Princess Prius
My friend from St John's Wood, The Jewish Princess, is delighted at her "Princess Prius". This eco-vehicle has replaced her Jeep. Tsk, tsk.
She points out that she's gone green and that she hates the Congestion Charge.
A couple of things here.
1. How much energy did it take to make her "green" car?
2. The Congestion Charge is not a charge, it's a TAX.
Is "Princess Prius" a new catch phrase. Perhaps The Croydonian can tell us
7 comments:
Green fuel guzzler? Or is it an electric car?
Bio fuel I think
She's kidding herself. See my post at :
http://lastditch.typepad.com/lastditch/2006/12/toyota_factory_.html
Tom, It's gone!
What was the gist?
The question is irrelevant. She's not just driving a Prius, she's driving the "great Prius of Virtue"
It's still there for me, Jeremy, but the text was:
Regularly, idiot celebs enhance their "Green" credentials by buying the Toyota Prius (although how many actually drive the revolting object is another matter). This, despite the fact that research shows that "dust to dust" (from production to disposal) the energy cost of a Prius comes down to $3.25 per mile. Compare that to $2.70 per mile for, say, a conventional VW Golf or $3.02 per mile for an Aston Martin.
Amusingly, it's only slightly less expensive in energy costs per mile than my 5.5 litre Mercedes - even though I get about 25mpg vs the Prius's claimed 55mpg. That's because the Merc is manufactured conventionally with a tried-and-tested petrol engine. Extra energy is consumed in producing the high-tech "hybrid" Prius and its two engines.
How I smiled therefore, to see the photograph in the linked article [of a wasteland around the factory where the batteries are made]
... the environment-saving credentials of the cars are seriously undermined by the disclosure that one of the car's essential components is produced at a factory that has created devastation likened to the arid environment of the moon.
I am sure none of this will have any impact on the "movement." Greenery is not a rational stance. It is an ersatz religion. I am sure idiots will continue to buy the Prius, despite its relatively adverse impact on the environment, for the same sort of reasons other idiots wear T-shirts emblazoned with the faces of mass murderers - i.e. because it's stupidly fashionable.
Although I accept some of the points made above regarding waste produced in the manufacturing of the car and components, this is not nearly as devastating as the damage done to the environment from the CO2 exhaust of petrol/diesel engines over the last 100 years. It is a new technology and will evolve to become more efficient and ultimately outweight the 'growing pains' often incurred in movements for the better. Also, the economy of scale will take effect once these type of vehicles are produced on a scale to match the current automotive industry's production numbers.
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