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Hybrids are still largely an unknown for a lot of people. How about those batteries? $800-4000 for replacement. A little spendy. Makes those fuel cost savings not so great.
Well, hybrids are definitely an unknown to you. It doesn't take a finance guru to have a little common sense. Statistically, the risk of having to replace a traditional automatic transmission and/or clutch is much higher than having to replace a Prius battery (.5% of priuses with <300,000 or <15 years old have needed their battery replaced).
When you do a financial analysis, you have to compare costs of owning A vs B. To point out that there's a .5% chance of having to replace a Prius battery in the first 300,000 miles of owning the Prius, but failing to mention that there's a 70% chance of having to replace a traditional automatic transmission in the first 300,000 of owning it is cursory at best.
I don't own a Prius, and I doubt I ever will. At least I know something about cars before making statements about it.
I don't own one because they cost thousands more than the comparable honda civic for the same mileage and year. Plus toyotas seem to feel more cheaply made to me than the hondas and other makes for that manner.
If I could get a used one with 40K miles for $12k-13k built in 2010-2011 I'd be all over it. I like that it's drag coefficient is among the lowest... automakers could lower their drag coefficients much more than they do, it would just result in an less appealing looking vehicle that would probably not sell as well so they don't do it. Google "aero civic"
I've read this thread, as I do with most Prius-related threads, with great amusement. Yes, I own a Prius. Shoot me.
In *every* Prius thread here that I have read, no matter how it starts, we always - ALWAYS - hear about the smug, holier-than-thou attitude of Prius owners. And no doubt there are some who are reading this and thinking I'm an excellent example, right?
Get over yourselves.
I drive on a regular basis two vehicles - a Prius and a RAV4. When I bought the Prius, I took to heart the advice I heard from a friend with a Prius, who said, "just drive it."
I drive the Prius and the RAV4 in the same way I've driven any vehicle since I got my license many years ago. I pull out into traffic when there is sufficient room to do so safely, I merge with highway traffic properly, I stay out of the left lane unless I'm passing somebody, when I pass someone I do so properly, and on all roads except inner city and residential (speed limit 25 or less), I always do speed limit plus 5 unless I'm stuck behind someone .. I admit to speed limit plus 10 on interstates ... just trying to keep up with the flow, officer. But I don't go any faster than that - my reflexes at age 62 aren't the same as they were when I was 16.
Same driver, same driving habits, everything's cool with the RAV4, but when I'm driving the Prius, I am far more liable to have someone right on my bumper.
Now, is that my "Prius attitude", or is that someone's irrational hate for a specific model of car?
I don't care what kind of car you have as long as you know how to use the accelerator pedal properly and stay out of the left lane if fuel conservation is your #1 priority. Sadly, many Prius drivers I encounter don't understand these simple concepts.
Agreed. Just because you own a Prius it doesn't give you the right to do 50 MPH in the left lane.
I've read this thread, as I do with most Prius-related threads, with great amusement. Yes, I own a Prius. Shoot me.
In *every* Prius thread here that I have read, no matter how it starts, we always - ALWAYS - hear about the smug, holier-than-thou attitude of Prius owners. And no doubt there are some who are reading this and thinking I'm an excellent example, right?
Get over yourselves.
I drive on a regular basis two vehicles - a Prius and a RAV4. When I bought the Prius, I took to heart the advice I heard from a friend with a Prius, who said, "just drive it."
I drive the Prius and the RAV4 in the same way I've driven any vehicle since I got my license many years ago. I pull out into traffic when there is sufficient room to do so safely, I merge with highway traffic properly, I stay out of the left lane unless I'm passing somebody, when I pass someone I do so properly, and on all roads except inner city and residential (speed limit 25 or less), I always do speed limit plus 5 unless I'm stuck behind someone .. I admit to speed limit plus 10 on interstates ... just trying to keep up with the flow, officer. But I don't go any faster than that - my reflexes at age 62 aren't the same as they were when I was 16.
Same driver, same driving habits, everything's cool with the RAV4, but when I'm driving the Prius, I am far more liable to have someone right on my bumper.
Now, is that my "Prius attitude", or is that someone's irrational hate for a specific model of car?
Since the 90s, when the Boomers became the dominant age group on the roads, I've noticed this trend of picking on people in smaller or less sporty vehicles, and giving more respect and space to people in beefier cars and trucks.
I'm chiefly interested in getting from point A to point B as safely and economically as possible. If it pisses off others on the road that one of my vehicles is a hybrid, too bad for them and their pathetic little lives. They can hate, but they'd better not act on it. I have dash cams, I have phones, and I'm prepared to defend myself and my family should they threaten me and mine.
What petty, ignorant little lives some people must lead, to obsess over what model of car someone else chooses to drive.
As for the perceived phenomenon of arrogant Prius owners, they are equally pathetic.
I drive 2 hours a day and did the math and I can nearly make
my new car paymenton what I save on in gas.
This is a phenomenal statement!
I did not know Prius owners got attitude...I hardly drive anymore, office in my addition now...
I see a Prius and think, "Ooo, nice. Lucky to be able to afford one. Smart person."
(I have a concept they are expensive and I don't even know if they are! Ha!)
Oh, I see back a couple pages it isn't that much more! :smile:
More leg room and better build then some,
Well, alrighty, then!
Last edited by Miss Hepburn; 12-13-2014 at 07:07 AM..
Noit trying to pick on you, trlhiker, but this is one reason people dislike the high and mighty Prius drivers.
"Oh, you hate the car because it's better for the environment. You must drive a Suburban."
It's an attitude like that that prompts people to say Prius, or even hybrid, drivers have a holier-than-thou attitude. My sincerest apologies to all that a Prius doesn't fit my needs from day to day. Build a Prius that can haul 6,000 pounds or 12' pieces of lumber and you might have me as a Prius 1/2-ton owner. Until then, shove that attitude up your rectum just off to the side of that big ol' stick.
Sometimes I think the Prius comes with a smug attitude, standard. Yeah, it's a weak South Park reference, but it still feels accurate. It's great that you feel like you're doing your part to save the planet/whales/rare beetle in Africa. It's just better for everyone if people don't hare their opinion of others who don't share the same feeling of environmental awareness or whatever it says in the Prius owner's manual. See what I did there?
Hybrids are still largely an unknown for a lot of people. How about those batteries? $800-4000 for replacement. A little spendy. Makes those fuel cost savings not so great. The Prius is considered the biggest user of rare earth metals of any object in the world according to Wikipedia.
The United States Department of Energy has identified a need to find substitutes for rare earth metals in permanent magnet technology, and has begun funding such research. The Advanced Research Projects Agency has sponsored a Rare Earth Alternatives in Critical Technologies (REACT) program, to develop alternative materials. In 2011, ARPA-E awarded 31.6 million dollars to fund Rare-Earth Substitute projects.[8]
As much as I don't like the Pryus (being a car enthusiast who cares more about putting smiles on my face then saving mpg) it's actually a great car for being a benchmark for the automotive world to follow. Porsche, Ferrari, and McLaren's top/best/fastest/most expensive models are all hybrids now! That's amazing and great for the car world. Now the part I want....make the hybrid system for pick up trucks of all sizes. If I could get all my lawn service trucks to run all hybrid 3/4 to 1 ton trucks, in the long run I'd save a ton of money. I'd only do it if they made the hybrid version achieve noticeably better mpg then gas, unlike the Silverado and Escalade hybrids. Yes, I own diesels, but if hybrid technology works it's way to trucks, delivery vans, etc... It can only be a great thing.
Seems to me there is more to life than fuel economy.
No one that I know of went to the grave wishing he had used less gas.
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