Outrage over friends and family reactions to a "near purchase"

It seems like you need to go get your balls back from your wife. I daily drive my Prius, but I have a weekend car...

 

Wow...I had no idea..... To be honest, I've always thought of a Prius as more of a man's car...high tech and all of that. While I want a Prius, my husband wants it twice as bad...

 

Bad stereotypes and jealousy will cause people to say all sorts of stuff. The people you're surrounded by seem really ignorant.

This should give you the fire to go buy it and prove them wrong.

 

There must not be very many Prius' in your area. There are so many around here, one would have to be weird to constantly case on Prius'. Who are they going to bag on, they're very common - almost 1/4 million in CA.

I've been driving around a 3rd gen III w/nav today, and I'll tell you, it is one fine car.

Is there any way you can rent one in your area? That's the best way to check them out. 15 minute test drives just don't cut it.

When you rent them, you can really check 'em out. I've got the hubcaps pulled off this rental, checking fuel economy w/o them, seeing how it looks. Rental has 4k miles, I'm listening for any rattles. Never heard one in a '10 rental.

 

If you go through life being upset by what other people may think or say, it will drive you nuts. If your "friends" criticize you because you don't fit the image that they think you should have, maybe you should consider getting another set of friends that aren't so shallow and superficial.

Keith

P.S. No matter what happens, the Prius is still a very practical, reliable and fuel-efficient car.

 

So, what kind of cars does the family think are hot? Mustangs, Camaro's, Vette's?

Tell ya what - I sat in a 370Z, $50k convertible last weekend. No way on earth I could drive one of those - too small. Miata, too small.

Sure, Rav4 Sport is a tougher looking car than a Prius, but it has compact class seat and are therefore, not an option for me.

If you showed the wife a big pic of the Prius with PLUS package (do search), would she still thinks it's barfy?

Some people just don't like the aerodynamic shape. Some people think cars should have trunks and anything with a liftback should be raised and look something like an SUV.

Weird.

 

The reaction probably depends on the type of people where you live / who your peers are. I've never heard a single thing bad from anyone about my Prius. Maybe its because I live around Chicago - people overall don't seem to care about such things here. No Prius hatred either. Louisiana / South - could be a different world.

 

Just think of all the shoes and clothes she can buy with all the fuel you are saving lol. After all most women like shopping....
I have my prius as a daily driver but looking to buy another car for a weekender.

 

Coach,

I'm disappointed to continue to hear that people around you can't break free of marketing hype and stereotypes. It's too bad that for you to get a car that YOU think will best fit your lifestyle is being that you must endure this kind of drivel.

Too many people worried about what everyone else thinks/values, and not worried enough about what you think/value.

They will get over it.

BTW, did you notice the Prius per capita thread? Your state is in the bottom two in the US. You mentioned months ago that they weren't many Prius vehicles where you lived, this has now been quantified. It just backs up your observations and gives you more credibility.

 

Louisiana is an oil state and probably high on the list with percentage of global warming deniers. It's political.

 

Politics shouldn't dictate what car you drive.

My money goes to the most reliable, economical, and innovative car, whether it be from Japan, USA, Germany, Iraq or outer space.

 

It's an unfortunate attitude fed by decades of media equating vehicle size and horsepower with manhood! With more manufacturers bringing hybrids and EV's to market, maybe we'll see less of the "You need to be able to haul a horse trailer across raging rivers and boulder strewn mountains on your way to the office, because that's what real men do!" commercials.

 

Hi Coach81,

As a coach, you set an example for your students. In such a situation, I think one has a responsibility not only to one's self, but the shape of future society. This may be were the flack is coming from. But, also its why you should get a Prius.

The "Prius is a Gay Car" stuff is completely contrived FUD marketing attack. Look up FUD on Wikipedia. Just recently, a bigwig in GM was calling the Prius names. I do not need any more evidence than that to know where allot of this negative marketing against the Prius is coming from...

While your there, you might also look up this biography of another Prius owning sportsman: [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Orton"]Kyle Orton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] . And of course Jessica Simpson's New Orleans Saints Boyfriend _ Eric Johnson _ is reported to drive a Prius - Eric Johnson: Five Things You Need to Know About Jessica Simpson's New Boyfriend - Celebrity Circuit - CBS News

If you point out these items, your less-than-informed acquantances might settle down, and have enough confidence in your decision making process to let you alone regarding the Prius.

 

I agree. I find it really strange, and I mean really really strange that someone would be put off which car they buy because of their friends negative opinions.

Don't you choose your friends on who THEY are, not what car they drive?

My friends have a wide variety of transport ranging from one with a Canal Boat to one a Bentley Continental GT. It's the person you're friends with, not their car! Sure we joke about it and I do get a bit of ribbing about the Prius, but I don't care. We often laugh that I'm offsetting the carbon emissions of my friends Bentley.

 

We were out and about yesterday getting some last minute errands done, and I came across 5 Prii in our travels, two were parked, so I don't know what gender the drivers were, but the other three had a man behind the wheel!

 

If you friends are anything like mine a bit of friendly ballbreaking is just part of what we do, I get a bit of grief over the Prius but if it wasn't that it would be something else and I give as good as I get.

The wife is another story entirely, I know it's my right to choose the car I want but I could very well place the value of a quiet life over upholding that particular right. Of course if she had said those things to me then it would be red rag to a bull and the Christmas family game of Monopoly would be frostier than usual.

 

Coach,

Glad to hear the Frontier is OK.

Desperate times require desperate measures. (Enter heretical mode.)

Conceptually, there is little difference between the PHEV Prius and the
Chevy Volt. (Well, the Volt is being distributed right now. that could be
significant.) You can argue the details until you're blue in the face. But
each offers a limited but useful all-EV range, and the freedom to get
home or go anywhere with the ICE.

I know you want a PHEV. But it may be easer to sell at least the idea of
the Volt at home. There is also the possibility that you could get the
wife into one for a test drive. Point out all the coolness... potential
savings, etc.

Eventually, you'd have to switch the focus -- that's a wholly different
car! -- back to the PHEV being an all-around better vehicle. :rockon:

It just might work.