According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, the average price of a new car sold in the United States is $28,400 [1].

A Prius with Package #2 (rear camera, VSC) is ~$24,000.

[1] http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/autos/aut11.shtm

Also, a couple weeks ago we drove a 9 hour trip to Arkansas with mixed driving conditions ranging from “stop-n-go” (0-50 mph) to freeway (65-80 mph). We averaged 52 mpg on that trip, and drove from Austin, TX, to south central Arkansas without stopping for gas. We didn’t have to get any more gas until the drive back to Austin.

Enough said.

FYI: Apostrophe misuse also makes people look stupid.

The auto magazines aren’t comparing the Prius to other similar cars since they and Toyota try to focus on the mpg the car gets. So they show people that there are other and better options than buying Prius, ofcouse it depends on if people are looking for the best mpg and not the size of the car.

Not sure if Scoda Octavia is sold in the US but it can be compared to the Prius in size. Anyway, they managed to drive in a diesel Scoda Octavia around Iceland, 832 miles, on one tank.

My point and frustration towards a bybrid car is that people shouldn’t be blinded by the fact it is a hybrid car. It won’t change much if they still drive agressively, sure it depends alot on the car but it also depends on how you drive and that is really an important step. I’m driving along at normal speed, 60 mph and then a Prius shoots past me doing 70 or 80 mph, they are not saving any gas nor CO2 emmissions

A recent poll in the US showed that 72% of the people said they would buy a hybrid car, it fell down to 46% when they were told they needed to pay more for them. Even Ford is losing 5000$ on every hybrid they sell. The Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid won the ‘Green car of the year’ award in the US. It has a 6L V8, and can run on electricity up to 30 mph, not really a environmentally friendly option and Chevrolet are supriced at slow sales. One of the things that has to change is the auto culture in the US and it is finally happening as smaller cars are showing stronger sales. GM and Ford have recently had to close down plants producing SUVs and Pickups.

The bybrid market will be not long lived since they are facing serious material shortage in the near future, depending on if they continue to use this current technology. Dysprosium is required for to fabricate the advanced electric motors. 95% of the worlds supply is in China and it is expected that it will be consumed by 2012. Using the worlds current electric car battery technology available it is only possible to convert 1/3 of the cars in the world to electric cars.

Here comes my second grudge against the hybrid cars. Now this is entierly my opinion. I feel that auto companies shouldn’t be developing hybrids. I feel that they should instead develope the ICE and diesel engines since it is a tecnhology they are familiar with and instead of spending millions on hybrid cars, develop something else like hydrogen and other new technologies like cars running on compressed air and water, crazy ideas but might work.

It is far from a simple task. The cheapest way of producing hydrogen is from oil. Another option will come with the next generation of nuclear reactors where hydrogen will produced in the progress however that is not an option since current reactors use U-235 which is only 0,7% of all natural uranium and if we changed to nuclear powerplants the worlds uranium supply would only last 30-40 years. Still, the major problem facing hybrid cars is how to store it. My physics professor is currently working on experiments where he tries to bind the hydrogen in various ways to store it. The person who finds an efficient way of storing hydrogen will become the world richest person.

Electric cars, where are you gona get the electricity for all the cars? Through oil, coal and gas powerplants. Biofule is a great way but not really an option with the price of food rising every day. Brazil is compleatly energy self sufficient. It is illegal to sell gas which has less than 20% ethanol in it and all cars sold there have to be able to run on E80 gas.

We are facing alot of troubles and hybrids are certainly not the way out of them like many people think. A scientist, which name I can’t remember, predicted global warming in 1970 and when asked what we could do to fight against it he said: “There are alot of things you can do, but none of them are things you want to do.”
And since I mention global warming, you should watch if you haven’t already http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=global+dimming&sitesearch=#

The “environmental cost” argument — especially the nickel & Sudbury part — has been debunked as well here: The Car Connection

“Toyota says that nickel has been mined from in Sudbury since the 1800s, and that “the large majority of the environmental damage from nickel mining in and around Sudbury was caused by mining practices that were abandoned decades ago.” Out of the Inco mine’s 174,800-ton output in 2004, Toyota purchased 1000 tons, just over a half-percent of its output. The plant’s emissions of sulfur dioxide are down 90 percent from 1970 levels, and it’s targeting a 97-percent reduction in those emissions by 2015, according to Toyota.”

I agree that hybrids are just a [big] step in a march towards the future of autos, but they are the best cars on the street for so many motorists for so many reasons. Saying that the ICE is here to stay really means what though?

So often people dismiss interim solutions or advancements because they aren’t a total solution. The hydrogen car isn’t available to us yet. The Prius, on the other hand, has been around since 2001 and is generally accepted as a proven and reliable technology.

The Citroën C4 Coupé is a nice little gas saver but the comparison doesn’t really hold weight with me for a few reasons: The Prius is a four-door midsize sedan and not a coupe. The Citroën is not available in the US.

Even a Ford Festiva compares favorably to a Prius if you want to go raw gas mileage…

Now these “tests” where auto magazines and other car companies find ways to put the Prius in a situation where it will look bad against a car that is not nearly as efficient in real life. That’s dishonest, in my opinion, and counterproductive. We’ve been driving our Priuses/Prii for three years and they regularly achieve great gas mileage in mixed driving conditions. Anyone that wants to disagree is, well, wrong.

I think it’s great that so many auto companies are finally looking to innovate in the direction of gas efficiency, emissions, and so on. They stupidly spent the last 50 years trying to squeeze more horsepower and size into vehicles as streets became more crowded and American highways became parking lots.

Clean diesels, diesel hybrids, and plain ol’ ICEs that get great mileage on their own are all great ways to tackle the energy issues we face. The Prius is real, tested, and available for purchase in the US. Understanding that the US is not the only auto market in the world I’m glad to hear there are traditional ICE cars and new diesels that can compete with the Prius.