What is up with all of the Prius Hate ???

Just wait, gas prices will soften them up nicely!
God Bless My SUV Song- Capitol Steps

 

Oh puh ...leeeeeeese .... they 'prefer to keep us at war' ??? LOL !!!

What an ignorant thing to say. The exhaust from modern cars is so clean you can breathe it right out of the pipes. Go somewhere else with your political mumbo jumbo mr gore. Why am I not surprised where you're from ??

REV

 

I have not experienced this ........ the car is fine ......it is what it is.

But I do dislike all of this self righteous crap (pardon my French) -- owning a Prius does not indicate anything other than -- you own a Prius. It is not a mark of superior intelligence or "saving the planet" merit badge.


I love hearing all of the people talk about how they get all this mileage on the daly commute of 100 miles or 150 miles -- how much less gas they use. Well I work at home ... I burn no gas on my commute ... am I saving the planet? Maybe you should move next to your office and walk. My Porsche SUV has used less gas in the past 6 years I have owned it than many of the commuting Prius owners.

I bought the Prius because it's silly for me to spend $100.00 a weekend to drive to my weekend getaways ... But the Prius sits once I get there.

 

For how long before you start developing problems? That is the question.

Did you know you can run your hand through a flame without being burnt... As long as you don't leave it there too long. Get it?

 

Is this 'smoking out' phenomenon a California thing ??? Because I've never seen that ONE TIME in PA, and there's no Prius hate that I've seen here either.

I'm guessing that a lot of the hate comes from certain Prius drivers (some we've heard from in THIS very thread) being obnoxious evangelists about fuel economy, and busting people's balls about the vehicles that they drive. Here in PA, I have never ONCE heard a negative word about the Prius. Most people I talk to admire the fact that the car gets 50 MPG or so, and ask questions about it to educate themselves. I've given rides to people who asked about it in the mall parking lot, or even at a gas station while I was filling up.

Maybe if some Prius drivers didn't act like self appointed fuel economy monitor a-holes, there wouldn't be this animosity that many in CA seem to experience. Live and let live ... drive and let drive. It's not your damn business if SOMEBODY ELSE drives a different car than you.

REV

 

I don't know anyone who hates Priuses, but then, I don't know any stupid people.

On the other hand, I hate SUVs. (Stupid Useless Vehicles)

 

Of course I 'get it'. You wouldn't want to breathe it directly as a main source of your air supply, but what I said is true. We drive the cleanest cars that have ever existed. There are tradeoffs to everything that man does. If we could drive windmills and solar panels we would ... it's just not practical yet.

Don't forget .... there's always somebody that can be more of an obnoxious evangelist than you ... (not you presonally F8L ) ... Prius drivers can castigate diesel drivers and SUV drivers .... and Fisker, MiEV, and Leaf drivers can castigate Prius drivers for the same reasons. Then you'd see the Prius drivers 'hating' the EV drivers for the exact same reasons .... telling them what they should be doing.

Everybody needs to chill and stop thinking they can tell somebody else what to do ... just because it's what THEY do.


REV

 

cycledrum,

In your 1st sentence of your post #13 you state that "diesel drivers actually have the right to sit & idle if they wish". That may (or may not) have been true in the past, but recently I've heard of some states passing anti-idling laws around here. Many diesel trucks in the past used to just leave their engines idling while unloading or making their deliveries. But with tightened pollution standards on things such as soot, particulates, oxides of nitrogen, & the just plain stinky smell that many complain about, these new laws state that you must not let the engine run for any longer than one minute after parking. I think the new laws even apply to gas engined vehicles too.

I tend to side with the new laws now, even though I used to own a VW diesel Rabbit. I would often leave my VW diesel running for a few minutes rather than shutting it off because at an idle a diesel sips way less fuel than a gas engine [which by nature runs richest (consuming a greater rate of fuel) at an idle].

However, my own wife & some of the neighbors would complain of the noisy clatter of the idling engine & the obnoxious smell of the exhaust. I quickly realized how much they had a right to quieter surroundings & to breathe less smelly air, so I put an end to the idling practice.

I didn't have the diesel Rabbit on the road for long, as it died a very pre-mature death after a number of catastrophic failures (mostly due to VW's poor quality), partially outlined in one of my other posts here (post #12 in a thread titled "Two questions..." in the Prius c main forum). To make it easier for anyone interested to read about my disappointing ownership of my new 1978 diesel Rabbit, this link should take you right to the page that has post #12.
http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-c-main-forum/104229-two-questions-2.html#post1493531

I don't know if the guy in the video (with the idling diesel truck that the irate woman confronted) lives in a state with the anti-idling law, but he shouldn't be subjecting his young children to breathing those diesel exhaust fumes. The boy was right back there in the bed of the pickup where the fumes were probably the worst, but I don't know where the other child was. The right thing would have simply been to shut off the engine, especially after the woman confronted him. The guy seemed concerned enough to keep calling to his wife as the 2 women got in each other's faces, so why not just shut the engine off & de-escalate the situation?

Some states (like Massachusetts) won't even let you buy a new diesel passenger vehicle in that state. You can move there with one you have already owned or you can own a diesel truck if it's used in your business). So much for selling VW's "clean diesel technology" (if you can really believe VW) there.

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

 

Rev,

Getting "Smoked out" happens to anyone. Although there has been two attempts at smoking me out and I didn't provoke the asshat driver in the least. I definitely wasn't hypermiling or anything.

I don't like politics so I won't go down that road and I like you BUT what someone else drives is my business if it affects my health and the health of my country. I personally don't like living with cancer but if I knew that my situation was caused by poor air quality then I would have a chip on my shoulder regarding those who are the largest cause of that poor air quality (automobiles). So you can bet your bottom dollar that I would lobby against that which negatively affects me in a quantifiable manner.

You don't have to take my word for it though.

WHO | Air quality and health

2001-08-21 Air Pollution and Health

Neat little chart:

What are the health effects of some common air pollutants? The table below shows the health effects of some of the common pollutants found in our air and examples of some of the sources of these pollutants. POLLUTANT
HEALTH EFFECTS
EXAMPLES OF SOURCES

Particulate Matter
(PM2.5 and PM10: less than or
equal to 2.5 or 10 microns, respectively) ​

• Hospitalizations for worsened heart diseases
• Emergency room visits for asthma
• Premature death

• Cars and trucks (especially diesels)
• Fireplaces, woodstoves
• Windblown dust from roadways, agriculture and construction

Ozone (O3) ​

• Cough, chest tightness
• Difficulty taking a deep breath
• Worsened asthma symptoms
• Lung inflammation

• Precursor sources*: motor vehicles, industrial emissions, and consumer products

Carbon Monoxide (CO) ​

• Chest pain in heart patients**
• Headaches, nausea**
• Reduced mental alertness**
• Death at very high levels**

• Any source that burns fuel such as cars, trucks, construction and farming equipment, and residential heaters and stoves

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) ​

• Increased response to allergens

• See carbon monoxide sources

Toxic Air Contaminants ​

• Cancer
• Chronic eye, lung or skin irritation
• Neurological and reproductive disorders

• Cars and trucks (especially diesels)
• Industrial sources, such as chrome platers
• Neighborhood businesses, such as dry cleaners and service stations
• Building materials and products

 

Exactly ... if you think that driving a 'certain car' makes a statement about 'who you are' ... you have a LOT of growing up to do. And if you walk around talking and acting that way as well ... then I can easily understand why others would hate YOU ... not necessarily the car you drive. So ... if this description fits you ... it's not the Prius that's being hated ... it's YOU.

You reap what you sew. If you walk around acting and thinking that you're superior because of what stupid car you drive ... you are indeed a pitiful human being.

It's JUST A CAR ... nothing more.

REV

 

We also have more cars on the road than has ever existed and it is increasing exponentially. That is why this is important. The gains in technology are being outpaced by population growth.

 

It's actually the opposite in the Philadelphia region, there is a ton of Prius hate down here. I drive my Prius a little rough and I still have people attempting to cut me off, or tail gate me.

 

Hi F8L !!

I honestly have never seen that ... or had ONE incident on the road based on the fact that I drive a Prius.

I understand what you're saying, but the changes that you hope for (as I do too) will only happen through education and 'pain'. Believe me it's happening .... but in a natural and economical manner ... not because some Prius driving a-hole goes around acting like they're the only smart driver on the road, and preaching about it like some self-appointed idiot. All that will result in is animosity. Oh ... believe me ... if somebody is 'interested' in the Prius ... or I hear them spouting off inaccuracies ... I'll be the first person to offer information, or rebut what the inaccuracies are, but I DON'T PREACH to anybody.

When the soccer moms and the jiffy lube workers realize that they just can't continue to live with their gas guzzling SUV or pick-up truck, they will forgo them naturally, not because they were 'told to' by some self-righteous jacka$$ driving a Prius. Don't forget ... I'm one of them minus the jacka$$ part. Although you may get a different opinion from my wife ....


REV

 

Pippijones -- it's not the Prius!

It's the law in eastern PA ........... all of NJ and most of the east coast of the US up to Boston .... if you are on the highway doing anything less than 15 miles over the speed limit and you leave any more than one car length in front of you ........ that is considered "free space" and will be filled

 

This is why I like you, REV! :rockon:

 

Agreed. And I can see the animosity being more prevalent in more congested areas and cities. Especially if you drive stupidly and draw attention to yourself by holding up traffic, or being a left lane bandit.

Honestly though ... I have never once experienced what some here are saying ... although I must admit ... I would like to see this 'smoking out thing' at least once ... I would think it's probably pretty funny as long as you're not the object of it in your new Blizzard Pearl Prius.

Always good discussing things with you F8L !!

REV

 

Ah .... you're from joisey right ?? What exit ?? LOL.


REV

 

Yeah.....I'm actually pretty guilty of that. Like I said, I drive my Prius kinda rough.

 

op2: