How clean are hybrids?
 

I'm sure the Prius has been discussed here before but tis may be a different angle. I saw a cost comparison recently between the Prius and Civic. It seems one would have to drive the Civic 333,000 miles to recoup the start-up costs of the Prius. This was based on the fuel efficiency of each vehicle, new car pricing and the $1500 federal tax credit. So if the Prius doesn't make much sense financially, why are people buying it? Certainly not for the driving experience so it must be for the cleaner emissions. But just how much cleaner is the Prius than the Civic? I can't seem to find any info the subject. Does anyone here know?

A Civic hybrid looks like any other Civic, it will get lost in traffic with everyone else. The Prius looks different. People recognize it as "one of those new hybrids". Perhaps people are buying them so they can say to the rest of the motoring masses "See, I care about the environment, I'm making a difference". Somebody posted here a while back that they drove an early 80's 1300 Civic that got something like 40 mpg on the Hwy. I remember those cars, I would love to have one of those today. Great gas mileage and super simple to DIY repairs and maintenance.

The Prius isn't so popular in Europe, since it costs more than other cars (which happen to also get better fuel mileage). I'm still up on hybrids. I feel they will become more popular as technology improves.