I think that instead of giving a tax deduction to vehicles based on the fact that they are hybrids, perhaps the tax break should be based on mpg.

Why should a Ford Escape hybrid get a tax deduction, but not a Scion or Yaris that easily matches a hybrid's 30+mpg fuel efficiency? In my opinion, any car that can meet a certain mpg standard should get the tax break and the right to use HOV lanes.

What do you think?

Paul
Allscion -- an e-commerce Website with news and accessories for your Scion vehicles
http://www.allscion.com/store



http://trends.autoblog.com/2006/05/0...uture-hybrids/

 

Dead on my friend. And based on several recently posted articles here, cars like the xB and Yaris are actually better for the environment. They get nearly the same mileage and don't have any harmful lead batteries to dispose of after 7-10 years.

It's time to start discrediting the hybrid myth/marketing hype.

 

that wouldn't be a bad thing overall. only thing i keep hearing is that the goverment has been thinking about removing the gas tax and making it a mileage tax which would cripple some of us drivers. paying a tax by the mile. i don't like the idea of that system at all. the gas tax works much better imo. yeah fuel efficent vehicles should get a tax break.

 

Hmm... hadn't thought about the battery disposal issue... however during the run of the vehicle, hybrids emmit much less pollutants than their similar mpg non-hybrid counterparts. I believe the battery on hybrids can somehow be recycled after it can no longer hold a steady charge. As for my opinion why such cars as the highlander hybrid hasn't sold well is that it's mpg rating isn't high enough. If you're going to pay premium for a "hybrid", people want those high mpg ratings... another example is the accord hybrid - hella power, not so spiffy mpg.

I'm not buying the unique look factor... okay i'll give it to you that the new prius looks different than anything else on the street but i'm not sure people really like the styling for the design itself, moreso that they've associated the unique design with good gas mileage and therefore they like it... or something like that, i think you get the point...


Dang, i sounded like an environmentalist and a psychologist when i'm an architecture major... I wouldn't mind being able to use the carpool lane by myself in my xa... hehe... cheeers!

 

i used the car pool lane when i went to f1 boston. the sign said at least 2 people in the vehicle. i was covered with my friend. my buddy had his rx-7 with his 1 passenger. i know when i've been down that way before i've seen a drivers all by themselves using it. one was driving a porche.

 

Okay, I'm giong to claim ignorance on this once, but if I'm understanding you correctly, you're saying:

I have a hybrid car that gets 40mpg and a standard yaris that gets 40mpg. You're saying the hybrid still releases less polutants even though they burn the same amount of gas? Please explain.

 

in that theory the hybrid wouldn't have to burn gas that whole time to acheive the same gas mileage.

 

But a gallon of gas is a gallon of gas.

If point A and point B are 40 miles apart, and my friend in his Prius and me in my Yaris each got from point A to Point B by burning a gallon of gas, we still both use the same amount of gas, and put the same amount of pollutants in the air.

Unless, the prius put less pollutants in the air when it burns a gallon of gas than an average car.

 

i don't think they figure it that way because of the electric motor and the abilitiy of the engine to shut off.

 

The point is that it is not a race. A Prius driving at 15 mph or below will still have 1 gallon of gas at the end of 40 miles. The Yaris will get there first but, it will be on empty.

 

Anyways we are getting off topic.

I think it is great that Toyota wants a distinctive look for future hybrids.

Now back to the 1st post what does this have to do with the subject line?

 

The Prius, Camry Hybrid, Civic Hybrid are classified as Advanced Technology-Partial Zero Emmissions Vehicle (CA). They produce significantly less pollutants than SULEV, ULEV, and LEV vehicles. Not sure the classification of the Yaris. xB is LEV.

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/ccbg/atpzev.htm

If I could afford a Hybrid I would buy it on AT-PZEV classification and low end grunt not MPG. Diesels can give you way more MPG for way less but pollutes more in the air.

 

I could put a sail on the Yaris and let the wind blow me. 0 gallons used.

My point is that in real world usage, 45 mpg is 45 mpg, regardless of the type of vehicle. If two cars, one hybrid and one non, both get 45 mpg, they burn the same amount of gas and release the same amount of emissions (unless, as I've previously conceded, there is an extra technology that make that gallon burn cleaner, turns emissions into carbon, or what have you.)

The reason I bring this up is that I think it's ridiculous for anyone to buy a Camry hybrid that gets 40MPG average and think they are doing more for the environment than a guy driving a yaris that also gets 40mpg average.

The yaris should take less fossil fuels to produce and not have batteries to dispose of.

 

Now that makes sense.

 

g'day! indeed, and that is what i was referring to. man, did we stray off topic... haha. cheers!

 

Lets try to remember that the Prius is a gas/electric vehicle. Electricity doesn't pollute the air (but it will shock you.) The Yaris may get the same mpg but it JUST USES gas where the Prius uses part gas, part electric. And since most people LOVE to drive fast (including me) gas prices will only get higher. That, and the fact that people HAVE TO HAVE these big Ford F-350's, or Hummers, or any other truck with the lifted suspension, and the wheels, but you don't go off-roading so you wasted another $25-30k to do what exactly? And YOU complain about gas prices?

Secondly, we're gas-guzzling americans. I can see a pro and a con to the war in Iraq and this is because our soldier's are at war keeping our gas prices down (which is pointless) but we're not paying $7 to $8 a gallon like other European countries. Now anyone of you can disagree with me all you want but when you have two president's as oil barron's (Bush and Cheney), you have to question certain things. Back in the 60's people had cheap gas and powerful V-8 rwd muscle cars. AND NOW we're all trying to be "economical" because gas prices are "high" which really they are not. I will agree they went up though. All I can say is I don't support the war because of our hypocritical politicians and anyone who has any person in Iraq, my heart goes out to you but not to the cause of the war.

Only a matter of time before we wait for G.M. to come out with the drive-by-wire skateboard. Or Mercedes to make a water-fueled car, VW to use veggie oil, or cars to be powered by steam. We got the technology so where's the production????

 

Also it doesn't really matter if you design an electric car to look different from a gas-powered car. Hybrid vehicles (other than the prius) cost MORE than a gas vehicle. Why would you spend an extra couple of grand for a hybrid that your just going to use for gasoline anyways? Yes, it's quieter but most people will put up with the noise. You hear road noises everyday so what's the big DEAL?

 

You'll lose more money when buying a hybrid but the point of the hybrid is not to save money, as people seem to think, but rather, to save gas. Spending more money on a more fuel efficient car means that there'll be less people using more gas.

The gas-electric hybrid is just a bandaid cure until hydrogen can be properly used as a viable source of energy.

But really.... the amount of energy to create a Prius is probably equal to the difference in fuel economy of a similar but non-hybrid car.

The search continues for better energy!

 

eugovector, in theory, the gasoline engines used in gas/electric hybrids are supposed to emit less pollution than normal gasoline engines because the engine operates in a narrower power band. Since the engine doesn't have to power the car from a dead stop, the engine can be tuned to supply power in the mid/upper rpms. Also another thing that hybrids are capable of (i'm not sure if current production hybrids implement this or not) is that stored electricity in the batteries can be used to heat up the catalytic converter before the gasoline engine is even started so that it can catalyze the exhaust immediately (conventional cars emit a lot of pollution while the exhaust gasses heat up the cat).

 

Not lead acid my friend. NiMH. The xB and Yaris do have a lead acid battery.

LiIon and NiMH are much more friendly to the environment. The next gen Prius will have LiIon battery and get 94mpg.