I have a 2002 Prius (not the higher-mileage 2004) and when I'm not carrying
my kayak on the roof I get 48 mpg.  I heard that NPR piece and I really
wondered about it. Also their basic point, which was that the way the EPA
tests are done is misleading, and that the law prohibits Toyota from
advertising the actual (lower) mileage, got lost in the catchy headlines
about the Prius not getting what "Toyota" claimed it would.

FWIW I get around 36 mpg with the kayak, which shows that much of the fuel
advantage of the hybrids really isn't due to the hybrid engine, it's due to
other design features of the car.

Good thing my vanagon is already pretty un-aerodynamic - if my gas mileage
dropped that much with the kayak I'd be getting almost negative miles to the
gallon on the van!  (well, I exaggerate a bit...)

Joy

****************************************************************
Joy Hecht
and Matilda, 1989 Burgundy Vanagon

For musings about life and the vanadventures:
http://users.rcn.com/jhecht/gypsy

****************************************************************

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf Of
David Brodbeck
Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2004 9:35 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: [Diesel-Vanagon] Hybrids on NPR last night

On Sat, 15 May 2004, Mad and Ed wrote:

> HA!  I knew it!  The NPR story quoted - was Car & Driver? that the best
> they were able to get with the Prius they had on trial was 42mpg!

Is that the Car & Drive article where they proclaimed it "the first car to
run on guilt?" ;)

To be fair, the Prius's main advantage is in city driving, not highway.

David Brodbeck, N8SRE
'86 Volvo 240DL wagon
'82 VW Vanagon Westfalia Diesel