Some Guys Are Normal

Is a Hummer better Than a Prius?

Is a Hummer better than a Prius? Well, if you're talking about looks, then I vote yes. And, if you're talking about hauling things around or going off road, then I vote yes again. And, if you're talking about being better for the environment, some people would say yes to that too.

You may have heard the claims (or read the email forwards) recently about the all-mighty, environmentally friendly, Prius being less green than the folks at Toyota claim. But, are they so anti-green that even a Hummer uses up less of the environment's resources? Well, that's the word around town these days, but it turns out the rumors aren't as true as they claim to be.

It all started with Rush Limbaugh. Well, actually it all started with a 400-plus page marketing report titled "Dust to Dust" from a company called CNW Marketing Research. Then the rumor got a bit more steam when the student newspaper at Central Connecticut University cited the CNW "Dust to Dust" report (yes I said student newspaper at a college you've never heard of) in an editorial. Then Rush Limbaugh really took the rumor to the next level when he praised the editorial (yes I said Rush Limbaugh praised an editorial from a student newspaper about a story that has little basis in fact--I'll save my disdain for him for another time).

So, with the rumor going full steam now, some people decided to really look into this "Dust to Dust" report. The report basically claims that the lifetime of a Hummer is more environmentally friendly than the lifetime of a Prius, from research and manufacturing until the end of the car's life. Unfortunately, it takes some pretty ridiculous liberties and makes some completely unfounded claims, including claiming the life of a Prius is only 109,000 miles when Toyota offers a warranty of 150,000 miles on the car. I'll let you decide if the claim of the average life of a hummer being 379,000 is accurate (the industry average is nearly 179,000 miles). I'll just say that I didn't know that GMs were known for their reliability, especially more than double the industry average.

Go to the Slate.com article to read some more of the baseless claims this study uses to justify their opinion-shrouded-as-fact. But, you should know that the author of the student editorial partially recanted his claims from the CNW study, basically saying that the study was dubious at best, but his beliefs that hybrids aren't as environmentally sound as they are being marketed still stands. Fine, but at least now we know it's his opinion and not hard fact. For the record, Rush Limbaugh has not recanted in spite of the still-flowing rumor. Rush Limbaugh isn't ever wrong, you see.

So, in the end, it's all a hoax. Just like the rumors about getting HIV from a hypodermic needle in a pay phone (I guess that one's going to die pretty soon due to lack of pay phones). If you want a Prius for lower gas mileage and to help the environment, go buy it. Just don't buy it if you are trying to drive a nice looking car. If you want that, I say stick with the Hummer.

posted by Brady @ 8:07 AM