't" argument is a red herring. (I've heard someone claim "the electricity used to make windmills came from coal, therefore windmills aren't environmentally friendly," which is a load of bull.)

But, I have to face palm watching this video. That lady just makes *ALL* Prius drivers look bad, in the same way some large-vehicle owners make all of them look bad, or some gun owners make all of them look bad. Yes, I'm an environmentally conscious person. No, I do not yell at pickup truck owners. (If I see a car stopped outside my daughter's school, leaving the engine running for longer than is reasonable (maybe 2 minutes,) I will politely ask them to shut off the engine explaining that leaving an engine idling uses MORE gas than shutting it off, and mentioning the negative health effects of exhaust around children, but I won't swear at them!) Also, I tend to be more lenient on diesel trucks because I see that more people who buy diesel trucks seem to actually use them as more than just oversized sedans. (Plus the fact they can run on biofuel more easily than a gas vehicle - with little way to tell if it is right then or not.)

I don't know much of anything about a Prius. Is a Prius one of the plug in overnight variety? Now a couple of those plug in cars probably doesn't hurt anything. However, the liberal goal is to have millions of them on the road. How many coal or nuke power plants is it going to take to charge these things?

A son of a friend of mine is a NASA engineer. He produced a mathamatical formula that showes that it is impossible to build enough windmills to replace just one dam or a couple coal fired power plants. Not to mention a nuke plant. And, who wants every horizon on land and sea covered over with windmills. I would imagine that a few billion windmills would produce enough friction in the air to really heat up the planet....Think about it.

 

[CharonPDX]

There is a windmill farm in Eastern Oregon that has a capacity of 450 MW. All Oregon wind farms combined (including one nearly complete at 845 MW,) are just under 2 GW.

By comparison, the average power output of a nuclear reactor in the US is just under 1 GW. The only nuclear power reactor in Oregon (which was closed in the '90s,) was 1.13 GW. (So Oregon already has more wind power than we had nuclear.)

The average coal power plant output in the US is 340 MW. The only coal power plant in Oregon generates 550 MW, and is scheduled for shutdown in 2020. Therefore, Oregon already has more wind power in place or scheduled to come online in the next year than we had nuclear and coal combined.

The largest hydroelectric dam in Oregon generates 2.1 GW.

Sorry, but "to replace just one" is absolute nonsense. By 2020, 100% of Oregon's electricity generation will be from renewable resources.

 

[beezer66]

This whole thread makes me glad that I drive a flex fuel vehicle, my old Dodge burns gas and oil.

 

[Nutty4Guns]

There is a windmill farm in Eastern Oregon that has a capacity of 450 MW. All Oregon wind farms combined (including one nearly complete at 845 MW,) are just under 2 GW.

By comparison, the average power output of a nuclear reactor in the US is just under 1 GW. The only nuclear power reactor in Oregon (which was closed in the '90s,) was 1.13 GW. (So Oregon already has more wind power than we had nuclear.)

The average coal power plant output in the US is 340 MW. The only coal power plant in Oregon generates 550 MW, and is scheduled for shutdown in 2020. Therefore, Oregon already has more wind power in place or scheduled to come online in the next year than we had nuclear and coal combined.

The largest hydroelectric dam in Oregon generates 2.1 GW.

Sorry, but "to replace just one" is absolute nonsense. By 2020, 100% of Oregon's electricity generation will be from renewable resources.

You should check out what these "Green" windfarms are doing to the Earth!

Friends of Grande Ronde Valley

 

[Burt Gummer]

About half my neighbors drive a Prius. Never noticed it until a few days ago. Plus a few little Hondas.

They also use electric lawnmovers. I am the bad guy with the loud V8 car, smokey untuned lawnmower, and 4x4. I do notice a look of envy from one of the henpeck husbands as I tear out of the neighborhood. I think he wants his testicles back.

 

[t.huynh]

About half my neighbors drive a Prius. Never noticed it until a few days ago. Plus a few little Hondas.

They also use electric lawnmovers. I am the bad guy with the loud V8 car, smokey untuned lawnmower, and 4x4. I do notice a look of envy from one of the henpeck husbands as I tear out of the neighborhood. I think he wants his testicles back.

The smug levels must be insane where you live.