Reports Circulating Again that Prius is Worse for Environment Than Hummer

Yesterday, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh was reveling in the report at a college newspaper, the Central Connecticut State University Recorder, that the Toyota Prius is worse for the environment than the GM Hummer. At first glance, the article appears to have some substance - and a visit to Google shows that, with some acknowledgment to political biases, there seem to be a lot of people, even experts like Consumer Reports, who think aspects of the story make sense.

Even the buyers of the Prius are voting with their feet, according to some sources. There are other options, such as the poor Consumer Reports results on city economy, supposedly hybrids' strong suit, or USA Today's comparison with a Volkswagen Jetta Diesel, where both were supposed to make a 500 mile trip on a tankful, but only the Jetta lived up to its promise. Calculated overall energy costs during the lifetime of a Prius are high even compared with the Hummer according to a number of reports, although a more sensible Scion or Chevy Aveo gives even bigger difference, and similar gas mileage. Since the EPA has adjusted its miles per gallon formula for 2008, the Prius advantage, even on paper, has shrunk to closer to what some owners are reporting. Cars.com, home of NPR's "Click and Clack," reports that it will take between 5 and 18 years, without tax credits, to recover the additional cost of a hybrid, although an article in The Weekly Standard said that if gasoline reaches 6-10 dollars a gallon, the financial picture will look pretty good for them.