HYBRID TECHNOLOGY: No matter what you say the Toyota Prius is still GREEN

Plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius + solar panel attached to the roof + a bigger battery in the trunk – rhetoric = a versatile car that gets 100 mpg.

I doubt anyone who criticizes a Toyota Prius drives a 1994 Geo Metro XFi. Arguments strongly criticizing the Toyota Prius have always been dubious and sometimes bluntly wrong (like the study that claimed the Hummer does less environmental damage than the Toyota Prius). Even road tests that put a Toyota Prius against a diesel engine car are somewhat unconvincing, since the results do not necessarily put the Toyota Prius as a total loser. The Toyota Prius is still more efficient under city and high volume traffic conditions, and it isn’t a bad performer under highway-type driving conditions either. Furthermore, given that Homo sapiens is officially an urban species, city-like driving conditions are becoming more common.

Certain companies, conservative think tanks (unfortunately, it seems like anyone or anything can be considered a think tank), and pundits with a particular agenda have written and released most of the highly negative reports or claims that I have seen. However, I want to see legitimate science on the issue. “I want you to show me the receipts Diane, Show Me The Receipts!”

For example, the controversial CNW Marketing Research, Inc., made false claims and tried to pass these claims off as science. The “think tank” claimed a Hummer could run for more than 300K while a Toyota Prius barely lived beyond 100K. Some bloggers and members of the media used the report to unfairly criticize the Toyota Prius. However, the report turned out to be flawed. For example, Ford Escape hybrid taxis running in NYC have surpassed 175K miles of service while saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel costs, and other hybrid taxicabs are hitting the 200K and 300K-mile mark and beyond—without battery replacement being an issue. Additionally, like all car batteries, a recycling program exists for hybrid car batteries via a bounty.

Certainly, the Toyota Prius isn’t perfect or infallible, but the Prius does represent something beyond the inefficiency we live amongst at the moment. The Toyota Prius sends a political statement about the environment and rising energy prices. Cynics claim that Toyota Prius drivers are snobs or ill-informed environmentalists. However, the exact opposite is true. I believe that hybrid technology will continue to evolve more efficiently thanks to early adopters of the technology and Toyota’s ingenuity.

Additionally, the versatility and utility (i.e., solar integration) of the Prius has been known for some time. Hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius are versatile and can be integrated with solar systems, used as a generator for your home and can be converted into a PHEV now. Versatility fights economic waste and it is what markets appreciate. The early adopters of hybrid technology are supporting an evolving market for better hybrids, more efficient cars, and new technologies.

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