Hey I've been looking to buy a Prius III for some time now and I was pretty decided until I talked to a friend about the car. He showed me a video from the British show Top Gear where Jeremy Clarkson explained how it was worse for the environment than a land rover because of the process that goes into making the batteries. I've been looking to prove my friend wrong (along with that fat ugly British dude) so I thought I'd join the forum. Could this really be true?
Completely false. Start your education here: http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-hybrid-ev-alt-fuel-news/30974-prius-vs-hummer-exploding-myth.html http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/26050-prius-myths-their-rebuttals.html http://www.rmi.org/rmi/Library%2FT07-01_AssumptionsPriusHummer http://www.hybridcars.com/battery-toxicity.html http://css.snre.umich.edu/css_doc/CSS01-07.pdf
Great list Justin--too bad some people take an entertainment program like Top Gear seriously as a factual source, fortunately most people are smart enough to look elsewhere for facts, like the OP.
Thanks, Evan. It is unfortunate that most people just take in the opinions without fact checking. At least there is that segment of the population that will actually go searching for facts. I just realized I said the same thing as you. Ahh well. lol
While it IS true that if you never drove your Prius, it would be worse than some econobox made of recycled beer cans, it really does use way less of the world's petroleum. I am saving over 600 gallons/60 fillups a year . Driving 30,000 miles a year, I visit the gas station once a week less than before. Here is an different list of why you may not want a Prius, see if any apply to you. http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/94450-considering-prius.html#post1334003 BTW, I bet you will be just as fast but far less furious if you drive a Prius properly.
As much as I like Top Gear (since I treat it as an entertainment show) I would have liked it better if Jeremy Clarkson, after driving a Prius like a bat out of hell and getting 17 mpg, then drove it in normal traffic with the M3 sedan following again, and comparing mpg's. I know I would have shown about 50 mpg, while the M3 would have shown 20 mpg. After all, he did make the assertion that it was HOW you drive the car, so he should have tried more than one way of driving the car than around his track flat out.
This weekend I raced through the hills doing 75-80mph; cornering at the limits of my suspension on my way from Woodland to Clear Lake and only got 36mpg for the trip of approx. 160 miles. My car normally gets 43-46mpg if I drive conservatively on these 17" wheels. 55mpg on the 15s.
This is why the combination of entertainment and misinformation is dangerous. So easy to follow with a dose of humor and the misleading information is digested. 17 MPG is irresponsibly impossible. It'll take a few hours of research and reading to realize that the information from the show is garbage. Most people will not bother like the OP took time to post the question here.
that's the one problem with the brits. they all drive those land rovers and they think they are the best vehicles on the planet. but then, they don't much care about climate change.
Thanks guys, knew I could count on you. This takes way less of the worry out of buying one of these things to me and I can't wait to see what my friends gonna say when I tell him some of this
It's ridiculous that Top Gear is such a widely watched show all over the world but many of their assertions and "reviews" have little to no basis in fact. Unfortunately, they were just regurgitating the thoroughly debunked CNW junk science that still refuses to die. Admittedly, some of their segments are amusing. Besides the links F8L pointed to, also see Environmental - Prius Wiki.
