My Prius is a hunk of metal & plastic (ditto my Insight, Civic)

You must have a lot of spare time on your hands Troy....

 

You certainly have some of us pegged-- we love our Prius's. I liked mine so much that I just sold my 2013 Lexus RX350 with 11,000 miles on it as I will drive the Prius instead-- and double the gas mileage. G/F has a 2012 v (lowercase v) [ her 3rd Prius, 2 hatchbacks before that ] so she likes them also. And-- if ''WE'' get another for ''US'', it will be another v or a CT200. Yes, we both are true ''believers''.....

 

I agree, I sold a 2009 Corvette and a 2003 Silverado because I love the Prius so much.

 

It is entirely possible to keep and grasp the reality that "The Prius" is an automobile- (machine) and also "name" the vehicle.

I also think it is entirely possible to fairly criticize short comings of the machine, and still like the machine. And many here do.

When you say "Some of Ye"....you are criticizing and making generalizations about Prius Chat participants and owners.

Is it so surprisingly shocking that within a site called "Prius Chat" there might be a reflective inbalance of participants that are Prius supporters, sometimes to a fault?

And I also believe it is different with automobiles. Yes, Prius are automobiles, and thus machines and can be put in the category of "Appliance". BUT...for many, automobiles do become humanized, and more.

They are the last thing you see as you walk in to a work day....and often the first thing you see at the end of the work day.

They become the key point in memorable road trips and shared memories that result. They are that transportation servant that brings us to many of lifes great moments, weddings and parties.

They also transport us through bad times, rushes to hospitals. Funerals.

Any wonder that even though they are "just machines" we tend to attach sentimentality to those vehicles we come to keep a long time?

I haven't owned this Prius long enough yet, to have a lot of sentimentality attached. But I hope I do.

And I absolutely think there is nothing wrong with thinking of an automobile beyond that of just being a machine.

Through my life, different automobiles have become markers for the very phases of my existence. Junkers, clunkers, trucks and cars. If I have fooled myself into believing they were more than just machines? Then I choose to continue to foster that wonderful, chimerical illusion.

After all, some would say I'm just a chunk of flesh and blood.

 

Anyone ever run across one of their ex vehicles, one that had been traded or sold? Sold to a friend or relative doesn't count, too close. Did you feel a twinge?

 

Oh yea. Even though I view my cars as automobiles or machines, after years of ownershp I do develop an attachment. I have felt a little sadness when selling all of my past vehicles. There are a lot of memories inside these vehicles. And yes Ihave felt the twinge you describe above when I run across one of my "old cars".

 

I bought a guitar from a friend. Doubled my money on Craigslist. Saw it on EBay and bought it back for less than I sold it for. Put it back on EBay a couple of weeks later and sold it to some collector for about 500.00 more.

Saw a rental surfboard at the beach I traded to a surf shop about 10 years earlier. My first board and I got a twinge when I saw it.

I did see an old VW bug I sold about 3 months earlier sitting on the side of the road. No twinge, just relief for getting rid of it.

 

It's one thing to offer an opinion about a car when someone is trying to decide between that car and a Prius. It's quite another to come here for no other reason than to say you're going to buy another car and then bash your Prius. And I don't recall anyone telling them "You suck", to use your language.

And I don't see why it bothers anyone that some of us think of our cars as more than an appliance and give them names. My wife named our Montana "Valentine" because I bought it for her on Valentine's Day 1999. She named our Prius "Independence" because we bought to the week of July 4, and I shortened it to Indy. I have a lot of fond memories of all the cars I've owned, not because they themselves were special, but the time spent in them with the people I spent it with were special. And even though I never named TVs, I have some fond memories that revolve around the TVs we've owned, not because of them, but because of the time periods. For example, my daughter is now 44 years old and we still bring up the fact that she was our first remote control. It's not the object we honor with names, it's the memories they represent, our personal little monuments, if you will.

 

Stratman, you make me think of the time when I was single and living in an apartment. Just bought another car and a guy I knew said he needed a car, so I sold him my older one at a good price. Before the day was out, he sold it to someone else in the apartment complex for $400 more. A good lesson learned on my part. I'll never make someone a good deal on something again. Now I always test the market and pocket the money myself.

Still trying to think of a name for my Prius. It's one owner with 130K miles and I think I'll keep it for awhile longer.

 

I learned the same way. My wife's workmate gave her a sob story about needing a car. I had an old 76 civic with a leaky head gasket. Not bad but would blow out the tailpipe and used about a gallon of water a week. Still drive able. I sold it to her for $50.00 only to find out her swindler of a husband dumped in some block seal and sold it to an older woman for 300.00 the same day.

 

Eloquent, almost poetic!
Pluperfect Prius Poetry, people?

Ex-airplane I might feel a twinge, but for a car no.
Maybe the opposite, in fact. Had my old red Valiant crushed to death when it tried to kill me with a sudden total brake failure when coming up to a major intersection--when I saw its crumpled red carcass on the recycling truck later it was some weird vengeance feeling plus relief that it would not be able to kill anyone else.

 

I've been more emotional about my motorcycles over the years - felt a greater connection during my experiences with them.

 

"Freedom of Speach" just means you don't go to jail for criticizing the govt. One can still be chided, berated or even fired from a job, in an "at will" state, for voicing an opinion. Ask a journalist who has posted an unpopular tweet.

 

I saw the 2002 Jeep Liberty I sold a couple weeks ago. It made me happy to not be getting 18mpg, or to have the unreliability of the brand looming over me.

I still dream of my 1996 Subaru Legacy. It took me places, I beat the snot out of it, and it never gave me a problem. In 240,000 miles, not a single problem. It was the car I drove when I dated my first love (and second for that matter), and I have fond memories of camping in the back, with the rear seats folded forward. These memories are likely a major factor in my decision to buy a Prius for my next car.

 

And there you go again. Defend to the death? Kind of a cliche, don't you think?

Anyway, didn't say there was anything wrong with it, just saying why he was getting some blowback for doing it. I couldn't care less what anyone says about any cars (unless I ask them for an opinion); memories aside, they are just hunks of metal, plastic, whatever. And, I'll go even further and say that if someone actually wants people to consider their comments, they need to consider the audience and compose accordingly. I don't believe that was done in this case, so the comments end up in most ignore baskets and are just more wasted bits on the internet. So there.

 

Regarding "My Prius is a hunk of metal & plastic"... so is a Chevy Corvette plastic and metal since 1953

 

Boy did I just turn green...with envy that is.