raif’s random rants…

living in berkeley, it is not too uncommon to find yourself surrounded by priuses (or is it prii?). i’ll bet anything that the prius per capita quotient in berkeley must be one of the highest in the country.

now, i am happy that a major car manufacturer is behind a car technology that significantly improves mileage compared to most other new cars. however, before we celebrate the prius as the savior invention of the 21st century, we have to put it in some context and take it for what it is.  my main goal with this post is to demonstrate how little even a leap such as the prius actually has accomplished. it’s a tiny step towards the right direction - emphasis on tiny. we have to do a lot more.

firstly, why is the prius so popular? there are countless debates online between the honda prius and it’s closest follower the honda civic hybrid. in terms of mileage, they are pretty much comparable. most comparisons come down to the different features available in the two cars. however, in terms of sales prius is the clear winner. my theory for this is that prius is it’s own car. when you drive a prius, everyone who sees you knows that you drive a hybrid and therefore must be saving the world. however, if you’re driving a civic hybrid, you can’t really tell that it’s a hybrid other than the really small tag in the very back. i think that this need of acknowledgment plays a big part in consumer behavior. major marketing blunder in my opinion on honda’s part. they should have given the civic hybrid a distinctive body shape - and separate model even. in a way, it is the same consumer behavior and needs that make people buy a hummer with $5000 rims.

now let’s examine the gas mileage. according to toyota, the 2008 prius gets 48 mpg in the city and 45 mpg on the highway. impressive yes. record breaking mileage? far from it. The 1984-87 Honda CRX got 41 mpg in the city and 50 mpg on the highway. yes that’s the honda crx from over 20 years ago.

you think 20 years is impressive? how about 30? as Saul Griffith pointed out in his presentation at this years foo camp, the Citroen CV2 did even better…

the 1974 Citroen CV2 got 50.9 mpg - not too shabby.

in addition to the great mileage, the CRX and the CV2 did not have batteries that will have to be disposed of every 8 years  which represent a significant cost to both the owners and the manufacturers.

so, if the prius is not good enough, what do we do? how will you get to work? well a bicycle is probably the best. however, as someone pointed out at foo camp, if you were to bike to work everyday, your lifespan would probably increase by 5-10 years which would dramatically increase your overall carbon footprint on earth… so if you do bike to work everyday, make sure to pick up smoking as your personal carbon offset…