InCommando wrote:
805gregg wrote:
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Toyota sold 180,000 Prius in the US last year up from 130,000 because of fuel prices.
I don't think that is true at all. Numerous articles have been posted about the fact you could buy a Corolla with the same equipment for far less money & it would take you 6-7 years of Prius ownership before the fuel savings would "break even" over a Corolla. And these figures are actually only true if you were buying a new car, anyway. The vast majority who would buy a Prius "because of fuel prices" when they would not be buying a new car anyway are idiots as it would take a decade or more to recover the purchase price of the Prius. I am sure that sitting down with even the often fictional hybrid EPA figures ( especially the early fugures ) & your own current mileage would prove this. Even in my KJ, it would take nearly 10 years to cover the cost of the Prius if I were to buy a Prius "because of fuel prices."
Techies & people wanting to present a certain image are buying the Prius, from what I have seen. I'll bet Toyota's own demographics would prove this out. I am also certain that people who cannot afford gas are also not in a position to buy a Prius.
The Prius marketing pitch may be that it will save you gas money & that is true, but only because it is switching the gas money from fuel costs to purchase price. Sheeple are easy to herd.
Let's go spend $20,000 dollars to save a few bucks at the pump!!!
I've never really understood why the tree huggers have embraced hybrids. There is only a certain amount of petroleum on planet Eart and every last drop of it will be used, whether someone uses it in a 60mpg hybrid or someone uses it in their 8mpg SUV. That set amount of petroleum will release a set amount of greenhouse gases when combusted. It's much better for the environment to use up all the petroleum, force someone to come up with a new, clean energy source, and let the planet's natural processes start cleaning up the mess.
Some studies show hybrids are worse for the environment because of the heavy metals in their batteries. The metals are mined in Canada, shipped to Europe for processing, then to Asia for production and then back to North America as a finished product. You think they're shipped in hybrid boats?
The only reason to by a hybrid is for the smug factor.
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