The BBC’s Top Gear motoring show did a head to head comparison of the Prius with a BMW M3 sports sedan last year. The deal was that the Toyota would blast round the show’s test track as fast as its little green wheels could carry it and the BMW gas guzzler would follow along behind.
At the end of the test, the BMW returned a shocking gas mileage of just 19.4 miles per Imperial gallon. The eco-friendly Prius returned an impressive 17.2 mpg. Err, right. So if I want to save the planet, I need a fast BMW rather than a rather sad hybrid econo-box.
Ignoring the pathetic gas mileage, the Prius also uses highly-toxic rare metals that have to be shipped halfway round the world to be refined, then halfway round again to be screwed together into a car.
The carbon footprint of this ‘green’ vehicle is astonishingly-large. Taking the energy costs and emissions of building the thing and then safely disposing of the noxious components in its batteries into account, you’d have to drive it to Venus and back before you saw any real planet-saving gains.
When the promo for BBC’s Top Gear says it just may be the best show on television, they just might be right.
These guys get paid to do stuff that, well, I’ve been paid to do but almost always do for free because it was the stuff mom didn’t want me doing – because it was silly, stupid and / or dangerous (meaning FUN!!!).
Also, at Top Gear they are obviously as annoyed as I am by the self righteous, dis-ingenuous claims by the greenies that we must all drive cars we don’t like or be denounced as destructors of the universe… So, they point and laugh – burning gas and thrashing a Prius not really to make a point so much, as to have some fun while irritating a few hippies for good measure. What’s better than that..?
Maybe next Top Gear could do a story about how much green house gas is emitted by angry motorists yelling at Prius drivers to get out of the fast lane…?
You can call me HERMEGULON THE OZONONATOR!!!! wa ha ha ha ha ha….
I’m in the car business and I’ve been paying for ALL of my personal medical expenses for 15 years – extravagant things, like if I get the flu and need to see a doctor…
Just a note to the UAW guys – the rest of us in the business take our pay and benefit cuts when sales drop. As in, that day.
But if this provision made the new Challenger run harder, longer – it was a good investment and I am opposed to removing it.
Alfred Hitchcock could not have conjured a scarier highway—122 miles of vertigo between Monterey and Morro Bay. Two lanes for nearly its entire length, the road meanders along cliff tops poised high above the Pacific, including 33 bridges and countless drop offs into liquid oblivion. Anyone faintly squeamish should not attempt to drive this route.
CARB (the California Air Resources Board) has proposed a mandate that would, as of now, make black cars impossible in California. This is to be done in the name of “global warming”.
Some states, and even municipalities (in Oregon for example), would very much like to impose their own regulations on automobile manufacturers – this was previously declared a Federal issue by the Bush administration. The purpose of the regulations is to “do good” by mitigating the “damage” done by your car. Now, it seems, that being black is bad.
CARB So Crazy: California To Ban Black Cars
Autobloggreen recently got its paws on a presentation (PDF, read the whole thing) from the California Air Resource Board’s public “cool cars workshop.” And let’s just say the thing exudes the kind of bureaucratic overreach heretofore only imagined by folks sporting the latest in tinfoil chapeau. Here’s the logic: cars that get hot when they sit require greater air conditioning, which increases fuel consumption and (tada!) air pollution. And since architectural surface coatings are 25-35 percent reflective, there’s no reason not to require similar levels from auto paint, right? Skyscrapers, cars; potato, potahto. CARB will require vehicle surfaces to reflect at least 20 percent of solar energy by 2012, a figure that no black auto paint can currently achieve. One third of OEM palettes must meet the 20 percent mark by then, and all OEM paints must meet the goal by 2016. Oh, yes, and by 2016 even collision repair shops have to use the special paint. The only mitigation for these rules are if you sufficiently increase the Rd factor of your cars windshield glazing. And just to keep a song in your heart, “other compliance options are under investigation.”
The benefits? About .8 million metric tons less CO2 released per year. At an estimated OEM cost of between $39 and $128 per vehicle. But the real price is paid by the consumer, who will not only shoulder the OEM cost increase but will also see repair costs increase while losing the freedom to buy a car in their preferred color. Reducing cooling emissions is one thing in a skyscraper, where a one-time glazing investment can greatly reduce both the cost and environmental impact of cooling. But for government to transfer architectural regulations wholesale to the automotive sector betrays both a lack of perspective and an attitude of regulation-at-all-costs. Given the myriad improvements to efficiency and emissions that continue to occur in the automotive sector, regulating car color comes across as nothing more than an exercise in bureaucratic power for its own sake. And it hastens a world where cars no longer reflect the diversity of our culture and aspirations. Or are we supposed to be happy that CARB didn’t mandate one single acceptable color?
The 2009 Oregon Region SCCA Driver School is now history. This was my second year as lead instructor – this time I shared the responsibility with one of my 25 Hours of Thunderhill team mates, Bruce Wilson.
Lot’s of people make the school possible. All of the turn workers, officials and instructors that show up a day early, the Stewards that make sure the paperwork stays in order, Todd the Road Race Director, who does all of the liaison work, and Karen in the Region office that personally walks everybody through the registration paperwork. Karen describes the process as like herding cats – whatever that is…
There were quite a few high points for me. There was really good progress made by everybody – most of the students had previous experience and completed the requirements necessary to compete in a Regional race. A handful of students were pretty quick and mostly needed guidance regarding their responsibilities (in addition to driving the car) while on course. There were no reported collisions this time – last year we had a couple, and most everybody always had a big smile on their face.
One student showed up in a mid-eighties vintage Renault Cup car (photo). I raced against this exact car at the beginning of my racing career. I had no idea that any of these things still ran. August, the driver, was fast, clean and consistent. In the one mostly damp session we had he was one of the fastest cars on course – that was awesome!!!
One of the Spec Miata’s that showed up was driven by a young guy that has just returned from a 15 month deployment in Iraq with a Stryker Brigade (photo). Eli is one of the nicest people you will ever meet and was quick enough to catch the attention of the Spec Miata brain trust that was working the school. It’s only right that we fastrack him toward making up an extra 15 months worth of racing experience – Eli will get lots of help on his way to becoming a front runner.
The first Regional race happens later today and many of the students will be seeing a green flag for real for the first time. Here they go again…
As this is all about cars and bikes, I figure I should relate the story about the only time I know of that people used both of them in the same race.
For the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland last July the promoter had hatched the brilliant idea that you could do a race like a triathlon, but using race cars instead of swimming. There were some problems, though. First, that’s the kind of race I could actually win, even if it sounded kind of dicey – but, I had “retired” from car racing at the end of 2007. Second, I thought they would change their minds after they thought about it for more than a minute.
I was wrong, of course, and on Sunday morning we were called together for a meeting about how the race would work, and how hopefully nobody would be killed and how it was worth the risk because the winner would get $400. It did seem likely that I’d risked my life for less than that before…
I had, the day before, un-retired from car racing and finished 7th in the first Spec Miata race of the weekend which had taken place Saturday afternoon. I had also hatched a brilliant plan to race the Motathlon then drive up to Vancouver, Washington to race a Criterium (bicycle’s, twisty, crowded, and in reality more dicey than the Motathlon) and then return very quickly to Portland to take part in the feature race of the Mazda Grand Prix in the Miatacage.com Miata. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
How often will the chance to do a real bike race and real car race on the same day present itself, anyway?
There were about 10 of us dumb enough to show up on the Motathlon grid and most of us were in Spec Miatas. We drew for starting position and would do four laps of PIR in the car, about one mile on the bike and then run about 300 yards to the finish (where Playboy bunnies would be waiting for the winner – yes, those Playboy bunnies).
Will Schrader took off on the car leg and had gapped the field led by Bruce Wilson and Alec Osenback. My excuse for being fourth is that my plan was simply to avoid the bad things that might happen during the car part and win it from the bike. I think most of us were using nearly all of our regular safety equipment except the HANS (head and neck restraint). I had decided to do the entire race without changing or removing any gear!!!
Motathlon and Mazda GP Spec Miata
That was Will’s biggest mistake. The time he took to switch helmets completely erased the gap he had made for himself. Bruce and Alec were banging on each other entering the “transition area” (I’m told that’s what the triathlon people call it) and frankly, I’m surprised they didn’t wreck themselves – but 400 bucks is 400 bucks and Bruce was pretty well spun up about the bunnies.
So, I hopped out of the car and was handed my bicycle by my friend (and hairdresser), Fenn Bourland, who is an experienced triathlete who uses words like “transition” and “area”. It was pretty much over, save the sweating, at that point. Alec was in the lead and I could hear the muffled obscenities as I blew by him and continued to stretch out a 45 second advantage by the time the run started. That part was pretty cool because Alec is young and all kind of spry looking and I’m kind of old… Anyway, a sprint in full race driving gear down the straightaway and the bunnies and $400 would be mine!!!
Car people, in particular, love the 24 Hours of Lemons and as I was forunate enough to do it once, I’m often asked questions about it. The 2007 edition of the 24 Hours of Lemons at Thunderhill was the first “race” out of retirement for me. I’ve described it as a Halloween party with cars, and that really is just about it. Cyclocross racers have got nothing for these clowns.
As I have pictures and video that describe the experience I will simply add them for your viewing pleasure. We brought a guy that can drive around on 2 wheels (video) and some people cheat (more video). If you cheat by bringing a car worth more than $500 the motor might be confiscated (yes, more video)…
Those bags stacked on top of the car contain $1,500 worth of nickles… 600 pounds or so.
Car people, in particular, love the 24 Hours of Lemons and as I was forunate enough to do it once, I’m often asked questions about it. The 2007 edition of the 24 Hours of Lemons at Thunderhill was the first “race” out of retirement for me. I’ve described it as a Halloween party with cars, and that really is just about it. Cyclocross racers have got nothing for these clowns.