Why did you buy the Prius? Gas savings or evironmental statement?

I was attracted to the technology and novelty. On initial test drives I found the driving experience acceptable - nothing more. After more reading here and adjusting my driving behavior and technique I found the driving experience more and more interesting.

 

None of your choices was my primary motivation. (the environment was fourth, fifth, and sixth on my list, although fifth borders on economics as well)

This list prioritizes my thinking when I purchased a Second Generation Prius
2010 Prius School Project! | PriusChat
Since then I have been swayed by those who think buying oil from those who see us as enemies is bad foreign policy.
And the tech goodies are nice, my wife calls it Go Go Gadget Car!

 

I share previous posters' point of view as well. However I feel like my motivations for getting the Prius can't be broken down in ranks of importance. I approached the acquisition with the mindset that the Prius symbolized the direction in which the car industry had to move in order to move forward. Progress needs to look like that. It isn't about gadgets for gadgets. It's all about making technology solve problems and, by doing so, being attractive on a level that goes beyond just being "Eco friendly" or "economically friendly". The car seems to come out of the space age and doesn't hide it's SciFi looks. All in all, I got the Prius because it's a tech marvel that respects Mother Earth in a blazing way AND because its the car that does it the best for the price it's available at!

 

There are three major reasons someone buys a Prius: MPG, Technology, and/or Green. Buyers normally care about two of the three. I am a techy and a cheapy.

JeffD

 

For me:

#1 is technology and novelty. Bought Prius for the same reason that I buy electronic gadgets. Had to experience Hybrid tech for the sake of it. Now I know what I like and dislike about the Prius' implementation, and when the technology has been stretched too far.

#2 is MPG. Not top priority, but don't want to waste unnecessarily either. Must balance the penalty of the driving experience versus the penny pinching benefits of saving gas.

Really couldn't car less about the political statement of being green. Sure, I don't want to pollute any more than the next guy, but I didn't plan on penalizing myself for some higher cause.

As far as reducing national oil consumption and the need for Middle East petroleum.. Sure I want us to have a self sufficient reliable energy supply, but am not naive enough to think that we can do it overnight by ourselves, especially with all the pickups and gas guzzlers around us.

Nexus 7 ? 4

 

D) all of the above.

 

E. None of the above.

Mine is a work car, and although I really wouldn't mind replacing one of my POVs with a G3, the tow rating sux and having a car payment sux MORE.......so I'll keep being a Prius driver for now.

 

I bought it because the reliability history was stellar and the MPG was tops. I wouldn't have cared about the MPG if it had to be repaired all the time and I wouldn't have cared if it were rock solid never needing repairs if the MPG sucked so I guess I'd have to say it was both.

 

I didn't like dropping off $65-$70 per week at the gas station. I traded in my 2008 FJ Cruiser for a used 2010 Prius and now I only drop off about $30 every 2 weeks. (commuting 50 miles per day , 5 days per week) I have yet to find anything I don't like about this car.

 

We had tried in 2001 by renting a Prius but the wrong color, no cruise control, the Nav package, and low MPG killed the deal. So we bought an Echo configured with all of the electronics my wife wanted.

In early 2005, I put my name on a waiting list only to get a recorded message,"We just had a Prius delivered. The first one here with $1,000 gets it." Crappy dealer with a cheesy, brain-dead sales approach, no, again.

In September 2005, we lost our 1991 Camry, commuter car, in an accident when the insurance company pulled the title. So I needed a replacement and used Ebay to find one, in Fort Worth TX.

It was $3,000 more than we paid for the Echo, a 2003 model in black. It had cruise control and otherwise stock with 49,000 miles. I flew out to pick it up and except for the first tank, 39 MPG, never looked back.

Back then, the choices for used hybrids were either Honda Insight, Civic, and Toyota Prius. I had checked the electric motor power specs and the Hondas did not sound right. Worse, the Honda cars were 'squat down' whereas the Prius was a 'sit in' car. But I ordered the maintenance manuals and schematics the same time as I bought the car.

So after 8 years, we've put over 100,000 miles on the 2003 Prius:

• 1kW emergency power - we have used it at least once each year and in 2011, over four days.
• towing - we use it with a light weight trailer to get lumber and other oversized loads.
• hobby - it has become a fascinating project.

As for global warming, I knew from Venus that CO{2} was a bad thing for our planet. But I knew our individual contribution was infinitely small. I also knew that like fireworks, we're burning up the fossil fuels faster than they can be made . . . there is a limit that will push the price to many times what it had been. As for air quality, we had a close-call when I was younger with CO poisoning so I'm sensitive to the problem. But I did not buy the Prius thinking it would make any significant change . . . nor as a statement . . . but to replace the crashed, Camry.

Bob Wilson

 

As I noted above, the environment was not a driving force at purchase time. I traded a BMW 335 and my wife had a V8 Jeep at the time. Now two years later she has a 4cyl Chevy Equinox and I have the Prius. We have cut our CO2 emissions per year from about 14 tons down to 7.

The Prius had a ripple effect on our behaviors. I like the change!

 

I'll be honest too. I'm not going to bother sharing facts, if you're only going to ignore them.

 

I simply like the idea of going to the gas station less. Going to gas stations is a waste of time. Had I had a place to charge a Leaf I would have heavily looked into buying one.

 

I could careless about global warming. I bought the Prius for the mpg and being a midsize car.

SCH-I535 ? 2

 

I agree.

But, at some point, both 'sides' must be willing to concede that the debate is over, and it's time to accept reality and carry on. Unless you'd rather have a 'spirited discussion' on the shape of Earth, or which planets revolve around which.....

 

Jgilliam,

You may not care about global warming, but the child in your avatar probably will! And certainly her children will!

Icarus