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I saw a segment on The Sunday Morning Show on CBS about how buying an used car is better than buying a hybrid. It had something to do with the energy used to make the hybrid.

9 Comments »

1. 

   Actually in terms of the consumer the reason why a used car may be more efficient then a hybrid is very simple. As we all know hybrids use two power trains (motors) this is a mistake in design all in itself, because instead of having a single engine weighing a couple hundred lbs you have 2 which weigh far more together, combine this with the extra weight of the batteries which is quite significant and you now have a very heavy small car with very little room for luggage of any kind. Extra weight means more gas. To add salt to the wound the electricity gained in hybrids is derived very much from regenerative braking which unless you live in a crowded atmosphere, isn’t very effective. In a scenario such as the United States, much of the land area is covered by freeway which seldom requires consistent braking.

   The standard gas mileage numbers for a hybrid is staggeringly low considering the amount of technology used to produce the car, usually nowhere near the 40′s and a small gas efficient used 4 cylinder car could easily reach 35-37 mpg without the extra weight and of coarse the extreme extra costs. The Toyota Prius being on of the flagship hybrids uses a very large Ni-Mh battery that also costs several thousands of dollars to replace that given the rough cycle life of the particular battery chemistry should last till just about when your warranty ends. So you do the math.

   Comment by silencetheevil8 — July 28, 2011 @ 9:06 am

2. 

   No.

   Comment by Manny — July 28, 2011 @ 9:06 am

3. 

   They were probably talking about what’s known as embodied energy, which is the amount of energy that went into making the car in the first place. Here’s how to look at it:

   For the used car, let’s assume it gets 25 MPG. You don’t need to count the embodied energy of that car because it already exists – you can’t waste the energy involved in making it because it’s already made. So your mileage on that car until it dies is somewhere around 25 MPG, although it will probably keep getting worth.

   For the new car, let’s assume it gets 40 MPG. Let’s suppose you drive the car a total of 100,000 miles before it gives up the ghost five or ten years from now. That means you’ll use 2,500 gallons of gas over the life of the car. But let’s suppose the energy required to forge the steel of the new car, create the plastic, assemble all the parts, and ship the new car halfway across the world from you took the energy equivalent of 1,000 gallons of gas (I just picked this number for illustration). Now you’re looking at the energy equivalent of 3,500 gallons, instead of 2,500, for that 100,000 miles. So your MPG in terms of overall energy use drops from 40 MPG to (100,000 / 3,500), which is 28.6 MPG. Suddenly your new car doesn’t look quite as impressive – it’s only 3.6 MPG more efficient than the old one.

   I haven’t been able to find any precise figures on the embodied energy in a car, but one estimate mentioned was that about 15% of the car’s total energy consumption is in its embodied energy. And bear in mind that much of the energy in a car is recaptured when the car is sent to the crusher: all that steel is still steel, all that aluminum is still aluminum, and it doesn’t take nearly as much energy to make new steel from old steel, or new aluminum from old aluminum, as it does to make them from raw mineral ores. If you assume 15%, then the old car still gets 25 MPG and the new car, which uses 2,500 gallons of gas, would use the energy equivalent of 375 gallons of extra energy in terms of its embodied energy, which drops that 40 MPG down to about 34.8 MPG, much better than my original, off-the-cuff example.

   Obviously you’re concerned about the environment or you wouldn’t ask this question. But you may find that even without counting the embodied energy issue, you won’t do better for the environment by buying a hybrid – because your driving habits will probably change. I’ve seen this with several people I know who bought hybrids – now that they no longer feel so guilty about driving (they actually feel somewhat virtuous about it), they actually drive more, and they probably burn just about as much gas now as they did before. This is pretty typical of any energy saving activity – you save energy for a given amount of the activity in question, so you save money, so you do more of the activity in question. I’ve seen it for people switching from incandescent to compact fluorescent lights, I’ve heard it’s what happened in parts of Europe when energy-saving dryers came on the market (people who used to dry with clothes lines went out and bought dryers), and it’ll probably happen to you if you go for the hybrid.

   My advice to anyone considering buying a new car: do everything you can to avoid driving, then decide if you really need the car. If you do, buy the highest-MPG car you can, and promise yourself you’ll still drive it as little as possible.

   A little guilt gets a lot of mileage!

   Comment by Robin the energy saver — July 28, 2011 @ 9:06 am

4. 

   There is a point in the life of a car that it would no longer be green to keep it. Each car would be different and the amount of miles improvement the new car provided would also enter into the equation. I do not know where you could find those numbers.

   Comment by paul — July 28, 2011 @ 9:06 am

5. 

   used what?

   hummer?
   honda civic?

   kind’a makes a difference.
   at this point, maybe teh civic is better.
   every year, there’ll be more and more hybrid cars.
   and they’ll be getting better mileage.

   waiting a bit to get something new might be a very good idea today.

   Comment by linlyons — July 28, 2011 @ 9:06 am

6. 

   actually the energy used to make a new car is a lot. that why using used car can save the energy.
   simoly as that.
   but for long-term effect i think using a hybrd car is better

   Comment by misz_orange — July 28, 2011 @ 9:06 am

7. 

   The best thing for environment is: to create electricity at home and run your on it !

   http://answer-finder.blogspot.com/2008/10/global-warming-effects-arctic-is.html

   Comment by priyankeshu — July 28, 2011 @ 9:06 am

8. 

   I always buy salvage title used cars. Because not only am I recycling the car but a car that may have been scrapped. And I get it for a lot less money which leaves me ore for other things. I just ought one last week that gets about 33 MG driving here around LA.

   And the lifetime cost for me and the environment will be far less than for a new hybrid.

   Comment by chuckles951 — July 28, 2011 @ 9:06 am

9. 

   I agree, that a used car is better for environment.
   Now a days Hybrid are super expansive (try looking at siftin.com) compared to used European convertible
   Is there a comparison between a porsche boxster 2005 and toyota prius 2008, and still they cost pretty much same

   Comment by chottan_mottan — July 28, 2011 @ 9:06 am

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