Bush the Hybrid-Hater

From the Hartford Advocate:

Eject Bush - May 6, 2004 For a country that wants cleaner air and cheaper driving costs, hybrid cars seem like a natch. Running mostly on electricity, they burn little gas and make little pollution. A year ago, though, hybrids were a tough sell. Now, all of a sudden, there's a long waiting list to buy a hybrid Toyota Prius. And George W. Bush is partly to blame. Before you dismiss that as knee-jerk liberal exhaust fumes, check this out: A major reason for the Prius' new popularity is that the 2004 model is bigger --comparable to a family-sized Camry instead of an itty-bitty Corolla. And who, two years ago, killed a Clinton-era federal program to help car-makers develop high-mileage, family-size hybrids? You got it. George W. Bush, friend of the oil industry. If not for that dastardly murder, we might have more Prius-type cars on the market right now for all those eager buyers -- and fewer smog-alert days this summer. --Alexander Dworkowitz, Chris Harris and Carole Bass got the Scoop

Well, they don't actually run "mostly" on electricity, just an awful lot of it. I read recently that a Prius must go 1,000 miles in order to emit the same amount of pollution that a typical V-8 SUV emits in 1 mile (yes, that's one, uno). Think about that next time you're following a Prius in rush-hour traffic, compared to following a Cadillac Escalade or Lincoln Navigator.

When I'm driving home from work in my Prius on the freeway, creeping along in slow L.A. traffic, my car's engine shuts off automatically when I ease up on the gas or come to a stop. All around me are thousands of pickups and SUV's, sitting there belching invisible, obnoxious and toxic gases and particulates into the air. I don't necessarily feel superior to the other drivers, but I sure do feel smarter. I've put well over 30,000 miles on this car during the past 21 months, and my mpg has averaged 48.8 mpg. Only motorcycles and bicycles do better, and you can't bring your family along on those.

What's been my savings in gas compared to one of these behemoths? Using 30,000 miles, 48.8 mpg for the Prius, and 14 mpg for a V-8 SUV as base figures, the Prius used 615 gallons while the SUV used 2,143. At $2.00/gallon for Regular Unleaded (Prius) and $2.20 for Premium Unleaded (V-8 SUV) (average L.A. prices during the past 1+ year), I spent $1,230 on gas while the SUV owner spent $4,715, a difference of $3,485.

If I keep the Prius for 10 years (and everything else stayed constant), I would save over $20,000, which is close to the purchase price of the car. The Prius seats five comfortably, has climate control, electic seats and windows, 6-CD stereo, cruise control, GPS tracking system (which my wife loves), front and side air bags, a tiny turning radius (great for parking and u-turns), and you DON'T have to plug it in to recharge it (a common misconception). You put your 10 gallons of gas in once every other week and drive it like any other car (but with a big smile). And the 2004 model is even bigger and better (size, mpg and features). So, what are you waiting for?