Why do people hate the Prius?

I'm not sure, but there might be a whole lot less trash talking against the Prius these days. The 2010 Prius looks much tougher now, even a little bit menacing from the front and pretty broad in the rear.

I'd like to think the 3rd Gen Prius is a like a big brother to the 2nd Gen, improving the reputation of the Prius.

Underneath it all, I'll bet many other automakers are pretty scared of the sales flurry the new Prius is going to unleash when the economy rebounds and Toyota gets by the media hype. I've driven the new one a few hundred miles and it's a better car in many ways.

 

It's not the worst thing in the world that some hate the Prius. It's got their attention anyway. Sooner or later they'll cave in and give up dissing the car.

I'm sure the Prius has already gone down in history as one of the most significant cars ever made. It must be in the top 10 most significant if not the top 5.

 

I think Prius 'hate' is proportional to gas prices. Haven't had too much trouble since October (just a few jerks in big trucks) but now that gas is over $3, people seem to be getting to be jealous and/or angry. Had 2 people try to squeeze me out in lane changes today and they honked. I watched both of them speed up as soon as I turned on my indicator.

 

I think my "Bin Laden hates this car" bumper sticker warms people right up to the car. No haters around here.

 

Does anyone else have any Prius and hybrid hater stories?[/QUOTE]

Here is a link to the current New Yorker magazine essay that gives every cliche about Prius owners you can imagine. It is sarcastic (written by a Prius owner), and I think it is funny. Over the top.

Bruce McCall: Living Up to Your Prius : The New Yorker

 

It's caused by "negative media propaganda" (bought and paid for).

:flock::flock::flock::flock:

 

Exactamundo. People fear change. And anything new is a change. I've become fond of saying that the status quo is the strongest force in nature.

There are people who hate my EVs... because they see them as a thread to how they've always done things. Very odd, but there you go.

 

This reminds me of the high school wildguys goading the squeaky clean guy into getting drunk and scoring with a girl...they feel insecure he does not join them so they apply peer pressure to 'man up' .

That so much drivel have been emoted about the Prius with so little of it holding water over the past decade speaks volumes about the psyche of millions of people.

 

If we were buying more Prius we would be making them here. Toyota built a plant for that purpose here in Mississippi but because of the recession and recent problems, they haven't opened it. We sure could use it!

 

I hope you smacked them with your purse. Beasts!

 

The bottom line is ... Japanese cars ARE BETTER than american made cars, americans know this to be true but are ashamed to admit it. Even the american made toyotas are not very good vehicles. Although I loved my 2004 Tundra and it had more power than anything Ive ever owned, it was made in america and was on a rollback 4 times before 80,000 miles, typical of american made cars. I too wish US auto makers would get in the game so to speak. I love the Corvette but would never buy one because it is made by Government Motors....that's GM for those in denial!

 

I haven't owned a U.S.-built Toyota, so I cannot directly challenge your Toyota claim. But my first hand experiences with Honda built in Ohio and Subaru built in Indiana have been excellent.

 

Mine was probably built on a monday or a friday but as I have owned 28 vehicles since ive been driving, my foriegn cars have shown me no major problems. I would still put an american made toyota, subaru, honda, etc., above any US car company. Dont get me wrong, being born and raised in the deep south, I am truely ashamed of the quality of american automakers products and wish they would wake up and smell the green tea!

 

My understanding is that Ford's hybrid technology was developed independently, but was similar enough to Toyota's that they licensed the technology from them to avoid legal issues.

 

I thought that the Ford and Nissan hybrid drivetrains are not just licensed, but made by Toyota's Aisin, except for the engine which is supplied by the car's maker.

I find it interesting that a couple other people have been road raged on in heavy traffic. Happened to me, and I am good about keeping up the line. Other people asleep at the wheel with a big gap in front of them, nothing happening to them. For me it was an older guy, older than me, blowing the horn, he went to the right lane and was screaming obscenities out the window, all red in the face. Because he went to the right lane, and my lane started moving, I went on through several traffic lights ahead on the green light. So he was left about a mile back standing at red lights instead of behind me honking. I hadn't changed lanes or pulled in front of him or anything else that makes people mad. Why this behavior is the question.

 

Not sure about the Nissan, but the link below shows a cutaway of the Ford Hybrid drivetrain.

http://0.tqn.com/d/alternativefuels/1/0/L/E/-/-/Ford_Hybrid_engine-motor1.jpg

Note that the electric motor-generators and the ICE are not in-line (coaxial) as they are in the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive. (At least I think that all of the HSD are coaxial ... I've been wrong before)

 

Random thoughts on American drivers and their vehicle choices:

1) most folks can only afford one car per person
2) additionally most folks scale their vehicle choice to the worst-case scenario (funds permitting)

Examples:

Soccer Mom gets van or SUV in case she needs to carry kids, kids's friends, gear, or take entire family plus gear and luggage on vacation. Never mind that the family vacation only occurs once a year, if that often. Never mind that she may rarely carry more than two kids in car and in fact commutes to work alone.

Dad buys heavy duty pickup because he may someday need to haul something in it or tow something with it. Most of the time he commutes to work in it alone.

I really wanted an EV - but even if they were readily available right now - I would still drive my Prius because I like to take road trips on the weekends and gas stations are more plentiful than recharging stations.

Ideally I would have an EV for my commute, the Prius for my road trips, a 2-seater sports car for fun, and a pickup "just in case".

 

Don't know about the fusion, but this is from web, may be old:
[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Aisin_transmissions]List of Aisin transmissions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

AISIN AW CO.,LTD./Other Product

If Aisin makes it it ought to have their name on it somewhere. I do like the fact that Aisin like Toyota created a factory in the USA, to employ local workers.

 

Newbie here. I've gotten a ton of haters and even more jokes and sarcasm. However, I'm in the military and that's just how we joke with one another. In privacy and secrecy or small groups, most (if not all) people admit that they like my new Prius and they're somewhat envious that I had such a nice, new vehicle. Their insults and compliments don't even matter when I fill up my tank once a week at 8 gallons versus twice a week at each being 15 gallons.

 

I think that the "Prius Hate" out there is directed more towards the drivers than the car itself.
Let's face it. We have a lot of 'ambassadors' out there representing us in a lot of different ways....not all of them good.
There's a perception out there that Prius drivers regard other drivers as unwashed cretins who are purposely sullying the planet by choosing to drive large, gas guzzling vehicles.
I've been thankful more than once that my Prius is adorned with numerous company decals indicating that it's not a privately owned vehicle, and I've been tempted at times to bolt on a bumper sticker saying "My other car is a truck".
Instead, I choose to drive my Prius with a very high regard for other traffic. I probably spend more time looking in the rear view mirror than my daughter did when she was a teenager---which is why I hate the rear glass in this car so much.
I've quashed a lot of rumors from friends and co-workers about this car, and I try to be one of the 'good' ambassadors to this community...since whether WE like it or not (the jury's still hung for me)... I'm a 2200 mile member of this 'clique'.

Still....there are a lot of Prius owners out there who are working VERY hard to perpetuate some pretty unfortunate stereotypes!!!