Quote:
Originally Posted by zamler
BS. All vehicles are tested using the same conditions. The best hybrids run very very clean, far and above the average car.
More BS. The materials used in the batteries are the SAME materials used in other cars as well, including chrome trim, the frame etc. For example, the amount of nickel in a Prius NiMH battery pack is about the same as what an average SUV contains in the frame and base structure. A large SUV with a lot of trim etc. will contain significantly more nickel.
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It's convenient that you focused your response on the Ni part of the NiMH battery, not the M which is an intermetallic compound being a mix of rare earth metals Lanthanium, Cerium, Neodymium and Praseodumium, among others.
The reason that a base Prius costs 11000$ more than a base Corolla with Automatic transmission is because the hybrid comes with two drive trains (which takes energy to mine, transport, smelt and manufacture) and is loaded with exotic materials that also take energy to mine, smelt and manufacture. The reality of our economic system is that the cost of stuff is pretty much proportional to the energy cost to produce that stuff.
If someone really cared about total GHG emissions, they would buy a Corolla and put the extra money into paying extra for wind-powered electricity or buying better windows or getting a better furnace or an on-demand hot water heater. That's what I did.