If you will review my blog entries, you will see that I reference the history, technology, material science, performance and future of the Prius, which is a commercial product (ware) of Toyota, which is a business.
I will suggest you read the new book, "Snake Oil". I served as an Editor. It will provide you with a massive amount of data about our current situation. I totally agree that we are never going to run out of petroleum, but "Peak" refers to both resource availability and economic viability and Post Peak Petroleum is a proper label for our current status.
Interesting that a Prius owner would take such a position, so I will offer the following for perspective... Tom Brokaw's "Greatest Generation" was indeed great because they wielded the greatest amount of the cheapest energy in human history. The great accomplishments - Hoover Dam (about 5 miles from my offices), ..., the vast majority of the entire U.S. Civil Engineering infrastructure - were all basically the result of this same "unique in all of human history" energy resource opportunity. Most everyone will agree that what blew up the sub-prime mortgage system was the sudden move in interest rates. The Fed Funds interest rate went from 1% (basically free money) to 5.5% over the course of 2 years. A nation's interest rate is a mere image of its inflation rate. In 2004 the inflation rate in the U.S. was 1%, but by 2006 the rate was almost 6%. What drove that increase in inflation? One factor - one component in the U.S. CPI; Energy. Energy inflation was running at 35% as petroleum prices more than doubled. The sub-prime mortgage crisis was not the cause of the Recession, it was only a high-level symptom. The cause of the Recession was an energy shock - twice as large as the OPEC Shock of the 1970's. While it can be argued that deregulated speculation significantly contributed to the higher cost of petroleum, speculation legislatively became part of the equation - good or bad - as our reality. Petroleum has been the largest traded commodity in the world for almost 100 years so even a small change in price has a rippling and compounding impact on world GDP and a large change will have a staggering and long term effect on world GDP. The current Recession is the most severe compared to past Recessions simply because the 2008 petroleum peak price was the historic record high. The looming “double dip” or a full blown Depression will also be the result of the continued soaring petroleum prices. Though the price of petroleum dropped from its 2008 $147 barrel peak down to the high $40’s, trading quickly recovered to the low $90’s and again peaked over $110. Respected petroleum analysts are projecting a return to a $100+ barrel price within the coming months and the impact this will have to the already weak global economies will not have been experienced since the Great Depression. There is no legislative policy, no change in party control and certainly no government cash bailout to flailing industries that will solve our current economic problems. We continue to live (granted - now at a more humble level) in a petroleum economy. The Peak Cost of Petroleum effects your life and all those you care about in 1,000 ways everyday. Just thought you might like to understand how best to eliminate this dependency.
I don't think so in the least. The Prius may still be the mandatory car for certain types of eco-warriors, but it is much more mainstream these days. People are buying them for....get this.....only saving money on fuel. I know. Crazy, isn't it. Peak oil is one of an entire field full of crazy eco-thoughts. I've never bought in to the crazy theories of either extreme. Have a great day, and good luck drumming up business.
Well if the cost of operating a vehicle is your main concern, then why would you be driving a Prius? Edmunds has published several articles over recent years with the statistics for vehicle price recovery between diesel, hybrid and EV technologies compared to the traditional gasoline powered version of the same or similar vehicle. Typically, the purchase price of a diesel powered vehicle will be recouped in 2.5 years over a gasoline powered car, 7-9 years for a hybrid and literally never (far beyond the life-cycle of the car) for an EV (as the result of the higher purchase price and the $9K-$28K battery replacement cost). So while the diesel version is roughly $1,500-$2,500 more expensive to purchase (small to mid-sized cars), once you have owned the vehicle for 2.5 years and if your driving habits are in-line with national averages, the diesel model becomes less expensive to own and operate than the gasoline version. For those people who own and drive a vehicle for more than 5 years, a diesel powered vehicle is an incredible bargain - the lowest cost/mile in the market. Many diesel owners choose to drive their vehicles for more than 10 years as the typical diesel engine life-cycle is 300,000-500,000 miles. Longevity of a vehicle trumps virtually all other forms of "Green" and the combination of lower emissions than both a comparable gasoline and hybrid vehicle with this longer life cycle makes advanced diesel the environmentally friendly choice. The new VW Passat TDI is about 1/2 the cost per mile of a gasoline powered Prius at about the 200K mile mark. Since a well cared for diesel will run to 300K-500K without major expense, you can probably get the cost per mile to be about 1/4th the cost of a Prius. There are 2 diesel Prius prototypes being tested today so our Toyota engineering friends tell us. We are looking forward to adding the Prius to our supported Green Car list in the coming years. Here is a good source for additional information about how to save $$ operating a car... Google: KBB total-cost-of-ownership
As a VW TDI owner I can say the numbers do not add up. The cost of maintance of a VW automatic is high. Reading the VW forums you we see "If you do your own work" to keep the cost down. The DSG transmission requires a $600 to $800 flush every 40k miles. The high cost of diesel fuel. The Passat is the same price as a Prius. SCH-I535 ? 2
I think humanity reached peak intelligence quite some time ago. If efficiency had anything to do with most people's purchase decisions, we'd be living in a very different world.
Like white blood cells engulfing a foreign invader, I find it amusing how the same scenario plays out here. Guy posts an argument with data both for and against the "peak efficiency" of the Prius, thus making the argument a rational one. Next he is ridiculed because his rational argument goes against the grain of the "Prius is the awesomest" mentality around here. This thread amuses me, please continue.
The omission of information does make fodder for great debates. Avoiding that data contributes to more participation. But none of it is constructive though. Notice how the plug isn't addressed?
A debate assumes both sides are making a rational argument. That really isn't the case here. The intensity of ones conviction that a hypothesis is true has no bearing on whether it is true or not. Saying the "Prius is awesome because it is and because you don't think so you are (insert insult here)" doesn't make a rational argument.
There is IQ, which is often undermined by EQ (Emotional Intelligence) The craving for status, performance, power on the EQ side of many drivers overrides the desire for efficiency (IQ.) For years, automakers have played into baser drives....this is a classic ad playing into it. BTW, the ad was originally titled and changed from Restore your Manhood.
