Well, long story short, I traded in my "man card" last night and got a 2010 Prius V (Winter Grey). I traded in my 2008 Explorer Sport Trac, which I loved...but filling the tank every 4 or 5 days to the tune of $60 per tank was getting old quick. I will miss the Sport Trac, but I'm hoping that I will fall in love with the Prius in no time. I'm used to my car being the butt of jokes, as my 2nd car is a Miata...I know, many say that I traded in my man card a long time ago...but my hobby is souping up Miatas to be SCCA race worthy. SO, my new project is to do what my daughter thinks is impossible...make the Prius "cool". LOL LOLOL...LOLOLLOLOLOL gasp LOLOLOLOL. It can be done, and so it will be. Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself as I'm sure I'll be coming here in the coming weeks/months to ask questions and provide progress reports of my new project. So, thanks in advance...
Greetings and Welcome Aboard! :welcome: Good luck with the new car! I had a 94 Miata. Best car I've ever owned!!!
LOL! The Prius is just a hatchback. It's not a pink MaryKaymobile. Cool is whatever you decide it is! I think a car that is able to get up to 50+ mpg and look like a real car is cool. Most men these days think of manly cars as either a a midlife crisis Corvette or Porsche or something akin to a huge SUV or pickup truck. But whadda they know?
Welcome aboard! And remember what Red Green says: "Remember, I'm pulling for you. We're all in this together.".
Wow! An 08 Sport Trac for a Prius? Man that's just the best decision you EVER made. Good call and welcome to the Prius 'hood. BTW, don't drive it in the daylight; someone might see you. Happy Motoring, Tom
Traded in my husbands Dodge Ram for the Prius and he was suppose to get the Maxima but he loves the Prius.
Thanks, everyone, for the warm welcome. Here are a few responses to specific questions/statements... Lottamoxie: I completely agree with you with regard to what many guys think a "man car" should be. Personally, I think the bigger or more HP the vehicle, the smaller the man's ...um..."special purpose". I can't remember one time that I haven't pointed and laughed at guys driving Hummers. I live in the midwest...not a fjord. And sure, a souped up Mustang can chew me up and spit me out on a straight, but when it comes to tight, twistie country roads, my Miata will embarrass them every time. stream: Yes, my screen name is a reference to Dweezil Zappa...Dweezil has been my nickname for 20 years...long story. Just saw him in concert here in St. Louis last month. Color me both stunned and amazed. We lost a good one when his father, Frank passed away. twittel: Don't worry, I'm going to get the windows tinted. Not for me...but so my daughter will ride in the same car with me. She keeps quoting lines from SouthPark when one of their dad's got a Prius and everyone sniffed their f*rts. LOL I'll get her to come around. She's sarcastic, but not stupid. Besides, the money I'm saving will help her through college. Incidentally, the night I bought the Prius (Wednesday), I got home and was just sick to my stomach. I couldn't believe that I had just gone from a Sport Trac (my third...I LOVE those vehicles), to a Prius. I kept second guessing myself, and as a result, I didn't sleep at all Wednesday night. I drove my new car to work eeaarrrllyyy on Thursday morning, and did some errands later in the day. I'm warming up to the Prius rather quickly. So, I know I made the right decision. A couple things I've noticed though. There appear to be alot of rattles and squeeks. Rattles and squeeks drive me up the wall. One of the rattles appears to be coming from the rear hatch...any ideas on quieting this? Also, the center console squeeks...plastic on plastic. As the cars interior warms up, the squeeking isn't as bad...but I think I may have to do some work on finding the squeeky places and fixing them. Finally, I HAVE to do something about the annoying beeping when in reverse. I haven't done any searches here yet, but I know my friend silenced the beeping on his Gen II by following a list of instructions he found here. I'm guessing there is something I can do for the Gen III too. Other than that, I'm having fun...it's like driving a giant video game. LOL
Congrats and welcome. I traded my fully loaded '07 BMW 328xi and felt the same way for a very short time.
Traded my 07 335i for a prius. I thought I'd catch he'll from everybody, but mostly get curious questions about the car. But yeah, some of the gear heads say " you gave up a 300hp twin turbo for that?!?" It rolls off pretty easy the first time you fill up, when you realize you can go about 600mi on $30 in gas.
I have had my IV since Nov. 5th. Gas mileage is averaging 45mpg. Luv it. Traction is no problem. The heater is a bit slow, but the heated seats make up for the heater. I sold my 350 HP 2008 G37S coup for the Prius. Not unhappy at all. Added bigger and better tires and enjoy the toys and opportunity to pay $12.00 per week for gas verses $35.00. My guests and family are much more comfortable in the back seat. No more speeding tickets and lower insurance costs. I am happy. Nice job Toyota.
I still amazed at how many buyers come from high performance vehicles (300+ hp). One thing I have noticed, there are a lot of BMW owners who traded for a Prius but I haven't seen many Audi or Mercedes-Benz owners. The next jump up are from Porsche owners.
Well best of luck on making your Prius look cool. I searched the net for either OEM or aftermarket stuff to get it a little dressed up. Found nothing that wouldn't void my warranty. Mine is a 2010. Oh, and trust me the jokes have just started. Till I get to the pump and put my 9 gallons in, compared to the 40 i was putting in my truck. Gas is supposed to go to $4 per gallon this summer, so it will be a LOT cheaper then most of the jokesters. So we will have the final joke. But if you do find anything to dress it up, drop me a line. Just one quick question. Are you having problems with the nav and street numbers not matching. I sure am, but according to Toyota, 300 ft or more is close enough. Its still heck to find house numbers at 35 MPH when the nav says you have arrived I fidgure 300 ft or more but behind or ahead. I hear from Toyota they are still using the same nav system in the new cars as well as all models. I don't really know how to get mine fixed, the dealer says it is within Toyota specs, But the specs stink. I am headed for arbitration to get reimbursement for that option. I still will say we bought the best hybrid on the market today. The only thing is that I am now wondering what else is off, but within Toyota specs. Time will tell I guess.
As for the rear hatch raddle, Check the spare tire and tighten it down tightly, also make sure it isnt your license plate or plate holder causing a noise. I had both.
