The 40e is no doubt a great car but I do disagree with all this green rubbish people spout when talking about hybrid and all electric cars. The assumption is, as it does 70mpg and doesn't burn fossil fuels its a good thing and owners can pat themselves on the back for not driving a diesel/petrol. This is also reflected by government that support the use of these vehicles and incentivise them via tax breaks.
Last time I looked, many countries still burn fossil fuels to produce electricity that
very regularly fuel these cars. The batteries used to store this energy are mainly manufactured from plastics. The battery technology uses inside contain very toxic chemicals and the life cycles of these batteries are much shorter than any petrol or diesel engine meaning problematic future disposal.
I personally feel the real green credentials of these cars is much, much less and governments will be doing u-turns on recommending them as they become increasingly popular, just as they have done with diesel.
Sorry for the rant!
