Who are you? and why did you choose prius?

Depends on the cost of gas. If the cost of fuel is $1.50/gal, you'd spend approx $600 per 20,000 miles as opposed to $1200 per 20,000mi. If gas rises to $2/gal, it's $800 compaired to $1600, and at $3 (which they say supposedly it'll hit this summer), it's $1200 / $2400. So, actually, the savings in fuel will be that you'll spend exactly half of what you'd normally spend strictly regarding gasoline purchases.

But, uh, as the credit card commercials say - being able to drive and refuel half as often - that's priceless.

-m.

 

I'm a biophysical geographer. It is important to model what I teach - conservation and efficiency. Through modification out home uses less than 10% the energy of other homes.

I test drove a RAV4 electric and tried to purchase one - the program was conceled in midstream. The Prius is a constructive alternative that models "least-cost, end-use" (vs. "least-cost, first-use) or long-term thinking.

The Prius holds a bicycle (I commute 13 kilometers each way each day on a bicycle on rural roads). The Prius is a Toyota - my 1991 4Runner remains in new condition with 160k on the odometer. I live in an area of poor air quality. Prius makes a loud statement for better air quality.

 

Why?

Well before I bought my Prius, I had the Dodge truck, a Saturn Vue, A Daewoo Lanos, and an old Mercedes 240D euro.

At 30k miles, the Saturn was hinting at what would have been it's seventh major failure within the warranty period. I had less than 6k miles left on the warranty, so I decided that it was time to dump yet another example of why GM should be forced to quit building cars. Unfortunately, I was also $10k upside down on the loan balance.

This meant to get rid of it, I was going to have to get rid of my commuter car as well (the Daewoo). Since they aren't worth much, a third vehicle had to go, so bye bye Eurospec Mercedes.

I also drive some 35 to 40k miles per year, so this "downsizing " of the collection of cars in the driveway was going to mean that I needed a replacement commuter car immediately. Iv'e been interested in the Prius since it was introduced, so naturally, I checked them out first.

I drove an '04 and found that the back seat area was unacceptable to me for carrying passengers. As some of my friends are as tall as I am, and I was replacing my lemon people mover, I wanted the car to be able to fill both roles. Luckily for me, there was one 2003 left on the lot. I actually fit in the back seat of an 03 better than an 04. I broght it home last November, and haven't looked back since. So, not only am I saving fuel, I've managed to give myself a sizeable reduction in my automobile inusrance bill as well. I now have over 18k miles on mine, and it's required no trips to the stealership for warranty repairs. Too bad there is no US car company that can even remotely compete.

My truck gets to sit untill such a situation arises, that requires its use.

 

Some of my reasons are:

Good for the environment
Excellent gas mileage
A true techie's car
Cool technology under the hood and inside the car
'97 Saturn was in an accident :-(

 

Actually, I drive a 1997 Ford F150 that currently gets 16.2 MPG. And gas will never get cheaper so I'm hoping for more. Thanks for the figures.

 

My reason, in several parts:

1) I was moving my family out of New Orleans to an area with better schools, cheaper insurance, and more security. This requires me to commute 120-150 miles during the work week;

2) My current vehicle at the time was a '97 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 5 months left on the extended warranty (which had already paid for itself 2 times over with the number of repairs) and 16mpg with a fill-up price of around $35 each time;

3) I had arranged to test drive a Prius at a dealership--only because one of the salesmen had a Prius, not because there were any available. Anyway, I arrive at 5pm on a Friday, and lo and behold, a Millennium Silver AF had just been delivered. For whatever reason, fate intervened and I got a great trade-in on my gas-guzzling piece of #@#$!, so I snatched it up.

And yeah, it was better for the environment, blah blah blah LOL :lol:

 

I used $2.00 as an average. There are many variables, however you are correct that the fuel costs would be cut in 1/2. The higher the cost of fuel, the more you would save over time.

I was only pointing out that the Total Cost of Ownership, is sometimes overlooked. Fuel is just one factor in the equasion. There is the cost of the car, insurance, maintence, etc.

Everyone has to decide for themselves, what they are willing to spend on a car AND how much it cost to operate. Some people buy up to what they think they can afford, then find themselves in a bind, when they factor in insurance, and consumables.

When I bought my used 4Runner, I got a great price on it, and had calculated what it was going to cost to operate it. for the 5 years I owned my 4Runner, my TOC (cost of the SUV, + fuel, tires, regular maintence) is about what the MSRP of my future PRUIS will be.

I will not be saving money purchasing my PRIUS, but infact, it will cost me more overall. But I do feel that I am getting some awsome technology, and cool toys, but I am paying for those luxeries.

 

Why Prius?

. Audi was approaching end of 50K warranty
. Paid $6,000 difference between Prius #7 & Trade-in
. Allowed myself a new Prius if I quit smoking
. Cigarette cost + fuel difference cost = 3 yr. payoff
. After 6 years I'll be $6,000 ahead (it'll be paying me)
. I'm doing my part for the environment
. Spaciousness, liftback, rear seat legroom = Big +++
. The car is fun & it's good for conversation

Haven't had a cigarrette since I ordered my Prius back in November (other motivators or incentives weren't working). So, in essence, the car will probably be peripherially responsible for keeping me alive for a few more years. What more could you ask for in a car.

 

:iagree

Kudos -- I don't think I've ever heard a better benefit from buying a Prius.

 

Right - almost always it's a million more times economical to purchase a used vehicle over a new one, but if you were to compare the TOC of the Prius to another car at the same MSRP - or with similar options (and most definately a higher MSRP) - the Prius will be cheaper in the long run with fewer tank fills, fewer oil changes, fewer brake replacements, fewer (or none in some cases) fluid changes, etc. Even the so called worries about the batteries in worst case scenarios seem far less expensive than to say replacing the tranny.

But, just like any technology that comes into market that saves you energy and money over time (fridges, ovens, heaters, etc), you pay the extra upfront. And I know you agree with me, since you're in line for this, that it's worth the extra upfront cost.

-m.

 

rflagg

I agree with you whole heartly. New other vs. New Prius . . . the new Prius will cost less to operate. There may be a few cars which TOC would be less, "echo, and corolla, may be close, but they can not compare to the "added value" of what you get with the Prius.

I have not had a car payment for over a year, that is the one thing I will be dreading. I am anticipating about a $500.00 payment. OUCH!

 

Congratulations! Not only may you live longer, but you'll definitely live healthier, and there is no greater pleasure than being healthy.

 

That IS bang for the buck! Way to go!! :clap:

 

My 2c: 53 y/o chiropractor. Bought an '85 Camry 4cyl stick hoping it would be my last until the electric or hydrogen cars were on the market. They're still the same 20 years down the road they were then. Had to replace it in '01 with well over 300k on the odo- I had worn the poor thing out, yet it had never failed to get me from here to there, my lifetime mileage was roughly 28mpg, and total cost of ownership was ridiculously low- I never had to do anything more major than a clutch replacement.

What did I buy in "01? A loaded Highlander. Not what I originally wanted, but needed to do a little towing at the time. Couldn't find anything good without a sunroof, and only the Highlander had enough headroom. At least it was the 'greenest' SUV in its range. As time went on and we moved to a smaller place, I was driving a lot, but mostly with just me and a briefcase; it seemed silly and wasteful. 19mpg isn't bad for an SUV, but still.

When I test-drove the Prius, it was immediately clear that this was my next vehicle. I appreciate smart, and the Prius is the most intelligent design on the road today. Like the article in Road and Track said- finally a car that knows how to use its engine!

50mpg, extremely low emissions, and it doesn't have the tinny feel of an econobox, neither the cramped feeling. Plenty of room to pick up my kids from the airport. Plenty of zip to get into traffic and make some time on a long drive.

I'm also at the point in life where the little luxuries are appreciated- SE/SS is how locking and unlocking a car should be done. Integrating the controls into the touchscreen is brilliant- and I don't have to take off my driving gloves to use it. Everything I need to do quickly, or while I'm concentrating on traffic, I can do by buttons on the steering wheel- no distractions. The Bluetooth implementation helps similarly.

And people are excited about the car, and producing great add-on products already- I have a towbar for mounting my bike rack, and soon integrated XM radio and aux in for my MP3 player.

Sure, a Mini Cooper S is more of a pure blast to drive on a twisty road at speeds risking neck injury. Fortunately or unfortunately, that constitutes well under 1% of my driving. Other than that, what's not to like?

 

i hope to have one someday... my therapist said my patience needed work and i saw this as a good opportunity to test it


so far, i'm losing the battle. started calling out of state dealers today :roll:

 

50 years old. Male. I was first attracted by the appearance! Only then, I discovered it was a Hybrid. So, in this order,
Appearance
Fuel Efficiency
Fun to drive
Dan in Indanapolis, Indiana

 

Before I bought the Prius, I felt like a hypocrite. I design and build superior systems for energy efficiency on large custom homes. There is a little contradiction right there, but it seems to me that we can design smarter before we are forced into austerity measures. So I am very proud of the systems that I've helped to develop and implement.

The flip side of this is that I live out in the country with a 65 mile round trip commute everyday and was driving a Ford F150 at about 15.5 MPG. The guilt of this hypocricy was becoming intolerable, so in march I decided to cut my gas usage to one third of existing use. I looked at the volkswagon TDI but the maintainance and emissions killed that deal. Once I found the Prius, there was no other choice. I set out on a mission, and three weeks after I set out to decrease my fuel usage, I found one in Denver and drove it home to Texas. It took 20 gallons to get home, but I saved that in less than a week of commuting.

I know that these are half measures, and the next step will be the 80+ MPG car that will replace this one someday.

I know that compact city design is more sustainable, but I love my place in the country and for now at least I can sleep at night knowing that I have made a substantial effort to be less wasteful by using available technologies to hold back more painful choices for now.

Ray

 

Good for you! This is about the best place to get the real skinny on the car and to recognize the sincerity and breadth of support is important.

I'm a 59 yr old retired physicist that sold a Lexus LS400 when I no longer needed a road car and bought the Prius as a runabout in my now less hectic life. This car represents real technical innovation in a package that serves normal uses.

Most here are techies of some sort so it's natural that they're drawn to the car. It would be interesting to see if you get a similar reaction from other sources that are not necessarily as computer-fluent. That will be a good indication of "mainstream" attractiveness.

What school is this project for?

 

I'm a 49 yo female policy analyst for higher education / distance learning.

Reasons:
-Better for environment
-Fun technologies / gadgets
-Hatchback / hauling capacity
-Smooth / mostly quiet ride
-Lower cost of gas (for my long commute)
-Smaller than previous car
-Unique appearance

BTW, it'd be cool for you to post your research paper here, if you would.

Suanne