Why do people hate the Prius?

I think there is another even more explosive force out there - I call it Fox News bias. Watch enough and you too will think:

1. Iraq still has WMDs and they are jealous of our freedom
2. Bush is a war hero
3. Global warming is a myth
4. Obama raised your taxes
5. If you drive a Prius, you're a communist and most likely even worse - a gay

-Brad

 

Holy Crap!
I missed the turn signal!!

Oh, waitaminute....maybe we're not that far off topic after all...

One quick warning though, since I'm sure that my Commander-In-Chief is going to be bringing it up pretty soon.
You mentioned homosexuality as being "worse than communism".
Does this mean that you have a bias against persons with alternative forms of government---or sexual proclivities?
It just sounded to me like you were using communism and homosexuality as pejarative terms---and I don't want the mods to step in and stomp a mud hole into your post. We Prius drivers are supposed to be more sensitive than that.

Communists (to me anyway) are like woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers. Not bad folks, really---just not very adaptive, nor very prolific. The furry guys with the big teeth weren't able to adapt to climate changes brought about by Big Oil, and aerosol deodorant, but they were meat-eaters anyway---and so they probably deserved it. The mammoths were vegans, but they didn't drive PHEV's, so they were at least culpable in the whole Global Warming thing...which got them in the end.
The commies got their butts stomped by Regan and Bush, who really wasn't a war hero per se, but he was a WWII combat pilot---unless you're talking about his kid, who did at least manage to do one carrier trap in an S3. He didn't drive the plane though.

Sorry...I couldn't work Iraq into this post....but since we're going to be there for a while longer, I'm sure I'll come up with something later!

 

Now is that really what I typed?

As I think you know, I was referring to the Fox News perspective on the world. However, this may get too hot for this forum, so I will bow out now in respect.

-Brad

 

Hey...a FORUM is a place for ideas...at least it's supposed to be.
I listen to NPR in the morning...so I'm a bed-wetting liberal....or, so say the 'experts'.
I watch FOX news at night---b/c I can't stomach Nancy Grace!
This makes me a six-pack swilling, ignoramus conservative....or, so say the 'experts'.
I drive a Prius by day...so I'm a bed-wetting liberal....or, so say the 'experts'.
I drive a Harley or a GMC Sierra home in the evening...
This makes me a six-pack swilling, ignoramus conservative....or, so say the 'experts'.

I do not know...maybe I just have my own biases against people who try to put 300-plus million US citizens (and a hand full of others that just live here) into 2 itty bitty little boxes...

I'm still working on the Iraq thing.
(So are my part-time bosses)

 

Actually this kind of dialog is supposed to be in Fred's House of Pancakes. NOT in the Gen III Main Forum.

 

I try to watch FOX "Opinion" (becuse according to FOX, all their spotlight programming is not news, just opinion. Too bad they dont tell those worshiping it as gospel it is not real news...) but I just get enraged at how they present misinformation and twist things. I really do try to watch, but it makes my blood boil.

 

I usually tell people, that to really get the news, they have to have 3 different sources in order to really obtain the truth behind the news. Even then, it's still going to have quite a bit left out of it. Show me a company that only reports the news (facts) and has absolutely no aspect of opinion associated with it, and I'll show you a company that won't be around much longer .

I told someone one time that was whining about the deficit reduction commitee's comments, that they must have come up with something worthwhile - neither the dems nor repubs liked what they said! Of course, I also had to inform him on a few of the points that he didn't understand, but was more than willing to half quote fox news on and believe.

Anyway....:focus:

 

OMG - I am suddenly beginning to understand why people "hate the Prius"

Perhaps ... it is just the Prius owners??? And ... I am one!!

 

Ok, pre-warning, here is my essay....

I am not a patient driver, I'm aggressive in my driving and get annoyed at ANY slow drivers in front of me... In my honest opinion, I think the perception that Hybrids are slow and have slow acceleration is the main preceptor for pre-judgement.

When driving a normal Camry - I attain approx 11.5-12L/100klms (not sure how that translated - but considering the car is normally rated to do 8.8L/100klms, gives a perspective! ) I now drive a Hybrid Camry, and I average 8-8.5L/100klms - That is immediately 3+ Litres per 100klms (62miles) better fuel economy - DRIVING EXACTLY THE SAME WAY!

I go to the outside lane every time I can, I am ALWAYS first away at the lights, accelerating quickly to speed limit +5kph and set cruise control.

I sincerely want to get a sticker for the rear of the car: SUCK MY HYBRID (or similar - Beaten by a Hybrid Lately? or YES! It IS a Hybrid!)

I work for Toyota Australia and I am consistently battling the "Myths" about Hybrids, the unfortunate thing is, lot of those battles are within the dealerships, TRYING to convince Toyota STAFF that these Hybrids do what they are meant to and won't crap out...

1. Batteries - 8 year warranty! Expected to last 10-15 years - life of the car!
2. Battery Replacement - ALL developed countries have had in place, since Hybrid started being sold there a 98% recycling program...
3. Prius OWES the environment MORE than a normal car due to production? Yes! It does! however, UNLESS you plan on doing less than 15,000klms (just over 9000 miles) and then NOT selling the car, just purely crushing it, you will recoup that environmental deficit in short order - usually less than 12 months
4. Hybrids are underpowered - well, many many hybrid drivers, drive them in a fashion that seems to lend creedence to this fact - however, the Hybrid Camry has near class leading acceleration, the Prius has better acceleration than many normal petrol 4 cylinders in it's segment also...
And of course, don;t forget the 310kw+ LS600hL from lexus, Performance V8 Limo with similar fuel consumption as a Corolla...
5. It's just a Fad/Temporary??? - Are you kidding? Nearly 3 million TOYOTA hybrids sold to date, and crapload more rolling off the line!

And so on, and so on...

Toyota Hybrids are VASTLY different to so many other "fuel efficient" vehicles out there - Toyota achieve, using TECHNOLOGY the same fuel economoy of wee little micro cars with reduced specification, comfort, weight and performance.

www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au is a great reference for anyone - especially in Australia. Do a search on top 100 vehicles - and check out the rest of the top 20.... How many can hold 5 adults, have storage space, have more than 100kw of power, and available as Auto (CVT)? Not many sunshine


I have many car oriented friends, most who drive Holden (GMH) and they don't care and won't listen when I explain the benefits of Hybrids. Never mind the fact that invariably at least 1 of them has their car broken, in the shop, in the shed in peices 100% of the time...


I'm glad I saw the light, and I'm glad I drive a Hybrid Camry! 1000klms per tank? YES PLEASE!!!!

 

I had someone tell me I should be ashamed about buying a foreign car, because I could be supporting US jobs.

I told him that if it were not for Toyota (or any other foreign car company), tens of thousands of American workers would be unemployed right now.

 

Not to mention the fact that every other (non-EV) car on the road pumps more of our money to countries whose governments (e.g. Venezuela, Iran) or populace (Saudi Arabia, Iran again) hate us... (I realize we get lots of oil from Canada, Mexico and Nigeria as well, but...)

I've always wanted to see a rigorous, honest, disinterested analysis from a good economist without an agenda, and answer to the question along the lines of "Given a choice of buying either of two nearly identical vehicles--say a Ford Fusion (built in Hermosillo, Mexico) and a Toyota Camry built in Kentucky--hybrid or not, which one benefits the US economy more, the US nameplate built abroad, or the foreign nameplate built here?" I bet it would not be an easy question to answer. If the goal is more US jobs, I suspect the Camry would get the nod; if it is an issue of keeping $$ nominally in the US, might be the Fusion. In the latter case, though, the money goes more into 'the company'--some of which goes straight to big-head bonuses, some to factory retooling and upgrades (some of which are overseas). The people building the Camry in KY are likely to spend the vast majority of their money *in* the US--but a lot of it *on* products made in China... Like I said, it's complicated. Probably a good topic for a Master's thesis for an econ student.

 

We're never going to see that...this is because everybody warps facts to fit their pre-determined position on a particular issue.
We all do it.
Heck, you can't even get a clean debate (no pun intended) on whether or not ethanol is helping or hurting US energy demands. There's an old saying that if you have to remove less than half of the data in a study to reach your predetermined conclusion, then it's valid.

One of the many joys I have in driving my Prius (a company car) is that it came with a "0-percent US/Canada parts content" sticker on the side window, which drives the union hacks crazy! I placed the sticker on my filing cabinet....

You would think that a broken down old Navy Chief would be a "Buy American First" kinda guy, and I am---but I also recognize the facts that there's no such thing as a "made in the USA" car out there anymore, and the cars that are being 'assembled' under US flagged companies are MUCH better for the competition that they're getting from abroad...something that Toyota and Honda are starting to discover---since they're starting to slip from being the gold standards in terms of quality and reliability.
Add to this the fact that I have a daughter---and my dreams for her do not include being trapped in a $40/hour job installing windshields on an automobile assembly line, so MY idea of national economic security does not rest on manufacturing-type jobs...
Just sayin....

 

Getting flak from "auto-enthusiasts" - who really cares? That said, I am more of an auto-enthusiast than most people I know. I have a friend who I know looks down on my Prius purchase but despite reading car mags voraciously he cannot even change his own oil, so how much of an enthusiast is he really? He is an armchair enthusiast. Meanwhile I'm off at lunch today to buy a part to fix the ABS in my other vehicle.

There are "enthusiasts" who can rattle off the specs to an esoteric exotic, having read about it in their living room, and there are "enthusiasts" who know how their car actually works and how to actually repair it and work on it. Then there are true, hardcore enthusiasts who are both these things at the same time.

Well, maybe... But somehow I bet he's not ashamed to having his house full to the brim with stuff sporting made in china stickers.

 

In reply to the previous three (or so) posts ...

Whereas I have seen discussion points on this site and others regarding US vs Foreign companies and US vs Foreign assembly ... I have never seen a discussion regarding sales and service infrastructure.

Regarding Toyota (but applicable to other foreign auto makers) - one can not discount the vast infrastructure of dealers, suppliers, and service centers that provide thousands of jobs to folks across the US, not just localized at the point of manufacture. Whereas GM and Chrysler/Dodge have been closing dealerships and service facilities, Toyota and other foreign auto makers have been growing their infrastructure.

One can not have a comprehensive discussion of the economics surrounding "domestic" vs "import" without acknowledging the impact of support infrastructure on the jobs market.

 

Interesting thread. I think the number one complaint I had when I was driving my Prius was that people perceived me to be an environmentalist, liberal, or "tree hugger." I got the personalized license plate in my avatar to clarify that none of the above are true. The other complaints are the usual ones - that there isn't enough power, the long term TCO is about the same or less than a traditional ICE vehicle (assuming the same number of miles driving over the lifetime of the vehicle), or that there are more efficient technologies out there (such as biodiesel).

 

I like your plate. I tell people that "I hate the environment and I want the trees to burn" and that I bought it for gas savings. It's not true, I actually only strongly dislike the environment and cutting down all the trees with chainsaws would be enough to content me, no need to burn them

 

^ some here would shiver at that comment.

 

When i see a Hummer, i give him the finger... Thats probably why...

 

Not sure why everyone bashes Fox News, when there are other news stations just as bad, although I would personally agree with #3 and #4.

 

LMAO. Not sure if I go that far, but I do believe that global warming is just liberal bulls**t for the most part. Now air quality problems, yes - they exist. But global warming as a human created phenomenon seems ridiculous. It's like saying dinosaurs created too many carbon emissions and that led to the Ice Age.