Tuesday, February 17, 2009

More on the Green Human Portland to Portland Challenge

If you've been following along at greenp2p.com, by now you've noticed that all our stops are at VW dealers. In the interest in transparency, yes, these dealers have graciously agreed to sponsor us. But there's more to it than that.

We're not here to rip on the Prius, we're here to fairly compare the "current industry standard" to the "new opportunity" the TDI presents. When a car is nominated the "Green Car of the Year" or awarded the Guiness Book of World Records for best fuel economy on a cross country trip, there IS a story here.

Personally, I've been driving an 06 TDI for a couple of years now, and blogging about it, long before the idea of the Green p2p even existed. Personally, my biggest "ah ha" moment was the day I filled it up with 100% Biodiesel and realized I was using ZERO fossil fuel, not one drop! And while VW doesn't support the use of anything more than B5(5% bio), the point of fact is that YOU HAVE OPTIONS. If you want to make your own fuel in your garage, or go get fry grease, or just fill up with diesel or bio, you have alternatives. And that's what this test drive is really about!

So me, and team of green humans doing this, welcome your questions, and comments.

Here are some of mine-

1. Which car is the most efficient to operate on a daily basis?
2. Which one is more cost efficient over time? (Sorry the battery disposal thing on the Prius still bothers me no matter what anyone says).
3. Which one wins in the performance/fun to drive category?
4. Which one wins in the "creature comfort" category?
and finally,
5. Which one is kinder to the environment?

That's what we're here to find out.

I welcome an honest conversation, there are strong opinions on ALL sides, and that's what's going to make this fun!

Thanks for being a part of it, everyone! See you in DC!
Posted by at 10:00 PM

2 comments:

  1. You know the EPA has fuel economy numbers that can be found at www.fueleconomy.gov:

    City/Hwy (Combined)
    29/40 (33) - 2009 Jetta TDI, auto
    48/45 (46) - 2009 Prius, auto

    The EPA numbers come from standard, well defined tests. Anyone can read the protocol and get similar results. FYI, there is close agreement to the EPA numbers by user reported results:

    40.2 MPG - 16 reports, 2009 Jetta
    46.3 MPG - 102 reports, 2008 Prius

    Of course you could use a "Top Gear" driver for the Prius and get 17 MPG. You might even borrow an Edmunds writer and get 39 MPG. In fact, there are a lot of 'ringer' drivers who can just about dial in any MPG number desired. So why are your 'tests' any better?

    Bob Wilson
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  2. BTW, the largest user database of Prius mileage is located at GreenHybrid.com:

    http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/toyota-priushsd.html

    There are 1,758 entries and the median MPG is 47.5 MPG. Compared to the EPA 45/48 (46 combined), this is pretty good agreement.

    So again, we're kinda of wondering what is it about this single vehicle vs vehicle test makes it a better or more definitive test than either the government repeatable EPA tests or the already evident, 1,758 vehicles in GreenHybrid.com?

    Bob Wilson
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