While perusing a CNN story about $86 dollar-a-barrel oil, I ran across a video interview with the co-founder of Green Tomato Cars, a Prius-only taxi company in London.

Great! Finally, a positive story about hybrids. Right? But what I didn't like was how the reporter made it a point to say "seen as more environmentally friendly", "perceived as more environmentally friendly" in his phrasing of the questions, at every opportunity. I started to recall the CNW marketing "studies" "showing" that Prius owners only cared about being seen as environmentally conscious, not about actually doing something worthwhile (like saving gasoline, reducing the trade deficit, cutting funding to oil-funded extremist organizations, reducing smog forming emissions, reducing global warming gases per mile of travel, supporting environmentally friendly technology to bring down the cost for everyone, etc.)

The clincher was when the reporter, in the process of asking his question, asserted that making the Prius was "quite energy intensive", without offering any data (after all, he's asking the questions, not answering them). This allowed the tone of his interview to continue to dismiss the Prius as all about perception, with no environmental benefit, regardless of what his interviewee said.

Does anyone else smell a CNW "educated" interviewer here?
FYI : the cnn video

Disheartening.

I don't fault the interviewer since the business model of Greentomatocars.com is oriented towards the environment rather than operational savings of their hybrids. I would rather see an interview of the New York and San Francisco taxi companies that have been operating hybrid electrics in their fleets or the Canadian taxi firms.

Taxi service should be a natural win-win driving profile. Lots of miles with lots of stop-and-go. The vehicles run a whole shift warmed up and if they run at least two shifts, all the better.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

I don't know about your neck of the woods, but in my neighborhood, Priuses seem to be popping up like mushrooms, so. . .

Personally, I checked Consumer Reports. I never even heard of CNW, or whatever until I got onto this website.

Another problem is how the car is sold at the dealer. So, here's the story of the day.

A friend told me she was checking out cars and was really leaning towards the Prius. She test drove, and found she was unable to see the display (all of it, drive position, mpg - everything when she had her polaroid sunglasses down. The salesman was in the back seat talking on his cell concerning his financial problems.

However, she was able to read the display in my car.

She's driving a Mazda.

Actually, you're right - they are popping up like crazy now that Toyota has started making enough to meet demand (at least around here). I crossed paths with 16 Prii the other day. I think word of mouth and driving experience at the dealership is selling them.

I wonder what the deal was with the sunglasses? No trouble with my polarized ones seeing my display. Was the display in that orangish color the new models have?

Huh. Well, there's a thought. You know, one can change the color of the display (at least on Consumption, etc.). But that never occured to me. I was thinking the dash light was turned (up, down).

Yeah, who reads CNW anyway?

polarized lenses work by filtering the light coming at them from certain angles. TFT displays "create" light by twisting it. Therefore at certain angles of viewing, a TFT display appears to "wink out" to someone wearing polarized lenses.

Tell your friend to try tilting her head to one side or the other and watch what happens...

If she likes the Prius, it would be cheaper and easier to simply get a different pair of sunglasses. A different pair with a different polarization should fix the issue.