Sign of the times

Ask them why they are paying so much for electricity, when a small block of metal contains more electrons than they'll ever need to power their home.

They should just machine an electrical outlet out of a small brick of aluminum or steel, plug their appliances into that, and pull the electric meter off the wall.

 

You two had me fooled for a little while. I remember being taught in some chemistry class a long time ago that you needed to have a Philosopher's Stone to make that all work.

 

I don't believe in comparing purchase cost of a Prius to a Corolla sedan ... that's not really fair. Hatchbacks always cost more than their sedan counterparts ...

however, I do consider Prius / Matrix puchase cost comparison reasonably fair. If only looking at purchase cost, it was something like roughly 70k miles needed to make up cost diff between base Prius and Matrix 1.8L automatic.

Look in the newspapers ... you will see Prius listed at $23k discount price. Corolla is around 16 or $17k. Camry is about $21k...

this is what ordinary people see .... then they say, wow, Prius is expensive!! They are a little expensive. There are cheaper cars to buy.

I don't believe Prius is a smoking bargain, but do know they are the most fuel efficient non-plug in gas car on the planet.

 

For me, the Prius is one great non-smoking bargain.

 

Whoa, you just let the great secret out of the bag.

 

talked to dentist last week. He just bought one, was asking if I really getting 50MPG.

Assured that MPG will be getting better then 50 after initial break in mine was 58.5 avg through the winter.

 

^ The Prius -vs- Corolla comparison works out to be fairer than you may think. Hatchbacks are more expensive to build than sedans, but for some reason Americans tend to eschew lift backs in favor of sedans. I'm really not sure why this is the case, since the former is a little more useful for carrying cargo without sacrificing the ability to carry pax---as long as you don't try to do it at the same time.

Both the Prius and the Corolla have strengths and weaknesses that you'll have to weigh against what you're trying to do with the car. For the most part…they’re both entry level (or can be entry level) 5-seaters.
I did a detailed stare and compare recently with my CFO, and for US (and only for us) the Corolla came out on top, but that's only because I can tow a 1,500# load with the Corolla, and hit the delete button on my pickemuptruck if and when the "change owner" light gets illuminated on the truck.
The ride quality of a Corolla is an order of magnitude better than the G3---that's subjective, but I noted that the ride was quieter and my middle-aged frame immediately reported to me that the seats were much better than the G3. The initial cost savings for the Corolla will help defray the additional fuel costs over the life cycle of the car.
The G3 is the better commuter car...hands down. You have the additional advantage of it being a (bit) more ecological as well economical. You can also up-option a G3 with some more doo-dads than you can the Corolla, if you’re trying to replace a more luxurious ride with one that is a little more wallet and planet friendly.
Like I said before...it depends on what the prospective owner is trying to do with the car.
One sure "sign of the times" is that many more people are weighing fuel costs a lot more heavily into their purchase decision that were doing so before. This is going to make 5-seat ecoboxes even more expensive in the near term, but a few years down the line....there are going to be a lot more ecoboxes from which to choose.

Who knows? Maybe lift backs will come back into vogue on this side of the pond?