Okay, okay, fair enough, I did reference it a bit out of context. The point Clarkson was making was that it can be as much about how you drive the car, as the car you choose. Sure, thrashing the Prius at full throttle is a less-than-stellar environment. However, driving it at 130 across Toronto on the 401 would also likely garner fuel economy only slightly better (if that!) than the M3 at the same (relaxed) pace too.
In urban, downtown, stop-and-go settings the Prius (and other hybrids) can be beneficial. However, I see enough self-righteous Prius drivers mashing the pedal at elevated highway speeds to know that not everyone 'gets it'.
Are you also suggesting that Clarkson is off the mark in his point about the significantly more (earth-destroying) resources required to mine the nickel for the batteries and transporting and processing them all around the world. I wonder how many more resources it costs to actually produce a Prius than a "less environmentally-friendly car"
