Better choice than a Hybrid...?

Question

A 2-4 year old economy car will produces a better net reduction in overall waste to the environment.

WHY? To manufacture even a toothpick creates pollution...now think of what it takes to manufacture a car, especially one that has a large amount of batteries(very caustic and damaging to the enviroment to make, besides the rest of the car).

A decent used car circumvents all that.

Even when one study showed the difference between a typical small car and a Hybrid over a 5-year ownership yielded just a $45 dollar difference between the two(remember that's the cost versus cost, interest amount on that amount, difference in overall MPG, etc) imagine the gain when compare that to a good used car.

Answer 1

I think that it makes a big difference when someone is going to buy a new car anyway and they can choose the hybrid option of the same car.

A used car is a great option if it gets high mpg, low emissions and doesn't keep needing new parts, oil etc.

95% of all new batteries are recycled from old batteries, though that must still have a detrimental impact.

Answer 2

I'm thinking that the old mercedes bio de. cars are the best.

They aren't hybrid but they are just as efficient.

Answer 3

Your argument is incorrect, because the manufacturing process only accounts for 5-10% of a car's lifetime energy use, whereas the operations stage (driving it around) accounts for 80-90%, and a hybrid uses much less energy than a non-hybrid during this period.

For evidence, see pages 4-5 in the link below.

Answer 4

It is probably true that the hybrid is little or no better than a good economy car. A hybrid Honda Civic costs about $5,000 more than a regular Civic and will probably use about $5,000 less gasoline over its lifetime, so it is pretty much a wash. I think it is a safe approximation to equate cost with energy use, given the way our economy depends so totally on energy.

But the often heard argument that all those batteries are bad for the environment is bogus. There are not that many batteries in a hybrid. Only a fully electric car has substantially more batteries than a regular car. And you will need MUCH more than the simple assertion that the batteries are worse than the oil they save for me to accept that position.

Answer 5

My car is barely 3000€ worth but still holds to its over 50MPG after close to 300,000km (roughly 200,000 miles)

Answer 6

i wouldnt buy a hybrid just yet, they arent really worth the extra money yet.  It would be better to wait a couple of years and see how much they improve, similar to LCD and HD tvs.