Too bad these emissions tests don't take into account the massive pollution created by mining for the metals in batteries, building batteries and then lack of an industry in safely disposing of these massive Li-Ion batteries....gimmie a diesel or a decent I-4 which delivers the same damned results.

As much as I hate certain members of our state legislature and congressional reps, a call to their offices often solves problems like this.

They make stupid laws, frequently, and can't seem to get things right at the federal level - but they always seem to have staff to investigate problems.

@Trevor:

There are plenty of ways to safely dispose of or recycle the batteries. People don't want to pay for it.

You know, I was going to say something about "goddamn OBD should not be used for emissions testing, sniffing the pipe worked before OBD and it still works," but, no, I guess it doesn't.

Doesn't mean that a lot of emissions-testing regimes aren't fundamentally flawed, though...and not just with regard to hybrids.

Also I'm kind of surprised this problem hadn't already made itself known. Was there a change in the 04s such that earlier models COULD be tested?

Damn dirty hybrids!

@Trevor: Until there are real penalties for not being efficient, the tragedy of the commons, that is the shitty human nature will destroy everything.

@RvLeshrac: The challenge is making them do it...or want to do it.

@Trevor:

I have to agree 100%.

@AngrySicilian:

The challenge is making the businesses that manufacture them pay for their recycling and disposal.

The people who have to use them (how many viable alternatives are there for the average middle or lower-income family?) shouldn't be held responsible for the manufacturers' irresponsibility.

Make the manufacturers pay, and they'll seek out alternatives.

@Trevor:

thank you! does anyone remember that Honda had a civic out in the early 90's called the VX which sat 5 people and got avg 50mpg?? 15 years later and the best we can do is a damn prius?

@protest:

The difference is you might actually survive a serious accident in a Prius.

@RvLeshrac: I agree with that being a viable solution. Maybe when the pro-big business boys are booted out of congress we can get some legislation that mandates to that affect.

I highly doubt W would be interested in doing anything to protect the environment or help consumers.

@protest:

Yeah but the VX & CX models do 0-60 in about 5 minutes.

I remember a 60 minutes in the 80's touting some GM station wagon getting 300 mpg.

Of course, the fact that I was ~10 when I saw it could be muddling my memory :P

Gotta love bureaucracy, requiring emissions tests for hybrids!

Time to get rid of the useless emissions tests.

It's just time.

@TechnoDestructo:

um, actually the older honda civics do really well in crashes, and without 30 airbags. i personally know 2 people who have rolled their civics and walked away, i totaled (but didn't roll) my civic and walked away.

SC stopped testing a long time ago. Too much graft in the system.

The Prius DOES have an emissions testing mode, you know. I got these instructions from twdusa at PriusChat.com's forums.

The following must be done within 60 seconds:

1)Ignition on (not READY mode)
2)Vehicle in Park
3)Step on accelerator pedal twice
4)Place vehicle in Neutral
5)Step on accelerator pedal twice
6)Place vehicle in Park
7)Step on accelerator pedal twice
8)Place car in READY mode... ICE WILL RUN continuously (see rpms below)

A warning icon on the MFD will be displayed.
With less than 60% throttle applied.....idle is 1500 RPM (approx)
With more than 60% throttle applied.....idle is 2250 RPM (approx)

Holy 7-month old story!

Emission tests are a joke. Here in CA we just put a $100 bill on the counter and walk away and when we come back in a few hours the car is always approved.

@RvLeshrac: While there's always hope that the cost for recycling these batteries, the truth is that these cars produce more pollutants, and those Civic's that got 50mpg wouldn't be in such danger if we didn't have to worry about 6,000 pound bricks of steal hurling down the road at 80mph. I'm all for a free market, but at what expense?

@Jaysyn: So? We're not trying to drag race while going to the store.

@fredmertz: Um... holy THREE-DAY OLD story. Did you look at the date on the link?

@BigNutty: I hope you are kidding. People who do things like that need to lose their license. That's fraud.

@Trevor: I guess the vast mindset change vehicles like this help bring about, and the decreased fossil fuel usage they also bring about, and reduction in smog, is totally worthless to you.

Emissions test, what emissions test? I live 100 miles from the nearest test facility and therefore am exempt from emissions testing.

@Trevor: Interestingly enough, there are companies that recycle spent Li-Ion batteries through pyrolytic processes (heat treatment) with the primary recovery the metal content.

The latest generation of batteries, Lithium Iron Phosphate ( LiFePO4 ), are completely safe, non-toxic, and just as powerful as the LI-Mn and LI-Co exploders.

@Buran: These vehicles bring about no greater mindset than a damned J-bodied Cimmeron. Granted I do agree that they have helped bring fuel economy into the mindset, but they're not the solution. They also do NOT bring about a decrease in fossil fuel usage- what do you think the machines that mine these metals use? They're certainly not running on rainbows and smiles. Additionally, have you ever seen what damage the mining for these metals and minerals does? Lastly, those factories that are building those Li-Ion batteries and the few that recycle them are also using great deals of fossil fuels....I hate to sound like a pot smoking hippie, but we have the ability to produce PZEV engines w/o hybrid technology, these batteries are going to create a nightmare in the future.

@Ausoleil: Really? Where could I read up on that, that's really interesting.

@Buran:
Truly, spoken like someone who has never driven a Honda VX or CX. You can get nearly as good gas milage in a car that doesn't suck the life out of you. The VW TDI comes to mind.

I think the Prius uses NiMH batteries, not Li-Ion. The Tesla uses Li-Ion.

@Jaysyn:

"Suck the life out of you" my aching ass. It is a car. It gets you from Point A to Point B. Stop treating it like a rollercoaster or a go-cart, and maybe we'll have fewer accidents on the road. People don't treat cars with respect, they treat them like toys, and that's the real reason we have so many crashes.

@Buran: hey, sometimes it's the only way to pass without having to spend more than that $100 to fix your car. It's simply more economical.

@RvLeshrac: If you make the manufacturers pay to recycle, their costs will go up, and then nobody will buy the cars that need those batteries.

@Trevor: Um, GearHead is right, Trevor the Prius uses Ni-MH batteries. Which are recyclable and recycled. (I'm pretty sure Toyota still has a $200 bounty for the return of the batteries from dealers and wrecking yards to make sure they get recycled.)

I'm totally with you on a biodiesel hybrid though!

@typetive: Woops, that's right they're Ni-MH...but I'll still stand on the "toxic" soap box b/c they just are and I wasn't aware the Toyota offered 200 bux for the return of them, that's great...though I'm loath to give Toyota a compliment lol

@BigNutty:
What did youse guys do out there?
Outsource the testing to us Chicagoans!

Am I the only one that finds it ironic that Georgia had to give the guy a waiver so that his LEV will be legal to drive?

There are obviously going to be glitches in current systems (which are tailored specifically to fossil-fuel vehicles) that will need to be overcome as we switch to alternative vehicles.

Anyway, those damn hippie tree-hugging environmentalists...how dare they drive hybrid vehicles! It's going to ruin the American way, I tell you! Somebody better stop people like that, or sooner or later we'll be conserving fuel. Oh, the horror! (/sarcasm)

When Honda, Toyota or Subaru sell an oil burner in California I'll be all over it.

I bought an Audi A4 new in 1997 and will NEVER deal with another VW product. A lemon I can understand but the treatment I got from corporate was unforgivable.

BTW: what ever happened to GM's hydraulic hybrid system? It was supposed to cost a couple of hundred bucks and consist primarily of hydraulic fluid and a cylinder?

@Trevor: Ahhh, I see someone fell for that BS "a hummer is friendlier to the environment than a prius is" junk that's going around.

Educate yourself on the truth of the matter here:

truthalyzer.com » Claim that Hummer greener than Prius debunked

@Cary: The current generation of VW vehicles are far, far better than that era.

@Jaysyn: I'm trying to point out that people who are fixated on vehicle performance and don't care about economy have the wrong mindset and think they need that performance when they actually don't. If the vehicle actually were that slow (and I'm aware that it is not), why would it matter? City streets aren't race courses.

@ad8bc: I guess the fact that those laws exist for a damn good reason escapes cheaters like you who only care about themselves and no one else. Don't drive a POS, maintain what you've got, and you won't get hit by nasty surprises.

I love how people make EVERY EXCUSE to justify their inefficiency.

@Dakota Courtois: If you do it right do you get unlimited lives?

There was a similar article like this on Jalopnik last year or early this year.

@Trolkiller:
Yeah, I think it does give you unlimited lives.

@Buran: I don't drive a damn POS. I drive an F-150, and it passes every time.

I'm talking about the poor people that can't afford a car better than a POS. $100 is a lot cheaper than a new catalytic.