Prius still tops in green rankings among similarly sized cars (including plugins)

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by usbseawolf2000, Dec 15, 2010.

  1. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    [​IMG]

    by John DeCicco

    With the launch of the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, the race along the green track is now fully joined for gasoline versus the grid.

    The Chevy Volt’s eRating of 160 puts the plug-in hybrid easily ahead of most cars. The all-electric Nissan Leaf’s eRating of 193 moves it beyond the reach of the most fuel-efficient internal combustion compacts and even subcompacts, which score in the 120-130 range.

    But what about grid-free hybrid drive? As it turns out, the Toyota Prius gets an AutoEcoRating of 203, putting it well ahead of the pack in terms of environmental friendliness.

    Electric cars look great compared to ordinary gasoline cars. But in an apples-to-apples comparison that tallies pollution from the tailpipe to refineries and power plants and beyond, the eco-advantage of highly efficient hybrid drive, as epitomized by the Prius, still shines.

    Add it all up and the Toyota Prius pollutes 5% less than the Nissan Leaf and 21% less than the Chevy Volt.

    More detail juicy info here.
     
    #1 usbseawolf2000, Dec 15, 2010
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  2. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    I'm a little surprised as I thought the well to wheels efficiency of a BEV cannot be beat by a hybrid. Or maybe that's only very well designed BEV's.
     
    #2 cycledrum, Dec 15, 2010
  3. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    It depends largely on how electricity is generated. Since eRating uses EPA numbers, it is only valid in the US.
     
    #3 usbseawolf2000, Dec 16, 2010
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  4. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Tesla roadster beats Prius in term of CO2 output. A similarly sized Nissan Leaf comes very close to the Prius. Electricity should get cleaner so we'll see how things look once the government release updated data in a few years.

    [​IMG]

    Source
     
    #4 usbseawolf2000, Dec 16, 2010
  5. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    I would like to see more specifics on the methods used, although the end results are ballpark for what other research publications are coming up with, and what common sense suggests.

    However, using average domestic central power plant emissions is a very suspect place to start calculations, and ULEV/PZEV has nothing to do with CO2 intensity of the different cars.

    Addendum: The approach was published in 1999 in the Journal of Industrial Ecology. I have never heard of this journal, but that does not mean a whole lot. Anybody know what its standing is in general ?
     
    #5 SageBrush, Dec 16, 2010
  6. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    According to the eRating background page, this latest system is still being published. Previous systems he developed:

    - Yahoo! Autos green rating system
    - ACEEE’s Green Book is still in use at www.greenercars.com
     
    #6 usbseawolf2000, Dec 16, 2010
  7. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    This graphic of lifecycle emissions was published by Toyota a couple of years ago. Note that the lifecycle assumes only 62k miles total use before disposal, which is certainly much less than actual in the US.
     

    Attached Files:

    #7 SageBrush, Dec 16, 2010
  8. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Right, it only shows the scale to compare with a non-hybrid. It doesn't give the emission in tons to compare it with eRating.
     
    #8 usbseawolf2000, Dec 16, 2010
  9. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Dennis, I posted it to show that in the case of the Prius, the lifecycle contribution of CO2 from processing and combustion dwarfs the other factors. Your graphic seems to imply the reverse, which is what I am questioning.

    I have read in many other WtW analyses that well-to-tank expends about 20% of the original energy content of oil.
     
    #9 SageBrush, Dec 16, 2010
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