The Hummer vs. The Prius

Meet the Hummer: Based on the military Humvee, the Hummer was first produced for consumer use in 1992. This was partially due to a suggestion by pre-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger now has eight hummers! In 1999, General Motors bought the hummer and began producing the ones you see today.

Meet the Prius: Known for its fuel-efficient hybrid electric engine, the Prius was developed and manufactured by Toyota. It was the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle, first introduced in Japan and then worldwide in 2001.

If you want to talk about fuel efficiency, the Prius, as expected, outshines the Hummer:

• The Prius is able to get 48 mpg (miles per gallon) in the city and 45 mpg on the highway.
• The 2007 Hummer gets 14 mpg (city) and 18 mpg (hwy).
• The Prius has more than just an efficient engine - the shape of the car gives it a very low coefficient of drag (0.26 to be exact).
• The 2007 annual fuel cost for a hybrid was less than 1/3 of the annual fuel cost for a Hummer (fueleconomy.gov)!

How does the Prius rate for safety?

• For frontal crashes, the Prius received four-star reviews for both the driver and passenger sides.
• For side crashes, the Prius received a five-star review for the front seat and a four-star review for the rear seat.
• For the chance of rollover, the Prius received a four-star review.

How does the Hummer rate for safety?

• For frontal crashes, the Hummer received a five-star review for the driver and a four-star review for the passenger.
• For side crashes, the Hummer managed to get a five-star review for the front and rear seats.
• For the chance of rollover, the Hummer received a three-star review.

Some people think a car is just a car, but these are two vehicles that are hard to drive without making some kind of statement or stirring up reactions from others:

• Jim Road from What Would Jesus Drive? encourages hybrid cars because driving an SUV expresses an attitude that is inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus!
• Former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer says that burning fossil fuels is part of the "blessed" American way of life.
• Pro-athletes, politicians, and actors have been seen in one or the other.

Which car will sell to more Americans? Which will outlast the other? Which car will gain the love and attention of more celebrities? The battle has begun, which side will you root for?

Note: There is an urban legend that says, "The Hummer is actually more energy efficient over its lifetime than the Prius." This may have roots in a CNW Marketing Research study that calculated the overall energy cost of a Prius at $3.25 per mile and a Chevy Tahoe SUV at $2.94 per mile. This is supposed to include the energy cost of the production of the battery. The Union of Concerned Scientists' David Friedman has said that that study "has been completely contradicted by studies from MIT, Argonne National Laboratory, and Carnegie Mellon's Lifecycle Assessment Group."