— from Tom Owens —
While driving around the island, I have noticed lots of Prius vehicles. The owners seem to have their noses pointed slightly upward. Perhaps the driver’s seat is designed to lean back a bit. I have also seen a VW TDI with a big arrow on the back pointing to the exhaust and a sign saying “Prius Repellent.” I drive a TDI but I would be afraid to put such a sign on my car. Those Prius drivers are pretty serious people.
Well, when you think about it, these folks have good reason to be proud of their concern for the environment. A Prius (or any hybrid car) is just like all gas guzzlers with two great exceptions. When a Prius needs to brake, it recovers some of that energy and puts it back into the battery. When I brake, I use all that energy to heat up the brake pads and it is gone forever. When that Prius gets stuck at one of those interminable stop lights, its engine shuts off. Mine sits there and burns yet more fuel which is totally wasted.
So we are all really fortunate to have those Prius drivers out there on our roads. They are using less gasoline which should put a tiny bit of downward pressure on gas prices. Our fuel costs are not as high as they would have been. More importantly though is their contribution to reducing CO2 released into the environment. I think they deserve the break they are getting by not paying so much highway fund tax.
Thank you Prius drivers and keep those head tilted back. You have a right to be proud!
Driving new cars like a Prius makes us think that we are saving energy but no one ever takes into consideration the amount of energy it takes to make that new car. Drive your old noisy gas guzzling cars to save emissions.
There is also the realities of personal economics. I remember when OPALCO bought their new all electric Leaf and they were raving about its efficiencies. At the time we were driving an early 90’s Subaru. So I did the math and sure enough the Leaf would save us money, after 22 years of ownership, assuming we never changed the battery pack. (Yes, I know, the Subaru would also required ever increasing maintenance.) I’ve not done the math on a Prius, but my guess is that it too would have a long payback period.
I guess the old adage is true, if you want economy you’d better be prepare to pay for it.
I agree with Tom: praise to those who replace their dead car with one which hurts the environment the least.
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2015/06/heavy-duty-hybrids-cleaner-emissions-when-picking-up-the-trash/