The Prius is rated by the EPA as a PZEV/ULEV. If you aren't up on
the standards, PZEV is a Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle; that's because
it's running as an electric some of the time, with the engine off. ULEV
is a Ultra Low Emissions vehicle; that's when the engine is driving the
car. No car on the road today has a lower emissions output and it has
nothing to do with fuel consumption. To better inform yourself go to:
<http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/>.
My point was that even the best gas-burning low emissions vehicle
needs a catalytic converter to get it done. Modern gas formulations
help but they don't cut it on their own as your friend avers.
Cheers,
CR
Gosling, Richard B wrote:
> "... Tell your friend that the below simply isn't true. For example, the
> Toyota Prius hybrids are the lowest-emission cars around and they have cats.
>
> Cheers,
>
> CR
>
SNIP
>
> Mention of the Prius I think is a bit of a diversion - the Prius has very
> low CONSUMPTION (and so CO2 emmissions, which are essentially the amount of
> fuel burn) are low. However, emissions testing is about the percentage of
> nasties (CO, Nox) in the exhaust, not the total amount pumped out, and I'm
> not aware of the Prius being particuarly better on this measure than most
> other cars with modern engines (but someone better informed is welcome to
> tell me I'm wrong!).
>
>
> Richard Gosling
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