Why do people hate the Prius?

Some will change willingly and others will be dragged kicking and screaming, stretched ever thinner by the ridiculousness of their profligacy until it becomes impossible to do anything else but change, and unlike before it won't be so much on their own terms.

 

I have a friend who is convinced I own the unsafest car in the world and that goes for anything Toyota builds all based on all the recent media heresy. (I know I'm pressing my luck with that word definition but it strikes my fancy.) Today he sent me a half-dozen Prius jokes. He can't help spelling the name Pruis too. I hope he thinks he's getting a kick out of irritating me over numerous arguments but so far he doesn't have a leg to stand on that makes any sense.

 

I get called "gay" by most men I work with. They all drive trucks or "man" cars. One guy who drives a Ford Escape even tries to make fun of me. I think it bugs them that I do not let it get to me. They get really pissed when they find out I am averaging 53 mpg

 

Smells like the usual ignorance & insecurity to me....Tell them thank you for the compliment, it means you have class. I have never had any negative encounters as people who know or have met me see I have a quick sense of humor and crack a joke, my motto is kill 'em with kindness.

 

Depending on how it is delivered, it may also be a violation of workplace harassment policies at every place I've worked since late in the past century.

One or two torture-murders in the region can quickly put an end to toleration of some of those comments.

 

Compare the safety records of what they drive compared to Toyota. I'm sure you'll not have any problems coming out a winner.

 

I think having a Prius is like 'betting the dark side' in craps. It's a much better bet, statistically speaking, but NOBODY at the table loves you for it.

When gas is uncomfortably over $3 this summer (already over $3 here and now where I live), then the situation becomes 'betting the dark side' and winning.

People aren't rational beings. Your betting on the other side of the dice has no possible impact on their outcomes, but they blame their own losses on your winning.

Of course, if everyone 'bet' 60+MPG, oil prices would tend to stay low for a few more years.

 

HAd a bloke tell me Prius is slow, so I took him for a drive.
I hope he has stopped shaking now.

 

I think a lot of it is perception--our own. Yeah, there are haters out there. As a bicyclist, I get this as well ("gitcher <expletive> a$$ out of mah street, yew <expletive>"). And there's the occasional person who has to remind me that his beamer/hemi/whatever is faster than my Prius. (Memo to those: thank you for rescuing me from my ignorance). But, in both cases (cycling and 'Priusing') if I stop and think for a moment about how often this happens in comparison to how often it doesn't, it really is no BFD (unless push comes to shove on the bike, where physics wins every time...).

OTOH, there are certainly a small subset of sanctimonious Prius drivers, and as above, few people like to be 'rescued from their ignorance'. Another factor seems to be that a lot of people seemingly need to justify their own behavior by insisting that others do the same thing--buy a Prius, a Chevy, a BMW, whatever, because it is "better" for whatever reason (and they just dropped big bucks and don't want to think they made the 'wrong' choice). I chose the Prius for among many reasons its lesser environmental impact, and I do wish there weren't so many single-occupant gigantic SUVs driven out there. But the fact is, we all have the right to make our own choices, and by and large most people have a reason (we may not agree with it, but...) for making that choice. It's all about respect and civility, and it cuts both ways. If you stop and think about it, most people (in my area anyway) don't exhibit outright "Prius hate." It's just the ones who *do* that we remember.

peace out,
~T

 

Tell them you have your own balls. You don't need to buy them.

 

Remember the radial tire? It was a foreign design and foreign made so it was vilified by US auto makers and tire companies. Guess what, it was a superior product.
Hybrid means Prius, a foreign design and foreign made(at least for now).

 

ftw!

 

Send him back some other Prius jokes. Once he thinks you find them as funny as he does the wind will be out of his sails.

Tell them that all their flirting makes you uncomfortable.

Agree. Fact is I think most people just don't give a damn either way, frankly.

 

They hate them because they are ignorant. Period.

 

heck Prius drivers have it made. try driving an EV that only does about 27 mph on hills!!

i work 10 hour shifts (weirdest schedule on the planet!@!) so i am on the road to work at 5.30 AM. traffic is minimal. in fact, most of the people on the road are co-workers. as luck would have it, the last 2 miles is single lane crossing the Deschuttes River Valley. about ¼ of the time i crest the hill, i have 2-4 cars behind me (slow traffic rule is 5!!) most are co-workers, so i do get a bit of ribbing.

but, what i say to them?? despite a 6 AM start, i have not been late to work in years. so i tell them, as long as you are BEHIND me, you will never be late for work!!

 

Prius drivers like me don't THINK we are better than everyone else ...

 

When I started to talk to people about buying a 2010 Prius, almost everyone I talked to, tried to talk me out of buying the Prius. I got excuses from the recalls on the other cars, Toyota going down, to "buy American" speech.

Needless to say, I did buy my Prius and I absolutely love it!!!

 

I had a big Dodge Ram prior to owning the prius. Yes it was very nice and " manly " but truth was I didnt need it. The Prius to me was the perfect car. Drive to school, work, friends houses, etc. all while getting the BEST gas mileage. A lot of my friends give me crap over it but I think deep down they pretend to dislike but realize Im getting 50mpg plus while they are throwing money away in vehicles they dont need but are " manly ". Like that guy said I dont need to buy my balls, lol. They can laugh at me but Ill be laughing all the way to the bank.

 

Unfortunately we live more and more in an irrational world built more on some faith then on reality.

Oops...that's imho.

 

Trouble is, they do go out and buy them...then hang another set from the trailer hitch...:yuck:

Which begs another question...if you give them a good swift kick, will the driver scream?