What Detroit Could Learn from the Prius

We recently returned from a two-week trip to California in our Prius, averaging between 50 and 55 miles per gallon. Which was fortunate, with gas prices nearing $4 a gallon in some places. (In Silicon Valley, where money flows like petroleum, no one seems to mind.)

I ran across this piece in the San Francisco Chronicle telling a brief history of the development of the Prius. But read between the lines, the article really is a long veiled tongue-lashing of Detroit. Imagine one of the Fat Bastards using words like humility and hard work to describe a GMC or Ford Motor initiative.

Then on CBS' "60 Minutes" the other night, car makers were shown downplaying the potential of ethanol. There are reasons to be skeptical about corn-based ethanol -- it takes a lot of energy to transport, make and distribute, among some -- but rejecting it simply because it doesn't come from underground reservoirs isn't one.

What's often overlooked in discussions about the Prius is how clever the car is in just about all ways, not just in fuel savings. I've written about this before, but it bears repeating. The Prius is a luxury car in an economy car's clothing.

-- Paul Andrews, GreenforGood