I enjoy Penn & Teller B.S., it's usually good for a laugh or three (though like most time-limited TV shows, their analyses are pretty superficial). What I think is the most recent episode ("Nukes, Hybrids, and Lesbians") featured a [lesbian] blind date set up in a Prius test drive. They were pretty harsh on the Prius, a bit unfairly IMHO (though that is their style).

Some choice quotes/moments:
They did an acceleration test, and clocked the 0-60 mph around 12 seconds, and their blind date driver said "I thought the pickup blew, it was really terrible" -- voiceover: "The pickup is terrible because you're carrying two separate powertrains: a gas engine that weighs hundreds of pounds, and an electric motor and its batteries that also weigh hundreds of pounds. I mean, that's like driving around with two whole extra lesbians in your trunk."

A bit later (after some discussions of nuclear energy) they tried to fit two adults, two "kids" (dolls) and all their "typical" luggage for a week's vacation, plus strollers, and carseats in the car. The girls weren't able to do it (though honestly, not only was there a lot of stuff, they didn't even pack the car very well: I didn't see them try to put anything on the rear floor or between the two booster seats). The girls said "there's no way we could fit the stuff for a week's vacation in there." "I take more stuff than that when I go on trips by myself."

The voiceover continued "See, hybrid means half car, and well... that's all. But you get to bring a big battery with you everywhere you go, and that battery takes up a ****-wad of space. If you're keeping score, this hybrid car has terrible pickup and is useless for a family of 4."

On their 70 mile trip, they got 44-45 mpg. "That's not too impressive compared to the small car that I drive." Said one girl.

They then go on to say "There are lots of affordable, small cars that get great highway mileage, but it's only the hybrid that nets you a two or three thousand dollar tax credit from the hippie feds. The USA: giving your money to hippies for over 40 years..." "...[hybrids are] really a symbol of not thinking, even so far as to not know what you're going to do with a ****-load of heavy, expensive, toxic batteries when they all run out in a few years."



They didn't have much focus on hybrids because they were mostly caught up with discussing nuclear energy... and the show isn't really too concerned about being fair and unbiased, and isn't often looking to support something (the name of the show is, after all "BS") -- but even for them, I thought the hybrid segments were pretty shallow, one-sided, and full of apples-to-oranges comparisons...

 

I watched that episode too and it was pretty obvious that they believe hybrids are bullshit. Although, I'd like to see Penn fit a family of 4 and their luggage in the Mini Cooper that he drives. I did like their "bag of the the head" analogy though of the energy crisis.

If you didn't see the show, Penn and Teller both had bags over their head. Teller was trying to conserve the air he has in his bag by breathing slowly, and Penn didn't care and was talking fast and loud with the bag over his head. It didn't matter what they did though because they both ran out of air anyway. Penn then used scissors (which represented a new form of energy) to cut the bag open, to show that the only way to solve the crisis is to find a new form of energy.

-Mike

 

I enjoy their show, but take it at face value: it's entertainment, not news. Any show that dangles body bits for shock value isn't really concerned about content.

 

Yeah, I saw it as well. It really makes me wonder about the other shows that they've done, if they do as much "research" beforehand, or just enjoy stacking the deck to make whatever point they want to make. (As they said in their own statistics/polls episode, it's not very hard to make people think what they want them to think, even to go as far as to answer the same questoin two different ways in the same poll.)