PRIUS: The new Volvo ?

Our office looks like Prius dealership. And, as you might expect, most of our staff is female.

I have nothing against the Prius. If it saves fuel, that's good. But, the idea of a car that saves money but sacrifices the ability to go fast is something that doesn't compute that well in the male brain.

 

A few Sundays ago, I was heading to meet the 'guys' for coffee at 7am. With nobody else on the road, I get stuck behind 2 Prius' driving side by side at 10 under the speed limit. I think they felt they were doing their part for 'global BS' by blocking the CS from making forward progress.

I have continually encountered Prius' that insist on impeding the flow of traffic. So, when I got home from coffee that morning, I wanted to know exactly why Prius drivers felt the need to do this, and a quick web search revealed the following...

Even Prius drivers have forums........ Prius Chat exists, and i quickly signed up with the name 'Big Carbon'. I started a thread asking why Prius drivers insist on blocking traffic.

What ensued was the usual liberal hate of anyone who happens to disagree with them. I think the best response was from a lady in VT who emphatically stated that because of what I drove I was destroying the planet and was not responsible enough to have children or dogs and should be executed!

After 3 pages of liberal, touchy, feeley love, I was promptly banned!

 

I once had someone in a prius ask me about my gas mileage in my X5 M on a roadtrip from Portland to LA in a snide manner. They went on to tell me how much of a determinant it was for the environment for SUVS to be on the road. I asked him if he knew how bad it was for the environment to build his prius that building a Hummer H2 had a smaller carbon footprint to be built. He scoffed at me and then i got a bit agitated and told him not to worry i'd be in LA a few hours before him all the while offsetting his carbon footprint with my 16mpg at a 100 mph.

 

Why do I get the feeling you are also on M3f.c and Bf.c OT lol

 

I just ask the arrogant prius drivers if they have put thought into how their batteries are made or how their electricity is generated?

"Discussing" with a prius driver is like arguing on the internet.

 

I rented a car from Hertz and they gave me one saying it was a free upgrade from the economy car I requested.

I didn't like it at all. In fact it seemed dangerous to me.

The regenerative brakes are terrible. They are very inconsistent and just plain weak.

The dash is weird. The digital speedo is offset and not where it's supposed to be. You look around too much for basic information.

I was constantly distracted from that stupid display in the center flashing red and yellow graphics of whatever the batteries are doing.

Lastly, at night the bar that crosses the rear window is totally annoying!!! You see the headlights of the car behind but on every bump they get blocked by the bar and then reflashed into your mirror. I can't see how anyone can last more than half an hour with these flashes going on and off in your eyes.

To me, this is a really poor car. It's amazing it has sold as well as it has. I would never buy one.

 

I try to pass prius drivers with the highest possible rpm in the F car and Escalade. Only after they cut me off or drive like morons. This car isn't saving the planet.

 

There are about two million Prius owners world-wide, with about half of them residing in the US. I would venture to guess that most Prius owners couldn't point out a Ferrari or other exotic in a police line-up.

Yes, I am sure that a minority of Prius owners fit the tree-hugging, belligerent, finger-pointing, know-it-all liberal stereotype, but the vast majority are just regular people who swallowed the "go green!" marketing hype and purchased a car they thought would both make a positive statement about themselves and be inexpensive to drive.

Comically, even if one does believe in human-caused global warming (I'm unconvinced), several studies have shown that, over an entire operating lifespan, a Prius has only a marginally lower overall energy/cost footprint than does a Hummer.

Whoops. Won't find that fact mentioned anywhere in the Toyota brochures.

 

And let me guess, Rob Lay owns it!

Dale

 

Maybe he is a silent partner on prius chat. He wouldn't want to create any noise pollution .

 

Payback a Bit ch for the Prissyius owners.. Falicornia just removed the free pass in HOV lane for these MOFO's.

 

Interesting and correct thoughts concerning drivers of Volvos brcoming the Prii.

Seems to me most Camarophiles moved towards Bimmers about 10 years ago..

 

Blah blah blah, bark bark woof woof.

So, I, my wife, and my son are "bad drivers," are we?

How would YOU know?

FWIW, we all drive Volvo TURBOS.

I've owned, wrenched, and worked on Volvo Turbos for many years: 240, 740, 940 and 850 R.

They're good cars.

Make that: they're great cars.

Idiots / unsafe drivers can be found behind the wheel of all makes of cars, especially exotics.

Damning Volvo drivers as being unsafe is no better than making the same claim about Asians.

I've seriously considered getting one of those custom made rear license plate surrounds made for my Ferrari: it will read: "My Other Car Is A Volvo."

 

I parked my gasoline car in one of the hybrid spots in my regular underground lot today. On my way out, a Mini Clubman was also parked in the other hybrid spot and a Prius was backing away, sheepishly looking for another spot. I LOLed.

I always park there, no matter what I'm driving. 911s, Jag XKR, Raptor, SUVs, doesn't matter.

As for the Prius, it's not a car in the traditional sense, but purely a transportation appliance. Think a Camry is boring? Drive a f---ing Prius. I drove one recently and it seems that Toyota went to great lengths to remove any joy in the drive.

Kudos to Toyota for fooling a good chunk of the population into buying these and profiting from it. These people are so ignorant that they wouldn't give a rat's a$$ even if they witnessed the business behind the manufacture of these cars and their batteries. Or that the Chinese are doing their best to control the market for rare earths.

 

good relevant article

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/07/solo-hybrid-drivers-lose-yellow-sticker-carpool-lane-access.html

 

The sad fact that Prius buyers ignore or just don't want to think about is they are not cost effective even at 45-50mpg.. You can buy a similiar size car with 10 -15 less mpg for at lest $10,000 less money leaving you with a 7-10 years breakeven point and thats when the Prius will probably need new batteries.

They are "feel good about yourself" cars which is fine but don't think you are saving money.

 

I love the Prius. Its the only car that strikes fear into the heart of Ferrari owners. Once a couple of years ago someone posted that they were afraid to park their Hummer in front of the house because Liberal Prius owners might get violent!!!!!!!! What a woosie. I think I might buy one.

 

On Prius: My wife owns one, she likes it because it is small and she does not have to put gas in it all that often. Her previous car was a Camry Hybrid. When I drive the Prius I get 50 MPG on interstates and 45 MPG in cities, When she drives it she gets 48 on interstates and 44 in cities. As basic transportation, its just fine as a vehicle. As a toyota, its never given us any problems. When driving for long streches, the gas tank last for a little more than one ful days drive--which means we stop at a whole lot more gas stations for bathroom breaks than for gas.......

Note, none of the above has to do with it being a hybrid, small, green, or cutesie--its just a car that my wife happens to like--green or not so green.

 

I always regarded Volvo's "For people who think" ads as highly arrogant. Does it allude to anyone not owning a Volvo as one who doesn't or can't think, or does it mean Volvo owners think their s**t doesn't stink?
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I like to do a noisy downshift right in their window & shoot some flames out where they can see them

 

Had to laugh.

Driving the Ferrari today, we passed a cop who had pulled over and was ticketing a Prius driver for speeding.

Just HAD to rev / downshift while passing them by.

 

Don't you own a Prius???????????

 

I had 1 for a while for the Baby Momma but I traded it when they were having the unintended acceleration issues.

It was good for in town, supermarket, carrying baby around.

Its really like a mini SUV disguised as a car bcus it has a lot of carrying space but it handles like an SUV cus of the battery weight

 

True, a lot of generalizations here. I know a number of people who have owned driven Porsches and Volvos and have more than few points on their license, whatever that means.

My only beef with Priuses (without taking broad swipes at the people who buy them) is that the cars are very slow away from the light. My daily driver Audi is probably about average in terms of performance, ~6.5 sec 0-60, but even in lazy mode it's hunting for gears behind a Prius starting from a dead stop. And if it's an uphill start...

Make sure to leave instructions so the towing service knows the proper way to hook up your 911.

I would guess the sheepish Prius owner would know what number to dial.