Sen. Bill Frist uses Cash for Clunkers, junks Suburban for Prius
Posted Aug 25th 2009 9:02AM by Jeremy Korzeniewski
2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery
Apparently, it's a common misconception that all Prius drivers are Democrats. Not true. In fact, recently retired Senator Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) just got himself a shiny new hybrid hatchback from Toyota. The former senator even got a few thousand dollars off the price of his new eco-friendly ride courtesy of the just-concluded Cash for Clunkers program here in the United States.
In an interview on Larry King Live, Frist responded to King's quip that "You don't see a lot of Republicans driving a Prius" with the response that the hybrid's 50 miles per gallon along with the fact that "the taxpayer gave me $6,000 to do it" as reasons for the Prius purchase.
Minor exaggeration aside (Frist should have received $4,500 to junk his old Chevy Suburban, not $6,000), the senator's new Prius should return at least five times the fuel mileage of his old SUV. That's progress, right?
[Source: Inside Line]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Clarke 6:08PM (8/24/2009)
Is it not entirely possible, that he got 4500 from CFC and then more money since it is a Prius? Or are the gov rebates for a Prius gone?
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FitFan 5:00PM (8/25/2009)
Hybrid tax breaks ran out for Toyota years ago. They were the first manufacturer to be phased out (based on sales).
Mark Kiernan 9:23AM (8/25/2009)
I read the fine print (retired) so he unlike the rest of the GOP and Fox News is no longer on Exxon's pay roll.
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Greg Blencoe 9:33AM (8/25/2009)
I am very happy to hear that retired Senator Frist traded in his Chevy Suburban for a Toyota Prius.
My view is that the Toyota Prius will be the most effective way (along with conservation) to deal with the oil crisis until 2015 when "affordable" Toyota hydrogen fuel cell vehicles arrive at dealerships.
Here are 7 reasons to love Toyota hydrogen fuel cell vehicles:
http://hydrogendiscoveries.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/7-reasons-to-love-toyota-hydrogen-fuel-cell-vehicles/
And here are two ways to build the initial hydrogen fueling infrastructure. Please note that one way involves the federal government and the other does not.
http://hydrogendiscoveries.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/two-ways-to-build-the-initial-hydrogen-fueling-infrastructure/
Greg Blencoe
Chief Executive Officer
Hydrogen Discoveries, Inc.
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Dino 11:27AM (8/25/2009)
Are you kidding me? Whats wrong with picking an American made hybrid car or truck, if he absolutely must have that fancy "H" on the vehicle in his driveway? This is pure bandwaggonry.
And to address your point about the Toyota Prius being the most effective way to deal with the oil crisis: false. Why not grab something like a Cobalt XFE that has no NiMH battery carbon footprint to offset? Then you have many thousands of dollars left over to plant trees in the lawns of constituents and just be as green as you want to be.
I wont even bother explaining why H2 may not be the best idea because i'm willing to bet someone with your level of Toyota pandering output has the wool pulled sufficiently over the eyes. Are you one of these people that think they use a different physics book in Japan?
Joe 12:31PM (8/25/2009)
Dear Greg,
Please stop pimping your company all over ABG.
Sincerely,
Everybody
d-man 3:24PM (8/25/2009)
@dino:
yes.
just, yes.
Laurens 9:34AM (8/25/2009)
If an idiot pays you top dollar for a wreck, should you accept it?
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Bip-D-Bo 9:51AM (8/25/2009)
He never would have done this in office. If he were, politically speaking, replacing a Sububan with a hybrid would be a good idea. As a republican, using C4C would be risky at best. Replacing a Chevy with a Toyota. Bad idea. A Fusion hybrid should be the car of choice for prudent politicians. But since he's retired, I guess he's a free man. Congrats on a fine new car.
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paulwesterberg 11:53AM (8/25/2009)
I'm not so sure that a republican congressmen would want to drive around in the ford fusion hybrid. It is manufactured at Ford's Hermosillo Stamping & Assembly plant, located in Sonora, Mexico.
d-man 3:23PM (8/25/2009)
yeah, but who pays attention to that? american run to it's core!
and by that I mean, America's core, the gov!
Ernie 3:57PM (8/25/2009)
Yes, but he's retired. "Risky at best" doesn't mean jack. He has no career to torpedo, so he can do anything he likes, whether it be buying a Prius or banging his secretary.
mcherry 2:50PM (8/27/2009)
One of Tennessee's current senators, Lamar Alexander, not only drives a Prius but converted it to be a plug-in.
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2008/09/19/sen-lamar-alexander-buzzes-about-his-electric-car.html
d-man 10:51AM (8/25/2009)
No, it is not progress. A replacement for petrol is progress. A replacement for foreign oil, one that is not domestic oil, is progress. Electric, hydrogen, and biofuels are progress.
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B.Trig 1:26PM (8/25/2009)
More sustainable biofuels may be progress of a sort, but let's not forget that fossil fuels are biofuels, too. It's unlikely the carbon problem will get solved using biofuels. Hydrogen fuels the space shuttle, and it's so problematic to use that freaking *NASA* cant make it reliable enough to stick to a launch schedule -- so that doesn't bode well for a "hydrogen economy". Long-term, the only realistic plan is EVs, with the grid powered by non-carbon-spewing sources such as solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal.
d-man 3:20PM (8/25/2009)
I will agree that's the best solution in the long term. In the short term, I think we should switch all vehicles for which this is possible to recycled biofuels because we have the infrastructure already in place (the cars, refueling stations, all can be used on a carbon-neutral biofuel run system). EVs are the future. Biodiesel is now. Hopefully, carbon-neutral ethanol that doesn't cut into our food supply (i. e. processed bi-product) should be the main focus right now until we can replace every single car on the road with an EV and every single fueling station with a battery switching station or a quick-charge station or something of that sort.
jmallx 12:41PM (8/25/2009)
Heres a question someone might know.
Would it be possible for the Prius to scoop the Volt with a few minor mods so that it could qualify for the 7.5K tax credit.
Example
retrofit the existing prius so that its a plugin, change the computer that powers the battery so that the battery will never charge over 50%, once the car is plugged in the battery charges to 100% and voila, you have a plug in prius with a few hundred (tops) in parts and software.
Thus taking the price from approx 23K (via cardirect.com) to 15.5K
Just a thought.
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Matt 1:00PM (8/25/2009)
I think the battery has to be a certain size to get the credit the Volt will get, and the Prius battery is much smaller.
stephen 1:50PM (8/25/2009)
The tax credit you are referring to only applies to vehicles with a 4kwh[1] battery or larger, the prius only has a 1.3kwh[2] pack. Therefore it would be more difficult that you proposed to add a larger battery plus plug-in capability.
[1] http://gm-volt.com/2008/10/03/along-with-wall-street-bailout-plug-in-car-tax-credit-is-passed-chevy-volt-now-7500-less/
[2]http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/automotive_news/4306961.html
Chris M 2:21AM (8/26/2009)
Correct, to get that "Plug-in credit" does require a battery larger than 4 Kwh, and the amount is dependent on battery size. Still, Toyota could make a plug-in Prius that would qualify for that credit, yet still be thousands less than the Volt.
The thing is, that "plug-in credit" has limited funds and will eventually run out. Unlike the "hybrid credit", the phasing out isn't based on individual corporate sales, latecomers to the plug-in market could loose out.