Considering Purchasing A Hybrid Vehicle?
Hybrid cars. We hear a lot about them but besides the general environmental benefits (and we aren't about to discount those!), are they practical and worth the money?
Amongst the hundreds of similar pro-con type of articles, we bring you two from non-environmental websites to see how the media at large is discussing this issue and product.
Cable Pulse 24, a Canadian all-news channel says, you'd have to drive about 10 to 15 years to make back the higher price of the vehicle, unless you live and drive most of your time in the city. They then state that if hybrid isn;t for you because of the cost (or because most of your driving is on the highway), the next best thing is a fuel-efficient vehicle like the Toyota Echo. The whol article is here.
Eric Peters in Netscape's auto section discusses this issue and more. What struck me was his comment that 8-10 years from now (right around the time your new '04 hybrid's warranty will be running out) owners may get a big repair bill when the battery pack needs replacing. For the entire article, click here.
Photo credit: Toyota
2 Comments. Add your comments!
Hey! I liked your website and your posts. I am definitely going to provide a link to you guys on my blog.
When talking about sustainable technologies shouldn't we also think about the sustainability of the process that produces these things?
A hybrid car may save fuel but what if the components that go into it are made from materials and chemicals that do more harm to the environment than say those which go into a regular car? (e.g more plastic or materials made from fossil fuel products)
Also what if the production process produces more green house gases (or consumes more energy)than the production process for regular cars? Is there any accounting for such things when rating sustainable technologies? If so where can I find it.
Thanks!
By Transmogrifier, at 4:03 PM, September 27, 2005
Hey,
Those are very good points.
I often wonder this as well with many so-called green products or projects.
For example, the City of Toronto has the green bin program that collects food waste from homes to be composted. Now, this sounds good. But, what about all the trucks required to pick up these bins? I am more of an advocate of at site composting.
This is a bit different, but think about this. Some restrooms have those disposable toilet seat covers. (More in the US than in Canada from my experience.) Now, these are bad in that they are used once and flushed away. But, on the other hand, do they prevent people from catching something while sitting on the toilet? If they in fact do, then what is better? Saving paper or preventing illness?
Just some random (not really thought out!) thoughts.
I guess with any solution there are going to be pros and cons.
By Anonymous, at 4:32 PM, September 27, 2005
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