Two kinds of owners.

Having to choose one, I chose Consumer Savvy. I would have chosen both if it were an option, though, as I do appreciate the green part too.

 

Re: Two kinds of owners

It makes a much better sound bite if you can dump everyone into two or three catagories. I think those on priuschat span a much bigger gamut.

I bought the car because I am interested in the technology, and toyota seems to be further advanced than anyone else. The Ford Fussion hybrid was close. The car seemed good enough for me. The money savings in gas did not matter. The fuel savings in gas made a big difference. I bought the prius partially to reward toyota for its R&D with the hope that they continually improve and provide an affordable plug in. This is from 2 sides of my thought processes. I would much rather pay a car company than an oil producing state. Whether you believe in climate change or not, oil is a limited resource, and we need to eventually move away. Hybrids are just one step in this direction.

From my point of view, the prius recall is a positive. It means that toyota is improving the cars. The handling of unintended accelleration on the other hand is a strong negative for me buying anouther toyota. Since part of my reason for purchase was to reward good corporate R&D, I will be unlikely to reward the bad corporate citizenship when it comes to openess and safety.

 

I have to say, almost a year ago when I started researching Hybrids and discovered Prius Chat I expected those stereotypes.

But I would say while both Eco Warrior and Cheap Bastard (just kidding)- Green Thinker and Consumer Savvy Saver probably are valid reasons separate or combined, overall I was initially suprised at the diversity of reasons people choose Prius.

I think it's like dipping a brush into a pallet full of colors. It's combinations of desire to be economic and enviromentally supportive but combined with almost a undefinable amount of personal reasons.

To apply another stereotype, I think a lot of Prius owners are lovers of the technology. You get the people who love analysing the machine. It's the Uber Gadget. A car with mechanical and electronic systems that reward you for and literally beg you to monitor.

But after a year? I'd say the reasons are diverse. Sometimes very simple. Toyota knew or learned what Honda has not. Outside of being a Hybrid, The Prius is just flat out a nice, well sized hatchback.

I was comparing The Prius to The Fit, and found that the difference in price between a fully loaded Fit and an entry Prius to be much closer than I would of imagined. And the Base Prius to be almost as well equipped and/or offering some amenities that aren't even available on The Fit at any price.

For me I really like the "Mid-Size" nature of The Prius. It's not Econo-Box small, it's not SUV or large car big. Being able to drive a Mid-Size vehicle and get mileage that eclipses everything else on the road, even Smart Cars and Honda Fits...to me is a great advantage.

So I guess upon purchase that would make me dipping mostly from the Consumer Savvy Saver...or Cheap Bastard...

PS. I'm NOT voting in the poll as I don't own a Prius yet. I just have some insane addiction to Prius Chat...now if NPR could just figure that out....

 

Octavia, understand, Reason One in the link below is the main reason I own a hybrid. Your choices are reasons four and five, distantly behind reason one. Reasons two and three explain why it can be a Prius, compared to a Fusion or an Insight.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...502-2010-prius-school-project.html#post979468

My wife would add a reason ten, that I love to tinker with the technology, but that was after I bought it, not a reason to buy it.

 

Octavia, you missed a major category.

Greenie, Techie, Cheapie

Someone here on PC used to have that in their sig.

 

I'm both...

 

For me the subject is only about money; keeping more of my own in my own pocket and giving as little as possible to Big Oil and its producer partners.

Environmental concerns are well behind for me personally.

 

Octavia, this goes back several years, as I recall, "There are 3 types of owners: Greenie, Techie & Cheapie. Pick 2."

Please change your avitar. You're too pretty to hide behind the car.

For the polls:

Owner type: Techie & Cheapie

Boobs or butts: Both

 

I wouldn't call myself cheapie because there are cheaper choice by chosing smaller cars. Prius, to me, provides best value among $20 - 30K range cars. Of course, if you care about acceleration and handling (low tech) rather than smart key, bluetooth (high tech), you may not choose Prius.

For me, the surprising part of owning prius - I have never had so many people want to stop me and talk my car since I bought Prius.

So I am value first, High tech second and attention third.

 

I like the MPG. I dont mind being green. I just like the car because it is so quiet.

 

It's all in the name.

 

My husband and I are buying a Prius, and we`re neither.

We just think the technology is extremely cool, and like having neat things like that. "Green"-ness, fuel economy, and all that are just bonuses.

 

Lived car free for 2 years. Try it if you really want to save money. Having some health issues and thought a car would be prudent. I like the car but loathed the day I broke down and bought one.

 

As far as I can tell, the two kinds of Prius owners are males and females, or the reverse if you prefer alphabetical order. The categories of environmental friendly and thrifty are not mutually exclusive nor are they independent of each other.

 

You clearly have not traveled very far. Why don't you take a road trip to San Francisco. You might discover that there are several additional categories: 1) bisexual, 2) gay, and 3) Wth?

Keith

 

As an engineer and consumer, its the technical features and great gas mileage that attracts me.

 

i selected green , but in reality, i am just anti-oil and if there was an affordable highway capable EV with decent range, i would not have bought the Pri. well there aint such an EV, and that is why i have the Pri. its by far, the next best option.

by being anti-oil, i am pro-american. i hate seeing the middle east with so much money they dont know how to spend it. (indoor skiing area in Dubai!! what is the AC bill on that place??)

there was a blurb on 60 Minutes 30 years ago right after the 2nd oil crisis, around 1980 or so on Kuwait and how they spent their money. not a single citizen of the entire country had a job. all labor was imported. all were given cars, etc. each citizen had a base income of about $70-80,000 each. (remember this is 1980 dollars.. top of the line factory jobs were paying around $8 an hour)

the cameras scanning the streets littered with abandoned Mercedes and other luxury cars. the Kuwaitis would wreck them or they would break down (oil changes or maintenance of any kind was not done) they would simply leave the car right where it died, walk to the nearest dealer and get another car. only had to show papers to prove they were a citizen and the car was free... paid for by the government with our oil dollars

ya, this is the same country we went and rescued during the Gulf War (the show was shown about a year or two before the conflict happened)

after i saw that, i told myself i would do whatever i could to make sure i donated a little of my money to that as i could. the next day, i bought a motorcycle and pretty much parked my car.

granted, i could have done more. but the reason for what i am doing now has not changed in over 30 years.

 

i'm a greenie. i can afford enough gas for a hummer, but i think it's important to invest in technology that is good for the environment and weans us off foreign oil. i don't have one friend or relative who thinks like me. in a state full of democrats, they are all driving audi's, nercedes, bmw's , volvo's, lexus, etc. but they love the idea of cap and trade and government regulatory policy.

 

i can say that PC has changed quite a bit. when i started here, there was probably 30% greenies, 60% techies, and 10% we will call "other" but that was when the average person thought you would be electrocuted if you wrecked your Pri when it was raining.

today, its more like 20% greenies, 30% techies and 50% others which now includes sub groups of big commuters saving a buck, others just saving time (HOV exemptions) and curiosity seekers.

as for me, sure i hear a lot of negativity about the Prius right now, but as a customer service rep, i hear negativity every day and a LOT of it. people simply think that technology should work all the time NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO. customers always feel like they know the better way to do things, generally refuse to acknowledge technical limitations, explanations, or common sense communication.

so, imm, the poll is correct; nothing i have heard sways my overwhelmingly positive glowing unabashed love of my car. not even a smidgen. and why?? because i have this car. i am fairly well versed on this cars limitations which means my expectations are not unrealistically insane.

now, am i being too harsh for the people here who are genuinely afraid to drive their car?? no, not at all. maybe its because i have lower expectations (i do drive two cars regularly so i dont rely on my Pri as much. after all i have had it one day short of 9 months and have less than 7800 miles on it) maybe its because i can accept a lot of things that other cant.

but one thing i do know; there is a lot of people who will get carried away by all this without even knowing why. today, when waiting to sign in to get my car flashed, there was this guy in front of me with a 2008. first time to the dealer, and he had a whole laundry list of things that was wrong with his Pri. i cant help but wonder how much he had wrong before all this hit the news.