Hybrids Drive Their Way Out Of Car-Pool Lanes

That is a bit far LeMansFan.
They're a good idea, but I don't think they save money. Especially not the Lexus "performance" hybrids.

Rupert,

They're not meant to save money, they're meant to save resources. V8 performance with V6 consumption and 70% less emissions.

While I don't think pushing them into the ocean will help, I have to agree with you. People have no idea how much energy it takes to produce the batteries for those hybrids and how much toxic waste they generate when trying to dispose of them. They also don't last as long as the rest of the car, so most hybrids will go through several sets of batteries making the problem even worse. The foolish hybrid buyers fall for the mpg focused marketing. Wake up people! There was an article a couple of months ago that claimed a Hummer is more energy efficient than a Prius over the whole life cycle of both. It actually took the production and disposal of the cars into consideration, which every educated person should.

It hasn't been an issue yet, because most of the batteries out there haven't reached the end of their lifespan yet. The Hybrid craze has only recently taken off. Wait until the time comes where the first hybrid cars are taken out of service and the large amount of batteries need to be decommissioned. The energy to properly recycle the batteries and dispose of the toxic waste hasn't yet been used. Hybrid cars is another example to leave big headaches for later generations. Hybrids just shift the environmental impact from emissions to toxic batteries. Somebody has yet to show me that Hybrids come out ahead by a significant margin. So far to me it's just a way to stimulate car sales by appealing to buyers gaining environmental awareness and making them feel better about their car purchase by leaving out the details. It already starts getting ridiculous with Lexus and GM pumping out V8 Hybrids. Oh I feel bad about driving a V8, but wait if they just make it a Hybrid I'll feel a lot better. Come on, give me a break!

Will, I am going to have to call BS on your E320/GS450h comparison. You have it correct that the GS is faster and the emissions are similar. However, the fuel economy is drastically in favor of the E320.

E320 Blutech: 26 city/35 highway
GS450h: 25/28

These are both EPA numbers and the EPA estimates inflate hybrid capabilities.

At 0-60, the E320 is no slouch at 6.6 sec compared to 5.2 sec for the GS450h (Factory claims from the websites).

So whats the incentive to buy hybrids now? That was the biggest advantage.

Finally. 1 person driving their Prius and making 51 mpg (more like 40-45 @ 80 on the highway) is using more fuel and polluting more than 2 people in a 30 mpg vehicle.

This decision could be good for the hybrid owner since hybrids are usually more efficient in stop-and-go traffic. Of course the stress level goes back up. But its hard to escape that, regardless of the type of lane you drive in.

Chewy, I see your point, but it's a poor comparison.

Yes, 2 people driving 2 Prius cars is less efficient than 2 people riding in 1 economy car who are carpooling.

Not sure if you live in Cali, but maybe you don't know how carpooling works here. Very few people *PLAN* to carpool. People who do plan, will also carpool whether they have a hybrid or a Hummer. If someone, by chance, happens to have more than 1 passenger at a given time - well that same chance applies to a hybrid driver as well.

Usually I agree with your comments, but this one is based on a poor and biased assumption.