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Some of us who purchased the Prius did so not only to save some money on gasoline but to help protect the environment. In addition to these reasons, you can throw in helping to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. My main reasons are the latter two.
I currently own a 2002 Prius. I have no complaints whatsoever the car is awesome. I see that many of you who currently own a Prius are selling to purchase the new 04 Prius. From an environmental standpoint, I think that is not sound. "The mere purchase of a car (any car, even the Prius) harms the environment because it encourages the manufacturing of more automobiles." UCS The manufacturing of a new car pumps 4 tons of carbon and nearly 700 pounds of other pollutants into the atmosphere. I think it is wiser to contain your enthusiasm and continue driving your current Prius until it can run no more. I too was tempted to sell my 2002 Prius. But not to purchase the 04, instead I was tempted to purchase the soon to be released to the public Honda Compressed Natural Gas Civic. This takes me to my next point.
This country is way too dependent on foreign oil. I don't care what anyone says. Our soldiers are in Iraq right now because of oil. The USA imports a large amount of oil from Saudi Arabia. Remember them? They are the country that produced most of the 9/11 terrorist scumbags. Talk about national security. The Honda CNG Civic runs on Natural Gas. Natural Gas is a plentiful and DOMESTIC resource. As efficient as the Prius is, it is still primarily a gasoline powered vehicle. The Honda Civic CNG is the logical next step until the Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles arrive. They run exclusively on gas which burns much more efficiently than gasoline. Also, the CNG burning process is gentler on the engine parts requiring less engine oil. The Honda CNG Civic is rated as a SULEV and gets about mid 30's MPG (when comparing to the equivalent of a gallon of gasoline). And, natural gas is cheaper than gasoline. What are the drawbacks? The range. Right now the Civic CNG has a real world range of 200 miles between fill ups. Although improvement is inevitable, this would still fill the TYPICAL need for most people. If you are into road trips, this vehicle will not fill your needs. I commute 80 miles round trip per day. This vehicle would certainly fill my needs. Re-fueling. Right now re-fueling stations are few and far between. But that will change in time. Also, there is a home fueling device which will allow you to tap into your home's natural gas supply to re-fuel your vehicle while your sleep. How convenient is that?
Anyway, I have said my peace. I don't mean to stifle anyone's enthusiasm about this great car. I guess I am speaking to those of you who are really into these issues. I await your thoughts..................
I currently own a 2002 Prius. I have no complaints whatsoever the car is awesome. I see that many of you who currently own a Prius are selling to purchase the new 04 Prius. From an environmental standpoint, I think that is not sound. "The mere purchase of a car (any car, even the Prius) harms the environment because it encourages the manufacturing of more automobiles." UCS The manufacturing of a new car pumps 4 tons of carbon and nearly 700 pounds of other pollutants into the atmosphere. I think it is wiser to contain your enthusiasm and continue driving your current Prius until it can run no more. I too was tempted to sell my 2002 Prius. But not to purchase the 04, instead I was tempted to purchase the soon to be released to the public Honda Compressed Natural Gas Civic. This takes me to my next point.
This country is way too dependent on foreign oil. I don't care what anyone says. Our soldiers are in Iraq right now because of oil. The USA imports a large amount of oil from Saudi Arabia. Remember them? They are the country that produced most of the 9/11 terrorist scumbags. Talk about national security. The Honda CNG Civic runs on Natural Gas. Natural Gas is a plentiful and DOMESTIC resource. As efficient as the Prius is, it is still primarily a gasoline powered vehicle. The Honda Civic CNG is the logical next step until the Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles arrive. They run exclusively on gas which burns much more efficiently than gasoline. Also, the CNG burning process is gentler on the engine parts requiring less engine oil. The Honda CNG Civic is rated as a SULEV and gets about mid 30's MPG (when comparing to the equivalent of a gallon of gasoline). And, natural gas is cheaper than gasoline. What are the drawbacks? The range. Right now the Civic CNG has a real world range of 200 miles between fill ups. Although improvement is inevitable, this would still fill the TYPICAL need for most people. If you are into road trips, this vehicle will not fill your needs. I commute 80 miles round trip per day. This vehicle would certainly fill my needs. Re-fueling. Right now re-fueling stations are few and far between. But that will change in time. Also, there is a home fueling device which will allow you to tap into your home's natural gas supply to re-fuel your vehicle while your sleep. How convenient is that?
Anyway, I have said my peace. I don't mean to stifle anyone's enthusiasm about this great car. I guess I am speaking to those of you who are really into these issues. I await your thoughts..................