I would just tell him that the amount of money you're saving on gas with the Prius means you no longer need to carpool with him.
I think you are just being too nice by allowing him to get a cheap ride to work with you. I would tell him to find another ride, after all, why should you deal with his crap when this is your car and you should have your own peace of mind while driving to work. If he thinks his civic is so much better, then he can start his own carpool. Nobody is forcing you to give him a ride, and you don't really have to allow him in your car. Maybe if you finally tell him to drive himself to work with his wonderful civic then he will re-think his behavior and learn to keep his mouth shut when you are driving him to work for a lousy $100 a month. He can keep his comments to himself and shut up in the car then maybe you could re-consider allowing him to ride with you.
Brilliant to buy in April or early May--just before the panic--about the 2nd week in May. I don't expect oil prices to stay high for much longer, but in the long term, a hybrid is the only way to go.
Darrell's right: Don't let a difference of opinion override common sense. The guy does show some sense by carpooling. Don't bother escalating the dialog by arguing or being confrontational about it because that's not the way to win any argument. Maybe if he mentions the "payback period" again you can respond like this: "What's the payback period on those movie tickets you bought last weekend?" "Payback" is really a non-sequitur when talking about cars. The car doesn't pay you back for anything unless you use it for commercial purposes.
LOL...speaking only for myself, there was nothing "brilliant" about it. I was just very lucky to have purchased in late April; it wasn't "planned" or "timed", it was just time and I got lucky... I do hope that there's a correction in the Prius market, and soon. Panic in any market is never good.
This guy is looking for conflict, some people feed on it. The absolute worse thing you can do is try to argue with him, no matter how right you may be. The best thing you can do is not give him what he wants. When he starts in, just do the old "smile and nod". "Yep-you're right, I'm wrong, I'm just a moron", etc. Sooner or later (hopefully sooner for your sake) he'll move on when he can't get his jollies from you. I suspect deep down he knows you're right and he's not-otherwise he would not be going through all the trouble to prove otherwise.
There's a very simple solution to this. Tell him a new pair of runners has the shortest break-even period, so he should walk. There must be more considerate and appreciative people wanting to carpool.
Clark Howard makes many people believe that Prius is a bad choice. Clarkneeds someone to explain a few things to him. First the Prius has more interior room and cargo than a Yaris Ya have to look at cars with comparable size internally and cargo in the comparison. Clark do the research and inform intelligently. May be hard for ya.
I agree. Tell him you like the car, you didn't take any money from his pocket for it, therefore he can keep his idiot opinions to himself. :spider: And it sounds like you don't really HAVE to carpool with him. Drive your Prius and have fun without the snarky fool.
I disagree. While I understand Darrell's point of view, no one HAS to put up with someone else purposely disrespecting them while at the same time benefiting from their supposed "stupidity". The Civic owner rides because it's cheaper for him to pay half for the Prius to be filled up than his own car, not because he really CARES about the CO2 levels or the environment. If he really CARED he would applaud the Prius for being the wonderful car it is. I guess if it was me, I'd tell the rider "look, if you don't like my car why do you want to carpool with me? You have two choices- either ride and quit yapping about how much you don't like my car, etc. or you can drive yourself in your own car." That way it's HIS decision.
Look pal, "insert car's name here" tells me that you don't like him/her and says I should do something. The voices are starting to keep me awake at night, but hopefully, I'll be able to keep my strength. Isn't this a pretty tire iron?
Of course nobody *has* to put up with it. Free country and all that. We all have the choice to foul our own situation just as much as we please. My point is that two cars driving one person separately to the same place does FAR more than just "cost $100/month". If I had the choice of commuting with an axe murderer who also smelled bad wanted to bring his Mastif along, I'd also be compelled to burn more gas and cause more damage to myself and others. But I'd do it with the knowledge that it wasn't just costing me $100 for the extra gas.
Drastic? Nah - that's just the mute button. Anyway, no need to say anything, just turn the MFD to the consumption screen each morning when you pick him up. Also, if you are alternating cars, make sure you drive an equal amount and just pay to fill up your own vehicles.
Darell, I'm not saying it would ONLY cost the cash for the gas. My point was that it was also within the driver's rights to considers his own personal feelings, as well as planentary impact. :juggle: