Toyota Prius - Hybrid Vehicle
½ Electric - ½ Gasoline
What do you look for in a car?

Style, comfort, reliability, safety, performance and price all come into play. A lot probably boils down to the bottom line on the window sticker, but the true costs of a car aren't always quite so obvious.

Cars take a toll on the environment which is often hidden, but always very real. We all pay for the adverse health impacts of air pollution, oil spills and global climate disruption from consumption of fossil fuels. But it's possible to minimize negative environmental impacts and still meet your transportation needs.

Greater Mercer TMA calls it "Eco-Logical" transportation and it can take many forms, from buying a low emissions, fuel efficient vehicle, to using transit, carpooling, combining trips or, simply leaving the car in the garage and walking or bicycling to wherever you have to go. Maybe, with a few life style changes, you won't need that car after all!

So, if you have to go, go green!

· Consider buying a low emissions, fuel-efficient vehicle.

     Hybrid electric vehicles are now available for purchase in the United States.

     The formula for their success is simple:

Gasoline engine + electric motor = improved fuel economy + lower emissions.

Here's how they work: Hybrid electric vehicles combine an internal combustion gasoline engine with an electric motor and a battery pack. Typically, they use electricity for starting, backing up and low speed driving; gasoline for most normal driving; and a combination of gasoline and electricity for full throttle driving. The gasoline engine stops running whenever the car stops moving.

· The gasoline engine also generates its own electricity on board, so the batteries never need charging. · Additional electricity is obtained from the braking system. Braking, or taking your foot off of the accelerator, captures the kinetic energy from the wheels and converts it into electric energy, which is stored in battery.

· The vehicle's Advanced Control System monitors and controls the engine, generator electric motor and battery pack depending on driving and roadway conditions.

· Hybrid electric vehicles emit less than one third of the pollutants emitted by traditional vehicles. The Toyota Prius is rated SULEV, or Super, Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle, meaning it emits 90% less emissions than traditional vehicles. Only a ZEV, or zero emissions vehicle, such as the TMA's Solectria in the Project:Power Commute Program, has a better rating. The Honda Insight, the other hybrid on the market, gets better mileage, but emits more pollutants. It has a ULEV, ultra low emissions rating.

Remember, a vehicle's "green-ness" is also determined by how it is used. A car with two passengers is "greener" than a single occupant vehicle. And a car with three or four is even more. Leaving the car at home and taking the bus or train, or walking or bicycling are other ways you can cut pollution, reduce congestion and conserve energy.

Interested in seeing the Prius in person? Contact the TMA about setting up a demo at your facility!
Updated: 5/01
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