Hybrids: why does the leftist press not tell the truth?

Before I get into this, let me state clearly that I am virulently anti-SUV and gas hogs in general. Why we don't have clean diesels like they have in Europe is a mystery to me (actually not, but that is another blog entry) - but it is clear that we do not need the huge lumbering beasts that currently infest our transportation system. There is no possible rationale that holds water. But alternatives are not as clear as it might appear....

In March of this year, CNW Marketing Research (an Oregon based research firm -- American readers will understand Oregon to be hyper liberal as a general premise) came out with an analysis of hybrid vehicles from "dust to dust."

The results are nowhere near what you might think them to be:

Most energy efficient Cost per mile
Scion xB $0.48
Ford Escort $0.57
Jeep Wrangler $0.60
Chevrolet Tracker $0.69
Toyota Echo $0.70
Saturn Ion $0.71
Hyundai Elantra $0.72
Dodge Neon $0.73
Toyota Corolla $0.73
Scion xA $0.74

Least energy efficient Cost per mile
Maybach $11.58
VW Phaeton $11.21
Rolls-Royce $10.66
Bentley $10.56
Audi Allroad Quattro $5.60
Audi A8 $4.96
Audi A6 $4.96
Lexus LS 430 $4.73
Porsche Carrera GT $4.53
Acura NSX $4.45

Where are the hybrids? Well, not at the top of the most energy efficient list, that is where. How are these figures calculated? Well, they take into account all energy costs from the cost of shipping the raw materials to the plant where the steel was refined, to the cost of making the parts, to the cost of dealership staff commuting in to sell the cars.

Toyota Prius, the Honda Accord and Civic hybrids, the Honda Insight, and the Ford Escape hybrid–perform below average. For all vehicles, the average was $2.28 of energy consumption per mile. The Prius hybrid came in at $3.25 per mile, even though it is one of the highest-mileage cars in the world, getting about 45 miles per gallon in real-world driving. The Honda Accord hybrid consumed $3.30 of energy per mile, about the same as the hulking Ford Excursion SUV. The conventional Accord came in at just $2.18 per mile.

So what gives? The batteries cost a great deal more to produce and then eliminate at the demise date and also hybrids have LOTS more extra moving parts as compared to a standard gas engined car. And all that costs a lot of energy to produce. But compare this to the assertion of various green groups that if everyone in the US stopped driving SUVs and drove Prius-like cars, then we would not need to import foreign oil. What about that? That statistic/figure/pipe dream ONLY accounts for pumped gas usage and does not even address manufacturing and associated costs. Ahhhh.......

So if the cars are built in Japan, then we are clear? Not as a holistic global organism we aren't. The hybrid, then, is illusory -- a step to show that we are moving in the right direction, but NOT the panacea it appears to be. Which leads us into the next segment of this entry: why the lefty-Hollywood types are huge windbag hypocrites (not that you didn't already know that).

Julia Roberts was last week reported by the TMZ film buffs’ website to be the owner of a Toyota Prius, the first commercially produced car with a hybrid electric-petrol engine. TMZ also noted Roberts travelled by private jet from Chicago to Los Angeles, consuming 2,100 gallons of fuel. (London Times). Other Prius drivers with a fondness for private jets include Jennifer Lopez and Brad Pitt, whose recent private charter to Namibia with his lover, Angelina Jolie, burnt an estimated 11,000 gallons of jet fuel — “enough to take a Prius to the moon”, said TMZ.

George Clooney, one of Hollywood’s most outspoken liberal activists, owns an electric minicar called a Tango, which drives 135 miles on a full battery. But he recently took a private jet to Tokyo, a 5,500-mile trip which consumed 7,000 gallons of fuel.
Clooney’s spokesman said the actor often had “no control” over his schedule, which is dictated by studio commitments. Leonardo DiCaprio was one of the first celebrities to drive a Prius. He was also the latest star to fall foul of green scrutiny when the New York Post reported that he flew his mother, grandmother and girlfriend from Paris to Rome in a private jet for the Italian premiere of his latest film, The Departed.

So because you are out "of control" with respect to your schedule, you can justify your hypocrisy? No friends, that is not it. It is a classic "do as I say, don't do as I do." Like their heros, the Clintons. Somehow, their "star" status enables them to lead by example in buying a hybrid (which action turns out to be a net negative to our environment) and then conveniently ignore the environment when it means having to rub shoulders with the masses at the airport. No security search for Julia or George!! Leo thinks that Mom can't fly first on a public airline.

For people that can control their environment to the extent that only certain breads are flown in from their favorite baker in Paris, that there is always a particular brand of water available to them when filming in the Namibian desert, there seems to be a disconnect when it comes to traveling with the great unwashed. Sort of like social programs getting felons out on the streets earlier -- so long as they get arrested when they try to scale the walls at their Beverly Hills compounds, it is OK.

Contrast this with Warren Buffet who still lives in the same $31,500 house he bought some 35+ years ago. Who is the real hero here? Who SHOULD be on the cover of People to provide a role model for the American people Warren or George? Was America built on gadfly activism or hard work, savings and modesty? If you wonder about this, you need to re-evaluate your life. Now, quickly, before you vote in November.

Also, please read the comment and response to my last entry on torture. Thank you Audrey for commenting, I do appreciate intelligent commentary and you are right to suspect the weenies inside the beltway. But do not underestimate our enemies either.