Do you want to contribute in lessening the carbon dioxide on our environment? Do you think the best way is to use a hybrid car? Well, perhaps hybrid cars have been helping a lot in saving our environment but recent facts show that used cars are more efficient in reducing the carbon dioxide level in our atmosphere.
This month’s issue of Wired, Matt Power explains that hybrid vehicles get high gas mileage. However, it takes 113 million BTUs of energy just to make one hybrid like the recent Toyota Prius. 113,000 BTUs of energy in a gallon of gasoline are there in a Prius. An equivalent of 1,000 gallons is consumed by Prius before it arrives at the showroom. Matt said that such is a carbon debt, which you won’t pay until the Prius reaches 46,000 miles or more.
Further, there is an easy way to avoid that debt and that is to buy and use a used car because the said debt has already been paid. Be wary, however. Used car must not just be a used car. It needs to be fuel efficient.
For example, a 1998 Toyota Tercel that gets 27 miles per gallon in the city/ 35 miles per gallon in highway miles. Foe Prius to achieve the same carbon saving as the 10-year-old Tercel, it has to travel 100,000 miles first. There are numerous used cars out there that top 30 mpg like Ford festive or Aspire that delivers 33 mpg. Also the mid-‘90s Mazda Proteges are nice for 30 mpg or more and so as the Dodge Colts of the early ‘90s. Include in your list the Honda CRX HF models which will give you 39 to 45 mpg, the econoboxes, and the Chevrolet Chevette that gives 36 mpg and the ’87 Chevrolet Sprint that has 40.
Most probably, you would not believe what Matt Power had written but mind you. Used cars are becoming big sellers. Fuel-misers from early 1990’s are selling high and prices have gone up 30% in the past few months, said US Today. In fact, a Geo Metro with 175,000 on the odometer has lately sold for three grand on eBay.
To sum it up, you don’t have to spend a lot just to purchase a new Prius or any hybrid, just choose the best used car in the market. In such way, you would certainly contribute in decreasing the carbon dioxide content in our atmosphere. Indeed, driving a hybrid can make you feel good but definitely won’t help much.
