Is a Hummer cleaner than a Prius?

Galway First ^ | Monday, 30 April 2007 | JOE TONER

[DogByte6RER]

Is a Hummer cleaner than a Prius?

Monday, 30 April 2007

BY JOE TONER

You’ve often heard it, be you an ordinary “joe-soap” king, queen or pope; we are all only dust and it’s to dust we’ll go. A recent report, in the USA, came up with a hypothesis on the great hybrid versus petrol car debate on a dust to dust premise. Before you go any further I must remind you of how great they are at producing report after report. I sometimes wonder if anyone, least of all themselves, listens. Sure, aren’t they great ones for rubbishing what they don’t agree with and promoting what they support on the sometimes flimsiest of evidence. Anyway, I digress.

A report produced by CNW Marketing Research in Bandon, Oregon looked at the dust to dust costs between the favoured Hollywood transport, the Toyota Prius and the vehicle of choice by the Terminator, aka Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Hummer Jeep – very familiar to military enthusiasts and fans of CSI Miami.

Much of the current debate centres on the fuel efficiency of the hybrid against the more mainstream petrol or diesel equivalents. The CNW report looks at the total costs from creation to destruction of a number of vehicles and proposes that the Hummer (H3) is cheaper, costing USD$1.31 cents per mile less to run than the Toyota Prius. While it is a headliner grabber it doesn’t tell the full story. For instance, the costs are based on the H3 having a service life of over 200,000 miles and the Prius only 100,000 miles – hardly a fair comparison.

While, as in any report, we can always find reason to reject its findings it does open up discussion on the whole total cost of the products we buy. We tend to focus on the energy implications of the product whilst in our tenure, mainly the fuel costs but also the service and maintenance expense.

When rating the energy consumption of an individual, group, community, or country, scientists talk about a “carbon footprint”. That is how much carbon will be emitted into the atmosphere, directly or indirectly, through the usage of products and services. How big is your footprint?

Do we give enough thought to the energy consumed in the production and transportation of our finished goods? How “Green” is the organic lettuce in your local shop? It may have been grown on the Continent and being flown/driven to the shop. Compare the energy usage to do that compared to the product grown locally, even if an amount of energy was used to heat the glasshouse.

I’m not about to start on a crusade promoting hybrid vs petrol vs hydrogen vs electric cars as they all have their merits and this is certainly no ad for the Green party. We must, though, challenge manufacturers to produce products that we can continue to enjoy and yet minimise the environmental impact. None of us will easily surrender the freedom, independence, convenience, and the satisfied smile that the car brings.

[DogByte6RER]

Even if gas prices hit $5 per gallon, I'll still love my H2!

[DogByte6RER]

[Names Ash Housewares]

I love these kinds of reports.

Proves the hybrids is nothing but hype.

All your doing when buying one is supporting an idea and R&D. Your not doing a damn thing to “save the planet” or much else.

Hyrbrids are going to be nothing but a transitional footnote in automotive history. Mark my words.

[Wiseghy]

My understanding is the service life of 100K for Prius and other hybrids has been largely discredited. The battery packs last for 150k at least, then cost only a few thousand or so to replace.

[Badeye]

‘Even if gas prices hit $5 per gallon, I’ll still love my
H2!’

Same opinion here. I LOVE my H2. Its simply the best handling, best riding MACHINE I’ve ever owned.

I’ve driven it to upstate New York, and down to Lake Whitney in Texas. There is no vehicle I’ve found (and I’ve owned every American SUV type vehicle there is excluding Jeep products) thats better for long distance driving, comfort, or reliability - which is a direct contrast to Consumer Reports ‘ratings’ which after reading I’ve realized is politically based. (It has to be, I own one and none of the ‘negatives’ they cite have come up at all).

Its a lease, better tax wise for us, but even with the increased fuel costs since I got it (2005) I’m still leaning towards a new H2, as opposed to the H3.

‘Like Nothing Else’ is the single most accurate marketing slogan I’ve ever personally experienced, in short.

[HEY4QDEMS]

Is a Hummer cleaner than a Prius?

Maybe not, but it sure feels better.

[domenad]

Actually, the Prius does have a 100k service life - before the batteries need to be replaced. Once you have to plunk down a cool 5k for a new battery pack, I think the dollars/mile comparison gets even worse for Toyota.

[r9etb]

The battery packs last for 150k at least, then cost only a few thousand or so to replace.

Yeah ... ONLY a few thousand or so....

[DogByte6RER]

Dittos here. Here are a few pics of my H2 decked out for last year's 4th of July Parade. I pulled a "float" for two of our local Republican clubs as a parade entry...

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

The break even point on a Prius is over 7 years.

Tagline bump

[Badeye]

Nice. Very very nice. And I understand why you are smiling. I smile every time I get in, and occasionally chuckle while driving mine.

People don’t realize the turn radius is amazingly tight, better than most soccer mom mini vans, for example. And the ride....wow.

I have most of the bells and whistles on my H2. Rolling map system, XM, all seats heated, etc etc etc. Its very hard to drive the wife’s car at this point (late model Avalon, fine care...but its like driving a go cart it seems so low to the ground in comparision).

Being able to see twenty sets of taillights ahead is also something I’ve come to rely on.

[1FreeAmerican]

Try putting 5 guy’s - who are all 6’ plus - and their bicycles INSIDE your H2. No way. MY 1995 GMC Suburban has alot more comfort, leg room, useable cargo space, and power - a 400hp L7 motor.

[JamesP81]

Even if gas prices hit $5 per gallon, I'll still love my H2!

I'm going to buy myself a C4 Corvette, regardless of gas. Of course, since I'll still be driving a rice burner to work, this is feasible, but still...

[JamesP81]

Hyrbrids are going to be nothing but a transitional footnote in automotive history. Mark my words.

Dead on correct, my FRiend. They'll go by the wayside once electric cars are perfected or some kind of hydrogen type vehicle becomes economically feasible.

[1FreeAmerican]

And if you want a REAL vehicle try my 2006 F-250 4door with a turbo-charged deisel. Best damn truck I’ve ever owned.

[SVTCobra03]

The 2008 H2 will have a 6.2L 393hp V8.

[JamesP81]

I’ve driven it to upstate New York, and down to Lake Whitney in Texas. There is no vehicle I’ve found (and I’ve owned every American SUV type vehicle there is excluding Jeep products) thats better for long distance driving, comfort, or reliability - which is a direct contrast to Consumer Reports ‘ratings’ which after reading I’ve realized is politically based. (It has to be, I own one and none of the ‘negatives’ they cite have come up at all).

There's some truths that consumer reports simply doesn't take into account. First of all, CR is politically motivated. They hate anything domestic, or not perceived as "Green". You can tell with the incredulous voice of their article writers when they, with great distaste, report that the highest rated car for consumer satisfaction in 2005 (I think; it could've been 2006) was the C6 Corvette.

Car companies do different things better. Granted, I think most import companies have an edge against domestics in compact cars and family sedans. However, I think the domestic makers have a significant leg up in trucks (which includes SUVs) and a huge leg up in sports cars over imports. I once had a 1988 Pontiac Grand Prix that had been severely abused by its previous owner and carried the bad reputation of 80s GM products. Nevertheless, I still squeezed 140k miles of it before it became untenable. Frankly, it should've been in a junk yard when I bought it (that's what you get when you buy a car for $1,000) but it continued to hold up even after the poor treatment it received. The same year vehicle was noted for its low cost and for going about 200k miles before it became more trouble than it was worth. And it was darned fun to drive too.

Most vehicles whether Japanese, Korean, or American, will last pretty well if you take good care of them. You can abuse and destroy anything. The one exception I list is European cars. The newest crop of Mercedes and Volkswagens are notorious for poor build quality. My friend's fiance had a VW New Beetle that went to crap at a bare 98k miles, and she had taken good care of it.

[Badeye]

“And if you want a REAL vehicle try my 2006 F-250 4door with a turbo-charged deisel. Best damn truck I’ve ever owned.”

Quite a few of my neighbors own one, or a similiar sized pickup. Your getting about the same mpg I get in the H2 I suspect. They all swear by the F-250 and F-350

[DogByte6RER]

Well...that’s my friend smiling in the photo. He is our GOP club prez and I think he’s happy because he is riding shotgun in the parade. I’m on the starboard side of this “boat” wearing the patriotic shirt.

Anyways...mine is a ‘03.

No rolling map system or XM. It is the adventure/luxury package though with leather interior, air compressor and lots of other amenities. My wife insisted on having a DVD player installed too.

I also improved the HP and performance by adding a Corsa cat back exhaust system (the engine has the soft rumble of a tiger) and a cold air induction intake. It runs at about 350 HP now.

You are so right about the turn radius. The vehicle is such a pleasure to drive. I feel no guilt about it whatsoever. In fact, I have magnetic bumper stickers on the bumpers that read things like “Stop Global Whining” and “My SUV Loves Iraqi Oil” AND “My SUV Can Beat Up Your Prius”

You can find some of these snarky bumper stickers at:

http://www.cafepress.com/rightwingstuff/133383

Oh yeah...it was my wife who insisted that we purchase a H2 back in 2003. I’m glad I listened to her. My wife is so cool.

[No.6]

“Proves the hybrids is nothing but hype.”

I hate these kind of reports. The original report was debunked in about 50 posts here (this ‘research’ made the assumption that a Prius self-destructs at 100,001 miles, oops) but undeterred a second wave of articles arrives citing the first but failing to mention any shortcomings.

This is the sort of **** the libs usually pull on anti-gun issues. Some dweeb will publish a hacked-up ‘study’ which is easily torn apart, but then 40 newspapers will run stories calling for gun control, all citing the ‘study’ as if it were the proven law of science.

If you want to zing hybrids, a simple cost-benefit analysis suffices (as in: how long does it take to recoup the extra cost of the hybrid engine). It’s not necessary to resort to bad science and logic.

You’re right about hybrids being transitional though. I think they’re a means for car companies to work on electric tech. Eventually they’ll go with a single electric motor which may be powered by a large battery or by very efficient gasoline to electric conversion, IMO.