Green Auto Blog Roundup

So I'm in Seattle this week... and we decided to rent a Toyota Prius. I've been critical of hybrids in the past, but wanted to see for myself how much they lie about the fuel economy. Even if its not a big lie, I'm still not sold on switching from carbon-heavy petroleum to massive, toxic batteries...

I'll be updating this blog next week with the miles-per-gallon that we saw with the Prius... in the meantime, enjoy my take on a green-auto-link-a-palooza:

• Honda Civic Hybrid Owner Files Class Action Lawsuit
  Apparently he's not happy getting 32MPG, instead of the 50MPG advertised...
• Coast-To-Coast in Canada on 89 gallons of gas
  Using a diesel Smart car, not a bulky hybrid.
• Which is greener: keeping a junker, or buying a hybrid?
  Opinions differ... in general the EPA says its better to wait to buy new efficient appliances until the older ones break. The energy lost in manufacturing doesn't make up for the efficiency gains. Does the same rule apply to cars?
• Toyota unveils a plug-in-Prius
  I'm not yet swooning... In the US, ten kilowatt hours of electricity from the grid has approximately the same carbon output as one gallon of gas (wiki: Carbon_Tax), and the VW Golf diesel gets 40 miles per gallon... so be sure your electric car gets over 4 miles per kilowatt hour, or else you're destroying the planet! Har...
• Wacky Welshmen Capture Auto Emissions in a Box
  Not sure I believe this one... but they claim to have a special box that catches ~90% of tailpipe emissions in some kind of algae. The catch? You have to replace the box with every fillup! Good luck...

I know... being a serial contrarian dooms me to forever be the cynic...