Prius No Longer Golden Child of Green Motorists
For the past half a decade, the Toyota Prius has been the poster child for the world-elite, being both green and cool. A hybrid-electric vehicle, developed and manufactured by Toyota, has won car of the year in several countries over its short lifetime, and appeared in more movies than Jack Bauer’s 4×4.
But according to a study recently released and conducted between Cardiff University and Clifford Thames an automotive consultancy, the Prius has been relegated to 12th spot in terms of “greenest car”.
It comes as a blow to the Prius, despite continuing sales with a recent increase of 76% in the past year, and making up more than 50% of the total hybrid cars sold in the US.
The study looked not just at emissions, for which the Prius is obviously low on, but on its environmental footprint. This included raw materials used in the construction of the car, and what impact its disposal will make.
In addition, while the Prius is the cleanest car for its size, weight is a factor as well. The Prius is heavier than its petrol reliant cousins, and natrually its footprint is heavier.
The researchers involved in the study believe that the steps being taken to create “ultra-low emissions” cars are going to soon create cars that overtake the Prius in terms of total emissions.
David Riemenschneider, Clifford Thames’ chief executive said that “Conventional technology will overtake the Prius over the next 12 to 18 months, and consumers won’t have to pay a premium for it.”
In my opinion, the Prius was not only an act of green awareness, but a status symbol for being able to afford such a car. They haven’t been cheap!
Recent changes to regulations across the planet, most notably in America, have forced car manufacturers to clamp down on the emissions allowed from one of their cars, and this has – as with many great steps forward in history – forced them to change.
Needless to say, the Prius will still wear the “Green Halo” for years to come.
ENN - Prius A No, No - Peugeot, Citroen And Ford Are All Greener, Says New Study
The Globe and Mail - Rethinking green
GreenOptions Founder Blog - Uses another car company–GM–to analyze the tension between business and environmentalists
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October 2nd, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Interesting…but what ARE the greenest cars? I almost bought a Prius…
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:06 am
I got a Prius back in 2004 and find it to be a very enjoyable car. I remember at the time figuring out that the Toyota Echo was greener overall — getting nearly as good mileage and being much greener to produce and dispose of. However there were two things that swayed me towards the Prius. First, it’s just a much nicer car. All things are a balance and I don’t believe that we’ll make the world a greener place by claiming people have to give up all comfort. Rather, we should focus on using technology to maximize comfort and minimize environmental impact. Second, it was the idea that buying the Prius is a vote for new technology. Hybrids are a stepping stone, but without the success of hybrids, car companies wouldn’t even be interested in producing alternative fuel vehicles for another 50 years. Now they’re all taking it seriously.
In any case, I wish the list of the greenest cars was available, complete with TCO data, pictures, and fun/comfort reviews or ratings. Then people could make informed decisions as to how they want to balance those tradeoffs. The Prius is still a pretty good balance, in my opinion.
Cheers.
October 3rd, 2007 at 3:50 am
A quick swing by google brought up this list of the greenest cars found by the survey in question: http://www.whatcar.com/news-article.aspx?NA=228254
October 3rd, 2007 at 3:57 pm
So the smallest car is the greenest? What happened to comfort etc.
In its size/weight, Prius is still the greenest, though that may change in the future
October 4th, 2007 at 9:59 am
So. Which is number 1 then? Come on, spit it out.
October 4th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
I do not own a Saab as they are generally out of my price range. However, back at the turn of the millenium they were winning awards for a new concept engine that was going to increase fuel efficiency by 30% or more; without compromising performance. It was also going to make better use of the coming “flex fuels”. Sometime between then and now, GM purchased Saab and the engine quit appearing in the press. You can google Saab SVC for some of those old articles, but for now here are two good ones:
http://www.memagazine.org/backissues/membersonly/june00/features/otto/otto.html
http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_0458/article.html
If anyone knows why it fell off of the map, post it here. Thanks.
October 4th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
A Hummer is “Greener!”
http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/editorial/editorial_item.asp?NewsID=188
October 4th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
I followed the link that you provided. Great story and probably quite accurate, although I would like to see the sources. From what I have seen and read, the price of metal alloys has been going crazy for ten or so years. The cause is the ever increasing cost of nickel, which by the way primarily comes from that Canadian mine referenced in the story. Anyone who knows this can understand why it is nearly impossible to justify the capital outlay for a hybrid. The returns just aren’t there.
October 5th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
It isn’t any more difficult to justify the capital outlay of a hybrid than any other car. I bought one because I liked it better than any of the cheaper alternatives, and I assume that is true of all car buyers.
What kind of returns do you expect from a car? A hybrid doesn’t earn money, it simply provides lower operating costs in exchange for a higher purchase cost. I guess you mean that the money saved on gas is less than than the extra capital cost of a hybrid. That’s debatable, and here is my analysis:
Over 150,000 miles, a hybrid that gets 45 mpg will burn 3333 gallons of gas. A conventional car than gets 30 mpg will burn 5000 gallons of gas over the same distance. So a hybrid saves you at least 1666 gallons of gas over its life. How much is 1666 gallons of gas worth? That depends on future prices, but at $3 a gallon, the hybrid will burn $5000 less in gas. So subtract $5000 from the price of the hybrid and compare it to the 30 mpg car, then evaluate all the other features and pick which is the better deal.
This financial analysis will of course vary depending on which cars you are comparing, but at least subtracting the value of the saved gas lets you concentrate on the non-financial factors for preferring one car over another.
October 8th, 2007 at 4:31 am
Yeah you’re right, we typically shell out money for cars based primarily upon our likes and dislikes as opposed to any hard and fast financial analysis. However, I keep hearing about a recommended battery replacement at 100,000 miles for the hybrids. I do not own one so I don’t know if it is true. However, most batteries do falter after 3 to 6 years, which is about the average amount of time necessary for racking up that many miles. Did you factor in the cost of that exercise? How much are the parts and labor for a replacement battery? You have to admit that it is a repair that is unique to the hybrid-drive automobile and a factor worth considering.