I guess you can't believe your eyes then when your streams turn red from pollution in Sudbury.
Nickel Tailings # 34 Sudbury, Ontario
Burtynsky, Tailings 33 Sudbury, Ont
Posted on 10/20/2010 5:19:04 AM PDT by Lockbox
The dirty side of Toyota Prius
The Toyota Prius is among the greenest cars to operate. But manufacturing the famous gasoline-electric hybrid can be a dirty business.
Toyota studied the car's total environmental impact from factory to junkyard.
Not surprisingly, the fuel-efficient Prius was better than average in its class of vehicles in lifetime emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide, according to Toyota.
But it was slightly worse than average in emissions of nonmethane hydrocarbons and particulate matter. Toyota says this is because producing hybrid-only parts such as motors, inverters and nickel-metal hydride batteries consumes more energy and creates more emissions.
In fact, when looking at the "materials manufacturing" phase of the car's life cycle, the Prius was worse than the class average across all five emissions categories.
Toyota said it conducted life cycle emissions assessments on eight vehicle series last year and used the results to help redesign such models as the Prius, Lexus RX 450h and HS 250h and such Japan-market vehicles as the Wish minivan and Mark X sedan.
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101018/OEM01/310189979#ixzz12trBMdoe
The part that looked like crap was the non-metal fascia. The sad thing is, the difference in price was only about $60. It shouldn’t have been a big deal for them, as they would have been out $77 instead of $17 (my deductible was $1,000 and the total cost to repair it was $1,017). So, the difference they saved cost them ten times to correct. The cost of the second bumper, paint and labor to fix came to about $600 to fix.
No, I rolled an accountant and took his! ;-)
Re-reading my rant — her Toyota dealer was insisting that she rotate those tires every 5000 miles. That is, until her father talked sense into her.
The service station I went to in NC rotated my tires on every oil change - free (I'd bought the tires there, and it was part of the warranty).
I know a LOT of folks who rotate every ~5-6k miles.
Driving libs nuts is my reward!
Thanks for the kind thoughts.
You drive carefully, too!
I hear you. But, I have visited this shop on 3 occasions and gotten a look at multiple other cars he’s working on — all high end restorations — and his work is superb. Plus his partner in the business (leather interiors) has done work for us before; and it has been supurb.
And I have to say that when this man approached my car from the front, and he immediately identified it as a “DHS”; I was more than impressed. When I bought the car, I searched over 3 states for a DHS and had a difficult time finding one, much less a Cadillac salesman who even knew what I was talking about. (A DHS was a particular trim, option, and gearing combination for the DeVille no longer offered by Cadillac.)
This craftsman identified my model instantly. I can attest that you can see more than 1000 Devilles on the road for every DHS. There is something different about the position of the turning, or the fog lights on a DHS in the front. I didn’t even know that, and I’ve been driving this car for more than 5 years and thought I knew every detail. I’m hoping we’ll be pleased with the finished product. The examples of his work in his shop and parked outside are breathtaking.
It costs about $1000 to have the bumper fixed at Cadillac. (I’ve done one before, but the insurance paid for most of that.) We already have all the extra parts — the covers for underneath (brand new), side cornering lights, etc. because my husband was going to try fixing this bumper himself. After cleaning and adjusting the shell, he has decided that it is beyond repair.
My question: Who designs a bumper that cannot withstand a gentle tap when pulling into a parking spot? I’m not the only one who has had one of these bumpers crack. As far as I know, they are still making them the same way. The problem seems to happen in the winter when you are pulling straight into a freshly plowed parking space. The snow is white, the sun is glaring, the car is white, the plastic is britle. It is hard to tell how close you are to the snow bank. One tap and you have a $1000 repair! Otherwise, I love this car.
Before I bought this Cadillac, I drove 2 Chrysler LHSs and several Pontiac Bonnevilles. I never cracked a bumper. As I remember, the Chryslers had a strip of chrome across the center of the part of the bumper that protruded the most. I don’t remember the Pontiacs at all, except that they were red.
My Cadillac is one of the models with no hood ornament, so in a white car, approaching a white snow bank, on a sunny day, it is hard to tell where the front of the car ends. It just fades into the scene. LOL.
Toyota doesn’t do ANYTHING for free, if my daughter’s experience is an example. Actually I should say my daughters’ experiences. Both daughters drive Sienas. The second one hasn’t had quite as hard a time, but her car is 4 years newer too; and she lives in another part of the country. She’s also a tougher customer.
Turn your headlights on. When you cannot see a distinct reflection of them on the snow in front of you, stop. I got used to automatic headlights coming on when I entered the garage - granted, it's dark in the garage, but when you no longer see the bright light reflected back at you, it's time to stop (usually about a foot or so away from hitting anything). I've found it works the same in daylight in parking where I work, as the spot where I park is up against a solid barrier.
Yeah, but did you get the red one, too? And the spare?
Ankle-protector holsters are the only way to go, these days, what with the hooligans trying to take our pencils.
That's pretty much the standard I use - no more than 7,500 miles.
I have 2 Priuses (Prii?). I got the first one for its “gadget factor” and the economy to ME of driving it. It has plenty of room, better performance than you might think, and flawless reliability. My 2005 Prius now has about 150K miles on it. I have had NO brake work done on it (other than adjusting the parking brake), and I just replaced the auxiliary battery (the one like every car has). The hybrid battery is still going strong, and as far as I know, except for a few hybrid batteries that were defective at manufacture, no hybrid batteries have “worn out.” Based upon the economy and reliability of the old Prius I bought another in 2008. Both have performed flawlessly. I only wish that there was good hybrid car manufactured by a domestic company that I trust.
Well, I’ve never hit the snow bank. It’s my husband every time. He’s probably just distracted. And the lights are always on when the engine is running and we’re in gear — can’t say that I’ve ever noticed them reflecting on the snow. I’ll be sure to check the next time it snows and we have enough accumulation to provide a barrier!
I nag him now when he is pulling in about stopping a little short. Hopefully he’s learned his lesson. LOL.
The funny thing is that we had those 2 LHSs. They had this huge engine compartment with the nose of that car hanging way over the front wheels. I’d pull into a space and advance until the front tires just bumped the curb, get out, and find that the front of my car was almost completly covering the sidewalk! I never cracked that bumper, although you’d think that I would at some point in over 200,000 miles. (We drove both of those cars that far — in fact we still have one of them — 229,000 mi. Fin, fine cars, if you ignore the transmissions that had to be replaced every 60,000 mi.) In fact, if I could have found a used LHS with about 30,000 mi. on it, I never would have bought the Caddy. Somebody who works at McDonalds at night in the next town is driving a twin to my former LHS — I’ve often thought to ask if they want to sell it.
The Magnuson - Moss act forbids dealers to void warranties due to having 3000k services or any other services done by non dealers.
Interesting. Tell that to the NY Toyota dealers. I’ll tell my daughter.
We have always had very good luck with warranties on any car that we have ever owned. The dealers stand behind them — even in bizarre circumstances. I always thought it is because my husband in an engineer and knows how to talk to them He doesn’t threaten — just questions.
Last year Cadillac furnished and installed an entirely new engine in my 2003 DHS. My husband heard a knock on occasion when starting in the morning (a cold morning because we live in WI). He questioned our dealer about it who could never identify it. Finally, he took the car to the dealer on a Sunday night and left it. He was there bright and early Monday morning and brought the service manager out to the lot to start the car in his presence.
Sure enough, they both heard the knock. The service manager looked up the VIN# and sure enough there was a recall on that engine. The pistons had been made a fraction too long and they hit the end of the cylindar when the engine was below a certain temp. It never would have bothered anyone in Florida, TX, or CA. But, it was a problem in WI and caused a certain amount of wear.
The dealer replaced the whole engine, so I really have only about 20,000 miles on my 119,000 mile car. As you can see, this car was WAY out of warranty and had been purchased used.
We’ve had the same kind of service with a Pontiac and with our Chryslers. Talk nice (sometimes you have to go up the line to Detroit) and the American dealers stand behind their products.
My wife bought a Mercury Mariner Hybrid solely because of gas mileage. On a recent 1,000 mile trip we averaged 31 mpg and in her daily commute she typically gets 36 mpg. Her mileage is quite comparable to my Mazda 3, but offers a whole lot more room and comfort. She recently looked at more luxury hybrids was surprised that the mileage in many was little better than the standard models. Do the hybrids have problems...sure. For example gas mileage drops off about 20% in temperatures below freezing. The question of what happens when the hybrid battery needs replacement or ultimately disposal is another issue. However the technology does work, delivers better than average gas mileage and in nearly 60,000 miles has been trouble free.
lol
not anymore. It’s the toyotas that have all the problems. Guess you aren’t keeping up. The president of the toyota even apologized for making such crappy cars.
I guess my car hasn’t gotten the memo...it is running just fine.
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