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Twelve 2007 Toyota Prius hybrid vehicles added to U of M fleet

The University of Minnesota has expanded its environmentally friendly fleet of hybrid vehicles to 28 by adding twelve 2007 Toyota Priuses.

The hybrid vehicles are one of the most fuel-efficient automobiles and run on a combination of gasoline and rechargeable electric batteries. The Prius has an EPA-estimated rating of 52 miles per gallon (mpg) in city driving and 45 mpg on the highway.

“We have been very pleased with the Prius’s performance and style. In today’s world, it’s smart to try alternatives to gas and diesel powered vehicles,” said Bill Roberts, the U of M’s Parking and Transportation Services associate director. “The Prius is an environmentally-friendly alternative that looks and drives great.”

University vehicle users have been happy with its performance as well. In focus groups conducted in January 2007, participants raved about the Prius and requested that the University buy more.

“We are committed to being a principled steward of civic funds while serving the public good,” commented Roberts. “We’ve incorporated that premise into our philosophy; a healthy balance sheet and a cleaner environment can go hand in hand.”

The university began using hybrid vehicles in the fall of 2001 when they purchased three 2002 Toyota Priuses. In addition, the university currently has five Ford Escape hybrid vehicles with two more on order.

A Hydrogen Prius

oyota's Prius has become a standard-bearer of sort for the green machine movement. Buyers who were looking for technologically advanced vehicles with good fuel economy latched on to the Prius - and have so in larger numbers since its 1998 introduction.

Now, Toyota is planning the third generation of its bleeding-edge hybrid, with a concept due at the Geneva motor show that might show the way to the next evolution of the Prius. But what if the Prius were to become radically different? What if it were to adopt a new powertrain - one fueled by hydrogen?



One company is working on just such an experimental Prius - ECD Ovonics, a battery and hydrogen-storage technology company headed by former General Motors chairman Robert Stempel. TheCarConnection took ECD's offer of driving their experimental Prius recently, and in its current state of development, a hydrogen Prius doesn't seem to be too far a stretch of technology's imagination.

Supply of hybrid Prius now zooms with demand

The supply of Toyota Prius hybrid cars has caught up with the demand, signaling an end to long customer delivery waits that were once standard for the vehicles.

After watching the Prius hybrid fly out of dealer showrooms the last six years, Toyota has even started to nudge consumers with zero-percent financing and lease deals.

Until recently, most Toyota dealers had wait lists of two to three months for the fuel-efficient Prius, the most popular gas-electric hybrid model. But at the end of January, dealers across the nation had a 30-day supply, or about 10,000 vehicles, based on January sales.

Toyota of Des Moines had wait lists of up to eight months a few years ago, but now generally has about nine or 10 Priuses in stock and are expecting more, said Steve Luebke, general manager of the dealership.

Deeya McClurkin of West Des Moines bought a new 2007 Prius from the dealership recently.

"I like to think of myself as environmentally friendly," McClurkin said. "I'm trying to lower my carbon footprint," or the impact of human activities on the environment through the use of fossil fuels. The Prius is rated by the Environmental Protection Agency as getting 55 to 60 miles per gallon.

Guide to alternative fuels

Experts warn that it won't be easy to get off of petroleum or reduce how much the world uses. The amount of energy per liter derived from petroleum is far better than most of the alternatives, a worldwide infrastructure based on it already exists, and people tend to be lazy.

If oil drops below $55 a barrel, most of these alternatives stop becoming attractive, says Dan Arvizu, director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. And the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is watching what is going on in alternative fuels and can gauge oil prices accordingly.

"We do have a problem with how serious we are about our energy challenges," he said.

Global warming and improving technology, however, are making the alternatives more realistic all the time. Here's a guide to the main alternatives.

Easy Ways You Can Save Energy, Money

You know that cars burn gasoline and send carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is thought to lead to global warming. But power plants also emit large amounts of carbon dioxide by burning coal, gas or other fossil fuels. So using less energy in the home means burning less fuel.

As the Union of Concerned Scientists explains on ClimateChoices.org, just about every product depends on burning fossil fuels, either in the manufacturing process or in shipping it to stores. When we waste less, we consume less, and that means fewer greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

You can hardly give up consuming things. But we can all reduce our consumption of both energy and products. Most of the steps you can take save money and don't require big changes to your life.

Buy Energy Star Appliances

Energy Star is a government program that supports especially energy-efficient appliances. The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy work together to maintain very high standards for the products they endorse.

Everything from clothes washers to dehumidifiers are among the approved products, and using them can save a substantial amount of energy and expense. According to Energystar.gov, Americans saved $12 billion in energy costs in 2005. The certified products also kept enough gases out of the atmosphere to equal elimination of emissions from 23 million cars.

Prius facts to hang your hat on

I have been reading negative reports about Prius mileage and cost effectiveness for years. Here is one called "The Hybrid Hoax," written about a year ago. The author propagates misinformation by referring us to another article written in 2004 by a USA Today reporter (Kiley) who drove a Jetta diesel from Detroit to Washington, D.C., and a Prius back from Washington, D.C. to Detroit:

Kiley had to stop to refill the Prius, which ended up averaging 38 miles per gallon, compared with 44 miles per gallon for the Jetta

What this idiot failed to mention is that the Prius actually got 51.7 MPG on the computer mileage gauge, which measures tire rotation and fuel flow precisely and accurately. The accuracy of the computer MPG calculation has also been verified by the EPA, which tests car emissions by measuring similar parameters. The reporter got 38 MPG when he manually checked the mileage. Toyota gave him several reasons to pick from as to why his manual MPG numbers were in error.

The bottom line is this: No Prius gets a mere 38 MPG on the highway (unless you load it up with five people, which explained away one complaint I found by a guy in five person carpool). The idea that Toyota has duped consumers by giving them a rigged mileage computer is asinine in the extreme. A Prius will go 12.5 miles on one quart. So if the amount of gas you think you put in your tank is off by just one quart you would* by enough, you could calculate an MPG of 62.5 or 37.5 instead of 50, which is just what this reporter did. *Note to self, never post after third glass of merlot.

Cold weather and Prius gas mileage

I had heard that cold weather reduces the mileage on the Prius. Fall is in full effect in Chicago and temps are regularly in the the 30's and 40's now. I have noticed that my average mileage is down by 3-5 MPG since the temp changes.

My route or driving habits have no changed, just the temp. I will be keeping an eye on this as winter sets in to see if it goes down more or will level off. The mileage is still very good. Have also heard that people have used engine block heaters to off set this drop in MPG.