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Why did you buy a Prius ??

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by revhigh, Jun 13, 2011.

?
  1. I bought it to show the world I'm 'GREEN'.

    11 vote(s)
    8.3%
  2. I bought it to save money on fuel.

    121 vote(s)
    91.7%
  1. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

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    Why did you buy a Prius ??

    Another poster made the comment that we all bought the Prius because we wanted to be 'green'.

    Is that really true ?

    Not for me .... saving money just makes good sense ....
    REV
     
  2. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Rev, you left out a few other options like Technology, low emissions (my reason), support the hybrid idea (voting with money). etc. :)

    There are other polls like this done in the past. Maybe we can find one from last year. From all the polls I've read in here, most people did not purchase the Prius to prove they are green. They did it for the savings, the technology, or to reduce emissions and dependence on foreign oil.
     
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  3. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

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    I know I did F8L ! Intentionally so.

    I specifically wanted to know what the MAIN reason was between the two listed above. I thought of adding a 'BOTH' option, and didn't want to confuse the issue.

    Sorry if it's been done before. I haven't been a member that long so I haven't seen them. :D

    Another poster mentioned that ...

    "Simply put, EV brings us closer to why we buy these cars in the first place..... to be "GREEN".

    I found that hard to believe .... hence my poll ! :D

    REV
     
  4. krelborne

    krelborne New Member

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    No. I believe the math on a Prius works out to where you can come out ahead versus other similar cars. I wanted a more family-friendly vehicle, so I chose it. Now that I'm married with kids, my sporty bachelormobile wasn't cutting it any more, for a number of reasons.

    Other people are drawn to it because they like the technology. I was put off by that aspect at first, but now it has grown on me.

    People should stop pushing the notion that a Prius only makes sense on an environmental level. It promotes the perception that Prii are only for treehuggers, which makes the car less appealing to some people.
     
  5. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    No worries my friend. I know YOU know why people bought the cars. I was mainly posting for the lurkers who do not post but read our forums. I wanted to make sure that they know why we bought our cars so as to dispell the politically-driven myth that we all are tree huggin' hippies who want to show off our greenness. Although I do tend to hug a lot of trees..... lol
     
  6. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

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    I know it almost turned me off from owning one .... I'm glad my 'cheap' side won out. :D

    I'm still considering de-badging it for just that reason. I don't really like the 'HYBRID' stickers on the side, OR the PRIUS on the back for that matter. I'd just prefer it said Toyota and nothing else. It's really not a bad looking car .... far nicer and sportier than the GEN II's. The whole 'green' movement is kind of an embarassment as far as I'm concerned.

    Actually, the technology aspect made me like it even more ... being a techy at heart ... I had the scanguage before I had the car !


    REV
     
  7. mmcdonal

    mmcdonal Active Member

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    Yeah, see, I bought mine for both reasons. But also because it was a Toyota, and proven technology, and I had owned a J-code Camry hybrid, etc. I also was worried about fuel availability, which no one talks about. Having been through two gas rationings, that was an issue more when I got the Camry in 07, but could be any time soon. I owned a 100mpg Honda moped during the second rationing (and a 68 Buick Skylark) and the Prius gives me the same feeling of security.

    As a side note, I did NOT buy a Prius because I cared what anyone else thought of me, positively or negatively. I wish you could still get diligaf bumper stickers like in the 70's.

    :blah:
     
  8. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

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    Hey MM !

    First ... I totally agree with you on the 'because it was a Toyota' concept. My wife has an '05 Corolla with 154K on it, and the only 'repair' it's needed has been one $7 headlight bulb.

    What kind of real MPG did your Camry Hybrid get ? Just curious.

    What's dilligaf ? I'm sure I know, but can't recall right now.

    REV
     
  9. olyprius

    olyprius Member

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    I bought into the prius because i enjoy witnessing people with big gas guzzlers empty their pockets at the local gas station. They are usually the same type of people who laugh at me for driving a prius. So ya, I voted money.
     
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  10. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

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    LOL !! :D

    I don't really laugh at gas-guzzler-drivers, but I do kind of compute in my head the differences when I gas-up next to one ... I can go about 500 miles on about $35 worth of fuel, and the Suburban driver can go about 320 miles on about $110 worth of fuel. That can be devastating to a family's monthly budget if they drive a lot of miles like my family does.

    So .... I can go (more than) one and a half times as far for 1/3 the amount of fuel .... WOW .... that's almost impossible to believe ... we're BOTH getting to the same places and doing the same things within reason.

    To be honest ... I'm kinda surprised at the results of the poll so far ... I really didn't think it would be so one-sided. I actually thought it might have gone the OTHER way, and I would have been in the minority.

    REV
     
  11. Ryanpl

    Ryanpl Active Member

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    I bought my Prius because I got a great price for it. Oh and the whole green thing as a bonus.
     
  12. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    Agreed. I'm not trying to prove anything to anybody.

    I got mine for environmental reasons (not for the elusive TCO savings), but not to prove anything.
     
  13. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    And I thank you for doing it! Actually i thank everyone who bought one regardless of their reason. :)
     
  14. itonarely

    itonarely Junior Member

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    Initially, I chose to buy my Prius because I was getting tired of paying so much money for gas (probably $65 to $75 per week). After having the Prius for a week, some friends visited and one of them asked me if I had become a "tree-hugger". I told him that no, I had merely become a wallet-hugger.

    Coming off of two years with my Ford Flex (which I still miss a bit) I was kind of in the mood to get into something a little smaller and sportier. Mind you, I have three sons (the largest of which comes in at 6'-1" and is still growing) so convincing my wife that the five us did in fact fit in the vehicle was my greatest challenge. Once we passed this test it was smooth sailing.

    Now, two months later, I find that while economy was and is my primary reason for purchasing this vehicle, I take great satisfaction from driving what I consider to be a very well-designed, forward-thinking vehicle (and this community has been very informative since day one).
     
  15. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

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    Well said itonarely !

    REV
     
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i have purchased two pri and one hycam for environmental reasons. because i care about the quality of our air, soil and water, i drive as little as possible and do many other things as well. the mpg's a just an added bonus, but i don't buy into the whole saving money compared to a similar non hybrid car. not at 4 bucks a gallon anyway. but it depends on how much you drive as well. i didn't vote because it was not to show anyone that i'm 'green'. i also would like to see more alternative energy and take oil outof world politics.
    btw, we get between 35-45 in the hycam mostly depending on the outside temperature.
     
  17. mlg779

    mlg779 Junior Member

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    Here the same - wallet-hugger
    We have three cars. Since we got Prius I'm waiting for my wife to get home to take the Prius. I've even canceled the insurance on one of the vehicles for now.
     
  18. skruse

    skruse Senior Member

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    Double efficiency and you cut cost by one-half. The Prius clearly fits this criteria.
     
  19. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    Neither of your reasons rated high on my list of why I bought my Prius, sorry. I could not vote.

    Items 4 and 6 might be being 'Green' to you, they were common sense to me.

    Item 5 LOOKS like saving gas, but is really the truest 'being green' on the list.

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

    The list of why I like my Prius after 2.5 years would be slightly different than why I bought it, but not much. I like the electronics more than I expected to.