[scollins]

Originally Posted by thinbev

I don't understand why so many of you think that all people who buy a hybrid car are waisting their money????

Most people who buy Prius's buy them because they omit very little CO2 into the atmosphere (Less than any Civic, Yaris, or Scion). On top of that they're fashionable, futuristic, High tech and get great mileage.

If you want a classy, fashionable, economical, environmentally friendly car in the U.S that won't cost you an arm and a leg, get the Prius.
Again, not everybody gets a hybrid because they want to save all their money. They get them because they want to give less of their money to the oil companies and release less CO2 into the atmosphere... even if it costs them a premium for the hybrid technology.

But the fact you are missing is the Prius, and other hybrids are NOT "Green" vehicles!! They do one thing a little bit better than other cars, and that is fuel economy. That is it. That doesn't garner them the title of being "Green." I think of "Green" as something that has minimal negative impact on the environment in all aspects, not just a singular issue. Better yet, something "Green" should have a net positive effect on the environment, something that a car of any type can't possibly achieve.

So please stop calling the Prius and other hybrids "Green" vehicles! They get higher fuel economy ratings than conventional ICE cars, but not significantly so to think they actually have a net positive impact on the environment. It is still produced in a factory that has emisions, still contains heavy metals that need proper recylcing, etc. Like the CNW Research findings, there are many different ways to quantify "Green", but achieving high fuel economy alone isn't enough.