Prius Drivers Unite

Pfftt.. My Hummer eats Prius for lunch.

My civic still gives me 35-40MPG actual and I can pass stuff through from the trunk. If I had to do a lot of city driving, I would get a hybrid, but on the open highway, I think the gap in economy is narrower.

My friend's '88 Camry used to get 44-46 MPG on the freeway at 80+ MPH and 35+ in the city.


I could never understand the point of this since parallel hybrid like Prius actually is designed to be most efficient in stop-and-go. So allowing it to drive at a contant speed is completely defeting the purpose.
If you want to clean up the air, you should let the hybrids by in stop-and-go and let the hummers and big SUVs drive in the carpool!

I think the guy was joking about the hummer. I have nothing against hybrids, except that it's still probably better for the environment to live close to where you work than it is to move out into the suburbs and get a hybrid.

Heh, well I'm not. Xool, zip by me on E-80 with your Prius and I'll brake check you with my Dodge Durango quicker than lager turns to piss.

http://www.ihatehybrids.com

(If I have to pay $65 a week in gas everyone else should...)

Assuming that your Durango could keep up. Until the batteries are depleted, the Prius has a motor with more low end torque than your Durango!

the difference in price for a 26k prius and the corolla, or civic can buy years worth of gas. takes about 120 THOUSAND miles to break even per consumer union but i guess it makes you feel better doing it, like a badge or ribbon. doesn't make financial sense.

anyone remember that south park episode where Stan's dad bought a prius and moved to San Francisco. Something about "snob" emissions?

Nah, it only takes a couple years to make up the difference between those cars. Financially smart people don't turn their cars over before that time anyway. Besides, why compare it to those particular cars? The Prius is its own car, not just a civic or corolla with a hybrid engine. These consumer magazines recommend SUVs and other vehicles that cost twice as much as the Prius, and have much higher upkeep costs. Now that really doesn't make financial sense.

How far could the Prius tow my 1500 lb construction trailer which weighs about 6000lbs fully loaded with materials? How far could it tow my 6500 lb travel trailer?

I'm glad you enjoy feeling pious in your Prius while zipping along alone in the carpool lane. I'm make sure that if you even rent any housing from me to increase your rent enough for me to buy carbon offsets for my vehicles that actually have to do work.

Nick

i'm glad you feel better driving the prius mystic

Let's be fair here. There are at least 5 hybrid small suv and 2 hybrid full-size truck models for the 2006-2007 model years. The small suv segment won't get the job done for you, but it can accomplish a lot of things a Prius can't. The full-size is a lot closer to what'll get the job done for you. Not sure if the towing capacity reaches 6500 pounds with that engine though. Close, probably.

My truck is a three-quarter ton pickup. (2500) The hybrid appears to be rated to tow that amount, but honestly I wouldn't do it. When you tow at 95-100% of the vehicles capability, it feels very unsafe. You spend your time fighting with the vehicle instead of just driving it. The two miles per gallon gained by being a hybrid gas engine could probably easily be beat by going with the ultra-low sulfur diesel engine instead which is available in one ton vehicles. It shows why it is stupid to get all hung up on a certain type of solution. When you tow with a gas engine, the fuel economy drops by half. With a diesel engine, it typically drops by about 33%. Would you rather a person get 12 mpg using ultra-low sulfur diesel or 9-10 mpg using hybrid technology?

Nick

good points-- i hope they roll out this newfangled hydraulic hybrid technology that could get full-duty trucks up to 50-60 mpg with a ton of power. especially so it gives people with your needs more choices in the market-- better opportunities to try to make a difference.

You know, I really don't get something. Every time a Prius gets mentioned, there are reliably people who are going to immediately go into this "Oh, I guess you think you're all PC and saving the environment and shit and let me tell you pal, you're not" mode.

Why? Are people driving around in their Priuses, going "nyah nyah I'm better than you?"

Like NOFER and his "hope you feel better driving your Prius mystic" line. WTF? I mean dude, did a Prius make fun of your dick, or what?

OP says he likes his car-- likes its amenities and design, likes that it gets great gas mileage. How is that a challenge to anyone else? Why does it require that he be brought down a notch?

You know what's ironic? The attitude ascribed to Prius owners is exactly the same as what PC owners insist is going on with Mac users. I think the word is smug. Even down to the "how am I going to get any real work done with a wussy little toy" thing.

Just don't get it.

Well put, I don't get it either. If I posted a "WRX owners unite" thread, it probably wouldn't have been a big deal. When I was looking at cars, I considered a hybrid mostly because of the techno-trip. I didn't end up getting one because the wait-list was too long.

I put on about 5000 miles of mixed driving a year. Most of it would seem to be in town, but those handful of trips to Orlando, and that one road trip a year end up making a fair share of miles. However, instead of getting a hybrid I just moved closer to work. I use a lot less gas because the commute is short, and in the winter I can get there reliably on a bike. (Too damn hot in the summer).

Actually, yeah there are people who act self-righteous over their environmental actions. I'm a big recycler and whenever I'm at someone else's house, I ask where certain items "go" since I assume they recycle. When they don't I just make a place on the counter and sure enough, someone takes the cans instead of just tossing them. However I have been around situations where certain people use it as a means to damn or judge another person publicly. I've seen such items occur with cars as well, but find it hilarious that no one seems to do it at all with houses. (Everyone loves your big house.)


There are plenty of folks who basically condemn any choice of vehicle that is not a small fuel-efficient sedan. I know we can all do better fuel-wise. I've complained on here that fuel efficiency gains are being used to justify more luxury instead of less use. However a lot of folks don't look at the big picture and realize that there are needs for different types of vehicles.


Why does stating the use of other vehicles and the need for them make prius owners or their supporters feel like they have been taken down a notch?


There are instances in both cases where that is very true though. I would love to own a small car. My brother and sister-in-law just bought a Honda Element. It is very cute and capable. My wife loved it to death, but then absentmindedly began thinking out loud about what she has to do, often with two or three kids in tow that it couldn't handle. I had to shush her and make her realize that she might be hurting their feelings in thinking out loud about how their brand new car wasn't right for her. I can't just think in the background here while telling you to enjoy your new purchase. The mode of communication doesn't really allow for that.


There's a lot of environmental smugness that I don't get either. I've asked hard questions about it on here and had people ignore answering them because they like the intentions of the party. Questions like "If the planet has a finite amount of carbon dioxide it can tolerate, isn't it immoral to go outside your allocation, even if others are willing to suffer through the loss of theirs for some sort of financial gain?" "Isn't this the rich just using the fact they already despoiled to gain financially, paying the poor to stay that way?"

I've asked about the energy costs of producing a new car versus the environmental costs of using an older car. The size of home as basis for an energy footprint versus just what you drive. You get a lot of people who made their token effort, want to feel good about it, and just want you to shut up while they act smug. That doesn't fly for me.

Nick

You gotta teach me that shushing skill. Nothing seems to work for me.

What made you think it worked for my wife?

Nick

Yeah because those are real.

Then again, some people are doing it to please Mother Nature instead of their bank accounts.

Nick, where was Xool being smug and insinuating he above others or that you shouldn't own a full sized truck?

He was just saying that he likes his new car. A Hummer owner gave him a little crap and he gave a little back. It all looked like good natured fun. This isn't Political outsider. You just got extremely defensive for no apparent reason at all.

Buying any new car, including a Prius, "for the environment" is flawed logic since half the fossil fuel a car will ever use in its life is used during its production and assembly. I'm assuming the Prius requires even more energy to be used during production because of the whole battery/motor part of it. Thus, by buying a used car, for every mile you drive won't be weighed down in product-life energy consumption by the fact that your buying of it required it to be manufactured.

Let me ask people who are against the Prius for whatever reason... if it was the same price as a regular car or truck you might have wanted, and it had enough power to do the work you need to do, would you buy it, even if it made you appear to be an elitist snob? Why or why not?

All comedy has to contain a kernel of truth or else it isn't funny.


You are the one assigning the tone. I simply pointed out that there are other needs and that I'll be happy to still be environmentally conscious even while driving a full-size pick-up.


Sure I would. What would be the point of intentionally tossing away great gas mileage?

However it wouldn't have any snob appeal if it met the criteria you mentioned above. The Prius snob appeal comes from the fact that you have an extra $5-8000 to spend on a car so you can feel good while driving alone in the carpool lane. (a perk granted due to your financial status in being able to afford the Prius which costs more than comparable cars that also get great gas mileage but still have to have two people to be in the carpool lane)

Nick

Right. That's exactly what you did:



Also, I really don't see how a little, average looking, average priced sedan that happens to be a hybrid is snobbier than an H2, which is virtually nothing but ostentatious, just like most large SUVs and pickups.

Far be it from me to know what I actually said. I'll yield to your expertise in the area of trumptman.

As for the Hummers, I think them very snobby. I wouldn't own any of them and they can't tow at all due to being basically dressed up half-ton Chevys

Nick

Hummers aren't remotely alone and towing ability doesn't exempt a vehicle from being nothing more than ostentatious. People buying new oversized pickups to look successful and using the bed once a year (if ever) is so common it's now a classic american cliche. So is the guy who actually does use it and thinks he is tougher than the whimpy guy driving the little prius.

That's great that you like to tow stuff with your light truck. However, it has absolutely nothing to do with "Prius Drivers Unite" other than you trying to take yet another opportunity to ridicule someone you want to label a "pious" "smug" "snob" and complain about "environmental smugness."

Really, all you've done is give us a demonstration of the agressive elitism of some people who own light trucks.

Or you can join a car sharing program. I did it for my home business and with a 5 minute walk are 3 cars, and within 10 are 3 more (one of which is a BMW Mini).

It's saving me a ton of cash.

Wow the assholes have really come out haven't they.

I have a question to Prius owners. Please don't take this the wrong way...

When you bought your Prius, were you married or in a long-term relationship?

If you were single, are you still single?

I'm not against the Prius, I'm just against ugly cars.

is it really hard to get a prius? is there a long waiting list and dealers charging over MSRP?

and isn't the argument "it'll take 23189k miles to make up the difference in price over Car X" moot because of the ridiculous resale value of these things?

Long-term is right...at least 3-5 years depending on your car payments.

I have yet to find a true single bachelor that drives a Prius. And bachelor is the key word. Meaning one who is active in the dating scene...

Hey Xool, doesn't Cal offer some kind of tax rebate on hybrids?

Seems like I remember reading about kind of elaborate formula where you get more when the manufacturer has sold fewer and decreasing as they approach whatever the "quota" is.

If a girl didn't want to date me because I drove a Prius then it's not likely I'd want to date her either.

Word.