It seems that Spinella spent two years on the most comprehensive study to date – dubbed "Dust to Dust" -- collecting data on the energy necessary to plan, build, sell, drive and dispose of a car from the initial conception to scrappage. This study found that hybrid costs more in energy then a hummer. Why? Well, the main reasons are
a) Hybrid only lasts 100,000 miles (Prius life as claimed by Toyota) instead of 300,000 miles that a typical "normal" car costs
b) It is more costly to make a hybrid as it is a more complicated technology due to need of both electric and gas components
c) The real world mileage of hybrids is much less then claimed. In fact 62 % of hybrid owners are dissatisfied with the mileage
And, finally, the dust-to-dust energy cost of the bunny-sized Honda Civic hybrid is $3.238 per mile. This is quite a bit more than the $1.949 per mile that the elephantine Hummer costs. The energy cots of SUVs such as the Tahoe, Escalade, and Navigator are similarly far less than the Civic hybrid.
Of course, these numbers will probably look very different in a few years. But, looking at these numbers, it does not make sense to buy a hybrid today.
This is the article and this is the study
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