gratuitous snark for the day
I wonder how much the water, detergent, and energy required to keep a white Prius looking anything other than completely grungy affects its overall eco-soundness? I keep seeing white ones everywhere, and they all look like they get washed daily.
(note: I do realize that the much bigger question is whether a new hybrid represents any advantage over a ( Read more... )
i've always thought that question is, at best, a red herring. eventually, cars do wear out, and they must be replaced with something -- and used cars must first be new cars.
a more interesting question, to me, is the total energy use of a vehicle over its entire lifetime. a Prius's motors, batteries and brake system are hugely energy intensive to make, as is its lightweight frame. does it save enough energy over its lifetime to make up for the much greater energy it takes to make a Prius than it takes to make, say, a Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic? (the Prius being basically a fairly nice economy car with a stunning drivetrain.)
also, i want to say that using a car longer is another good way to reduce total energy consumption by extending its life ... except that ignores the fact that the used car market ensures that cars will be used for their maximum possible lifetime. (the upper end of a car's life is now a factor of when its emissions control systems fail too badly to be repaired, rather than structural failure, which was how cars reached end-of-life when our parents were kids.)
in any case, i guess can feel all smug-and-green about my Saturn -- dropping in a remanufactured engine was *way* better than sending it to a junkyard, both for my personal economy and for the planet -- one less new car will be made in my lifetime thanks to that engine! :-)
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