[lightcatcher]

> Transportation is not the largest energy expense that goes into a product like a car; the largest energy expense is extracting and refining the raw materials into processed materials that are ready to be used for final production.

Sure, maybe the GP's point is that (she thinks) (environmental impact of new Prius construction + n years of Prius driving > impact of n years of driving an existing pickup truck). I have no evidence for or against this, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's true for n=5 years and typical mileage/day. As you point out yourself, besides bringing the parts from all over the world, you need to mine the resources, spend the energy to cast them, etc.