Many Fords and Chevys are Flex Fuel. Anything that takes E85 is considered flex fuel...

The first link about the prius outdiong the hummer has been proven false, I think there is a snopes page on it already. IIRC some of the "facts" it uses are the pollution caused a the NiMH battery manufacturing plant which was decomissioned years ago.

Flex fuel cars are available in the US, all the GM Full size SUV's and some cars are flex fuel capable, back to the 1998 refresh of the S10 had a flex fuel option. The kroger gas station beside my work put in an e85 pump but my truck isn't flex fuel capable so I can't use it.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/flextech.shtml

Flexfuel vehicles are designed to run on ethanol blends of up to 85% (E85). Ethanol is a whole 'nother can of worms as farmers grow corn just to be made into fuel and all other crops become less profitable.

Personally, I go down the big oil + government conspiracy theory path. I know it's possible to make amazing, high performance, low emission, fuel efficient vehicles. It's been done many times in the past but these vehicles never made it into production. Even electric cars have been successful and proven but never produced (watch 'Who Killed the Electric Car' if you don't believe that)

My motorcycle gets 40MPG+, goes 0-60 faster than just about anything on 4 wheels, has a top speed of over 180mph, and runs on 87 octane pump gas. There's more than power to weight ratios going on there.

Motorcycle safety is something I could debate for hours. As a licensed motorcycle driving instructor I've seen and heard tons...but that's not what this thread is about.

I recently read an article about a Smart ForTwo car getting into a head on collision with a full sized car. They're built so tough that the structure was still intact and the doors still opened...they're built like little bomb shelters!

Don't forget Safety. Exponentially increasing miles traveled is a good way to tempt fate. My brother commuted 2 hours and 15 minutes each way to work for a couple of years and it took a big toll. Unless it's your full time job (Trucking, Regional Sales, etc.) I would do everything in my capacity to avoid it. Of course, moving closer to work can often mean higher realestate costs (but also values when you sell) and larger community problems such as crime and general congestion.

Oh well, at least Martin's not driving all of that. He can spend his two hours on the bus either reading, listening to books on tape or perhaps even Wi-Fi surfing. I'm not sure how he finds time for his family, his work and this site when he's burning over 10 hours of his week on travel. Yikes. I guess you could also train yourself to sleep for the 2 hours on the bus and 6 at home.

The Hummer Vs Prius myth is debunked here by the Pacific Institute's Integrity of Science initiative:
http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_of_science/case_studies/hummer_vs_prius.pdf

In the UK the Prius drivetrain and batteries are covered by a 8 year warrany. Toyota have also said they will recycle the batteries. However what drove to opt for a Prius for my next company car was the GBP£900 tax saving per year, with the car expected to be in my life for the next four years that will add up nicely and that is before the gas mileage is taken into account. That tax saving was versus a Honda F-RV (Small SUV, the Diesel version of which has a combined ~37MPG).

The other front runner for me was a BMW 3 Series Touring with the 1.8 litre Diesel which claims fuel consumption of just under 60MPG. The 2.0 litre Diesel is only marginally less. All courtesy of BMW's EfficientDynamics programme. If they options list hadn't been so damn pricey I would have opted for the BMW.

I'm jealous of you folks in the UK. Everything comes with a diesel. NOTHING comes with a diesel here.

Really? Surely Diesel is readily available for trucks, so why doesn't one of the big auto makers release their full Diesel engine line in the US and clean up?

The US has some strict emissions rules and most Diesels don't meet them. The US auto makers do have diesel 3/4 ton trucks and they are currently having issues with the new low sulfur fuel. Diesel in the US has a bad rep in cars due to an early 80's gm gasoline to diesel converted engine and the few slow, dirty VW and Mercedes diesel cars that were sold here.

Mercedes and VW had/have quite a few diesels over here, but other than that we've got very few options for diesels. I personally like diesel, but few over here do. In general, diesels are seen as noisy and smelly compared to gas engines, and diesel fuel in winter is more expensive than gas. Therefore, Americans haven't really taken a liking to them.