I know that the mileage is better but I’ve heard with the manufacturing of the battery it doesn’t turn out to be any better. I haven’t been able to find any concrete statistics or anything though, does anybody know of any websites, or have some information?
Thanks so much!
The battery manufacturing issues are a myth. The nickel for the batteries comes from the Inco plant in Sudbury, Canada, which had environmental problems long before the Prius even existed, and the plant now has a much smaller environmental impact.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/03/08/hummer-vs-prius-redux-this-time-to-hummer-i-dont-think-so/
Studies have also shown than 80-90% of a car’s lifetime energy use comes during operation (while it’s being driven), so basically the more fuel efficient a car is, the lower its environmental impact. The construction of the car is a very small factor (5-10% of lifetime energy use). So yes, hybrids are more environmentally conscious because they have a smaller environmental impact than gas or diesel cars.
http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_of_science/case_studies/hummer_vs_prius.pdf