Web Story

It’s not easy being green
By Kyle L. Haas

Blurb: Investigations reveal hybrids may be hazardous and not as beneficial to your wallet and the Earth as you may believe.


Going green on the road may leave a little less green in the wallet.

After some calculations it may be cheaper, safer and better for the environment to not own a hybrid vehicle.

In previous years hybrid vehicles took the United States by storm. The Toyota Prius sold over 180,000 last year in the country responsible for the Hummer.

One reason ¬– savings. Hybrids use less gas and which translates to less money spent on fuel.

At least that’s the conventional wisdom.

Two of Toyota’s top cars illustrate this difference; the Toyota Prius, and its cousin the Toyota Yaris sedan. Similar vehicles, they both have four doors, just over 100 horsepower and are similarly equipped with 1.4L four cylinder engines.

Cost of the vehicle

The cost and availability of the Prius could make it difficult to purchase It starts at a $22,000 – relatively expensive for a vehicle of its type. They’re rare as well. Boulder Toyota has, on average, about a three month waitlist said a sales representative. The Yaris on the other hand, starts at $12,965, nearly ten thousand less, and they have several in stock. For more vehicle specifications check out Toyota’s Web site at www.toyota.com

Miles per gallon

The hybrid vehicle is capable of 46 mpg according to the Environmental Protection Agency (www.fueleconomy.gov). However, drivers reporting to the EPA on their Web site claim only receiving 37.5 mpg.

The Yaris rates 14 mpg less than the Prius at 32 mpg, however drivers report receiving approximately 37.2 mpg. That would mean that the hybrid might be receive a .3 mpg advantage over its non-hybrid equivalent.

Standard gasoline went for an average of $2.48 the week of October 27 in Colorado according to the Energy Information Administration (www.fuelgaugereport.com). The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (www.bts.gov)uses an average of 15,000 miles per year for its estimates.

That translates to (15,000 miles x $2.48 / 46 mpg for the Prius or 32 mpg for the Yaris)or $808.70 for the Prius and $1162.50 for the Yaris, a difference of $353.80 per year.

Insurance Costs

Considering a 20-year-old male college driver with no history of accidents or tickets, Geico Auto Insurance (www.geico.com) quoted the Prius at $133.49 per month. The Yaris: $108.07 a month. That’s a difference of $305.04 per year.

After factoring in the cost of insurance, gasoline and the vehicles, it would take about 185 years to make up the difference in the cost of the two.

Eco-friendliness

It is true that the hybrids use less gasoline, which reduce their carbon emissions, but both the battery’s elaborate production technique and eventual disposal are cause for concern according to a study conducted by the University of California at Berkeley. (Found here)

According to the study, “The battery pollution is substantial because the creation of the batteries requires destructive mining to produce the batteries and the caustic substances that power the batteries must later be disposed of.”

The production techniques are similar for both vehicles’ combustion engines.

Other Considerations

The government loves hybrid cars so much it’s willing to pay owners to drive one.

But the tax credit is only available to those who are the original owners of the new vehicle according to the Internal Revenue Service.

The value of the credit is set on a decreasing time scale as well. As more of the vehicles are sold, the value of the credit is reduced until it is completely diminished, often before November of the current year.

The 2008 Prius started at a refund of $3,150 but by October the refund was completely depleted. The credit is dependent on the owner’s taxable income as well. And the owner would need a taxable income of at least $22,000 to receive the full federal credit meaning most students will only see a fraction of the rebate.

For more info on the tax credit program click here

Safety

Another consideration is the safety of the Prius. The vehicle has an entire emergency response guide with six pages of “special” safety procedures for emergency response personnel to follow in the event of a hybrid accident.

Powered by both a combustion engine and a 201-volt nickel metal hydride battery the Prius has high voltage wires running the length of the car. In the event of an accident several specific measures must be taken to avoid “…severe electrical burns, shock or electrocution,” according to the safety manual.

Battery contents are extremely hazardous to humans on contact, and the manual warns that the fire department is to redirect water away from normal water collection areas.

“There’s so much uncertainty there,” said Boulder Fire Marshall David Lowrey. “There are safety measures, but I don’t know what they are. There’s what we’re supposed to do, and then there is what we do.”

And in the event of a serious crash an uncertain hand could prove highly dangerous for those involved.
While normal crash test ratings are above average on both the hybrid and the standard car, those tests do not include these extraneous circumstances.

For the response guide click here

For more vehicle safety rating click here