Socially-conscious rant, handy catharsis
Mar. 22nd, 2005 11:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sepdet From: sepdet@....
Subject: "cons" review of Hybrids
Date: March 21, 2005 10:28:23 AM PST
To: Editor@autobytel.com
If you're going to give the pros and cons of hybrids, get someone who does his research.
Brian Chee says that the hybrid cars are dirty, because "chances are" one part is leaking some scary particle into the atmosphere (with no facts to back up this assertion). He then doesn't look into how gas engine car parts pollute. Compare the two, Mr. Chee. Low or zero emissions vs. dirty emissions. Policies for buyback and recycling parts. "Chances" aside, what *is* a pollutant in each kind of engine, and how *are* the parts being disposed of or recycled?
He says that hybrid mileage is less than the EPA averages say they are. Well DUH. This is an ongoing problem. But how about non-hybrid cars? Are the tests any better at measuring their performance? If so, is it *really* such a bad thing that super-low-emission vehicles are emitting so few emissions that equipment can't even measure them?
He says that hybrids are putting the brakes on hydrogen technology. Riiiiiight. So if we don't buy hybrids, President Bush is *really* going to get us hydrogen fuel cells within the next 4 years and put all his big oil cronies out of business. Whereas if we do buy hybrids, it will prove we're not eager and itching for cleaner technology.
I missed a memo somewhere.
He says that repair shops are not going to repair hybrids. Well, when I got ready to buy a hybrid two years ago, I checked with my mechanic. Yep, he was all ready to work on one.
He says they're sluggish. Actually, my Prius has more pick-up than my Corolla did. No, it's not a drag racer. Your point? And I'm so SURE the Accord owners are going to be disappointed to find that their new hybrids perform... about the same as their old cars, or slightly better.
Most importantly, in his "unproven" section, Mr. Chee raises the spectre of unreliability and has a hysterical tirade about how they're going to fall apart in the middle of an intersection. He confesses that so far the bogeyman of unreliability has failed to materialize, but that doesn't deter him from concluding they are error-prone disasters in the making. This is quite a feat of rhetoric.
However, if you turn to another article on your website on this years' vehicle reliability tests, it notes that the Honda and Toyota hybrids had far better -- REAL WORLD -- reliability ratings than non-hybrid cars, and beat the snot out of BMWs and Mercedes.
Oh yeah, and he says the hybrid technology won't call a tow truck. Well, actually, it will. Toyota has been including unusually generous roadside assistance packages and warranties as incentives to get people to switch to the Prius, banking on the fact that they're reliable enough it won't cost them too much.
If you're going to post an article on the cons of hybrid cars, please get someone who is going to do a factual comparison based on real-world tests and conditions, instead of innuendo, hearsay, and rhetoric.
In fact, now that I do *my* research, I see Brian Chee who wrote this article ALSO has his name on your "brand rankings" page, so he most certainly knew the excellent reliability ratings of the hybrids, and simply chose to suppress the numbers in order to scare people. What's his agenda?
I am very pleased to report that I can't tell the difference between my Prius and my old Corolla, apart from comfort, greater styling, more power, and a helluva lot more storage space. I hope Mr. Chee enjoys riding his bike to work, since he said in his introduction that that's what we all should be doing, instead of driving a car. I'm glad he's doing his part. A little difficult for hauling groceries, though, isn't it?
Guess it's a good thing I don't rely on your website for well-researched reviews, but instead went to consumers report.
in response to this review of why hybrid cars are bad, which Carsmart.com attempted to present as a balanced rebuttal to their article on why hybrid cars were good. The former relying on rhetoric, the latter on field tests and facts.
Shooting fish in a barrel, but well, I can't shoot the eel I want to shoot, now can I?
In other news, though, I have discovered why the Prius is one of the top-rated cars as far as maintenance/reliability.
This silly little maintenance light came on, and I should've checked the manual but didn't. I stopped by the mechanic's, which I'd been meaning to do anyway because it was time to change the oil and all, but I hadn't gotten A Round Tuit (tm). "Excuse me, what is this?"
*mechanic hits the "info" button and calls up the "maintenance" touchscreen panel, which is a list of the car's innards*
"It's just reminding you that you haven't gotten the oil changed or done any maintenance in 5,000 miles, and it's time for a check-up."
Considering that Samhain's box usually gets changed when she bugs me about it, I suppose this is really rather an effective method for keeping a car running well.
Subject: "cons" review of Hybrids
Date: March 21, 2005 10:28:23 AM PST
To: Editor@autobytel.com
If you're going to give the pros and cons of hybrids, get someone who does his research.
Brian Chee says that the hybrid cars are dirty, because "chances are" one part is leaking some scary particle into the atmosphere (with no facts to back up this assertion). He then doesn't look into how gas engine car parts pollute. Compare the two, Mr. Chee. Low or zero emissions vs. dirty emissions. Policies for buyback and recycling parts. "Chances" aside, what *is* a pollutant in each kind of engine, and how *are* the parts being disposed of or recycled?
He says that hybrid mileage is less than the EPA averages say they are. Well DUH. This is an ongoing problem. But how about non-hybrid cars? Are the tests any better at measuring their performance? If so, is it *really* such a bad thing that super-low-emission vehicles are emitting so few emissions that equipment can't even measure them?
He says that hybrids are putting the brakes on hydrogen technology. Riiiiiight. So if we don't buy hybrids, President Bush is *really* going to get us hydrogen fuel cells within the next 4 years and put all his big oil cronies out of business. Whereas if we do buy hybrids, it will prove we're not eager and itching for cleaner technology.
I missed a memo somewhere.
He says that repair shops are not going to repair hybrids. Well, when I got ready to buy a hybrid two years ago, I checked with my mechanic. Yep, he was all ready to work on one.
He says they're sluggish. Actually, my Prius has more pick-up than my Corolla did. No, it's not a drag racer. Your point? And I'm so SURE the Accord owners are going to be disappointed to find that their new hybrids perform... about the same as their old cars, or slightly better.
Most importantly, in his "unproven" section, Mr. Chee raises the spectre of unreliability and has a hysterical tirade about how they're going to fall apart in the middle of an intersection. He confesses that so far the bogeyman of unreliability has failed to materialize, but that doesn't deter him from concluding they are error-prone disasters in the making. This is quite a feat of rhetoric.
However, if you turn to another article on your website on this years' vehicle reliability tests, it notes that the Honda and Toyota hybrids had far better -- REAL WORLD -- reliability ratings than non-hybrid cars, and beat the snot out of BMWs and Mercedes.
Oh yeah, and he says the hybrid technology won't call a tow truck. Well, actually, it will. Toyota has been including unusually generous roadside assistance packages and warranties as incentives to get people to switch to the Prius, banking on the fact that they're reliable enough it won't cost them too much.
If you're going to post an article on the cons of hybrid cars, please get someone who is going to do a factual comparison based on real-world tests and conditions, instead of innuendo, hearsay, and rhetoric.
In fact, now that I do *my* research, I see Brian Chee who wrote this article ALSO has his name on your "brand rankings" page, so he most certainly knew the excellent reliability ratings of the hybrids, and simply chose to suppress the numbers in order to scare people. What's his agenda?
I am very pleased to report that I can't tell the difference between my Prius and my old Corolla, apart from comfort, greater styling, more power, and a helluva lot more storage space. I hope Mr. Chee enjoys riding his bike to work, since he said in his introduction that that's what we all should be doing, instead of driving a car. I'm glad he's doing his part. A little difficult for hauling groceries, though, isn't it?
Guess it's a good thing I don't rely on your website for well-researched reviews, but instead went to consumers report.
in response to this review of why hybrid cars are bad, which Carsmart.com attempted to present as a balanced rebuttal to their article on why hybrid cars were good. The former relying on rhetoric, the latter on field tests and facts.
Shooting fish in a barrel, but well, I can't shoot the eel I want to shoot, now can I?
In other news, though, I have discovered why the Prius is one of the top-rated cars as far as maintenance/reliability.
This silly little maintenance light came on, and I should've checked the manual but didn't. I stopped by the mechanic's, which I'd been meaning to do anyway because it was time to change the oil and all, but I hadn't gotten A Round Tuit (tm). "Excuse me, what is this?"
*mechanic hits the "info" button and calls up the "maintenance" touchscreen panel, which is a list of the car's innards*
"It's just reminding you that you haven't gotten the oil changed or done any maintenance in 5,000 miles, and it's time for a check-up."
Considering that Samhain's box usually gets changed when she bugs me about it, I suppose this is really rather an effective method for keeping a car running well.
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no subject
Date: 2005-03-22 09:03 pm (UTC)My light is also on, and I'm sure it's for the same reason. :-) Need to get that Tuit rounded pretty soon.
I'm reminded of the currently-running Saturn ad, that mocks his friends' unnamed car with great gas mileage that gets passed by scooters. I feel a need to yell at the screen when I see it. I can do 90 in the Prius, and really don't feel a need to do more than that ever. And it has surprisingly strong pickup - no problem accelerating to get on freeway onramps and the like. It's just a total myth by now.
I expect, once Toyota and Honda can manufacture enough to meet demand, they'll start dispelling these. I see a decent amount of Priuses (Prii?) in the Seattle area.