Benefits of Prius Ownership?

You quoted my post, but left out the most important part! I said that not all SUV owners are the problem. Actually, I don't ever plan to own a boat or jet skis. In my circle, I only know one family with a boat and one with a jetski. I am not saying they are evil, I would rather spend my money on other things.


What I find interesting about your post is the mass consumption that so typifies American culture. We have to have all these toys (boats, jet skis) and then we have to buy toys for the toys (the SUV to haul it etc). It is this type of circular gratification that I am trying to avoid.

 

Your welcome! I probably need reminding of it too from time to time. Purchase for purchase sake is a vicious cycle that so often leads to huge debt and even bankruptcy! Just say no! Buy a Prius, then you can be Pious like me.

 

I also agree with Michael about the circle of "need". First you have to have one toy then you have to have this to go with it or use it better and if you have that well then you need blank and so on and so on and so on. We spend too much time and money on stuff and have lost the art of talking to each other. We think that spending time driving ATVs over the hills with the kids is "family time" but how much time do you spend talking about life with them not how big that hill was or how fast you can go. We have to have a vidieo in the car now so we don't have to talk to our kids during a trip..... what happened to road games?? Too many folks are delegating the raising of their children to the boob tube, video games and "stars".

The biggest benefit my Prius gives me is time. I don't need to stand at the gas station forever flling up a large gas guzzler (which is no more pleasant in sunny SD than it is in snow). I can use the carpool lane when I want to. It takes less time to wash it, and yes, we don't have to spend time Smoging it or much time on maintenance.

 

I agree. The consumer lifestyle is ultimately so hollow. Mind you, stuff can be nice, but if you're not careful stuff becomes clutter and just adds more choas to life. The DVDs in the car is a great example.

 

i just want to be completely clear: every single suv is part of the problem. every single one.

so is every single car, every single item made out of plastic, and most likely your stove. lots of things are part of the problem.

what is the problem?

the problem is our dependence, as a nation and as a planet, upon fossil fuels, the use of which unequivocally creates environmental and social disturbances which are growing at an alarming rate. again, to be clear: our use of oil is the *direct* cause of global warming which causes things like flooding and hurricanes, and the vast majority all u.s. directed terrorism.

it is my firm belief, however, that there is no shame in being part of the problem. the shame comes in doing nothing to minimize one's part. i acknowledge that i drive a car and buy stuff made from plastic, and i realize this aggravates the problem. but i drive the most efficient car i can afford, namely the prius (or i will, when toyota finishes building it!), and i re-use my plastic containers and try to keep waste in my home to a minimum.

"do i contradict myself? very well. i contradict myself. i am large. i contain multitudes." walt whitman said that. and i agree with him.

so if you drive an suv, ask yourself whether you're doing everything you can to minimize your share of the problem. if you ask yourself that, and if you discover that you *have* minimized your share, and you live in rural colorado and need four-wheel-drive or whatever, then good for you. but if you live in dallas and commute 45 minutes to work every day all alone, then maybe you aren't really minimizing that much after all.

and though it may seem like i'm speaking to the digression of this post, i really feel i'm speaking to the original poster. this is my opinion of the benefit of owning a prius.

cheers
sam

 

lolz...moreso a geek magnet. Ive gone back to uni recently to do some postgrad work, ...the kids from the IT/engineering faculties are always hanging around gawking at my 2004

 

Well, I understood that part.
Anyway to each his own.

 

On smugness:

Fellah once said we see the speck in someone else's eye and ignore the log in our own. I hate SUVs because I cannot see around them and because so few people who drive them are capable of keeping them in their lane, making them a hazzard to my safety on the road. Since they classify them as "trucks" to evade the environmental laws, I'd like them to require an endorsement on the driver's license based on a driving test specifically designed to demonstrate that the driver can handle that big a vehicle.

But I'm not smug about spewing three tons of filth into the air every year rather than six. And I'm not smug about heating an entire house for one person, or about living where I have to drive a half an hour for anything other than basic shopping. And I'm not smug about all the garbage I generate by getting my food from the grocery store.

I do love my Prius for the geek factor, and for the SULEV bragging rights. I enjoy driving in EV mode more than I would enjoy freezing my buns off on a snowmobile. But by driving a car at all, heating a big house, etc., I forfeit the right to criticize people who burn more gas in their cars than I do. (Though, because I hate SUVs so much, I take pleasure in knowing they are paying big bucks to drive those monstrosities.)

We are the problem. You (all of you!) and me. Me as much as anyone else. I drive the coolest car in the universe. But having a better toy than my neighbor is not something to be smug about.

The next generation will curse us for having left so little of the Earth's resources for them. I do, however, agitate and vote and work for development of, and national policies favoring, alternative energy and a sustainable economy. Maybe I'd be a little bit smug about that if I thought there was the slightest chance of success.

 

Precisely.

There's a recent poll on PriusChat regarding whether you plan to "run your Prius into the ground" (i.e., you plan to drive it for years and/or into the high 100,000 miles or more). I fall into that category, and that's one of the reasons I bought the Prius -- I want a car that will last me 10 years or more. (I had my previous car for 17 years.)

There are a number of things that cause wear-and-tear on a conventional car (throttling down an engine, etc.) that aren't there -- or are minimized -- for a Prius. I'm betting that in the long run, this will keep the car running longer.

It's a gamble -- this is relatively new technology (the first Prius was released in Japan about 8 years ago). But I've put my money where my mouth is, and I think there's a good chance that I've bought a good car that will last me as long as a good dog.

 

Right on Sam!

The biggest advantage of owning a Prius for me is that it helps me minimize my impact on my fellow human beings without completely sacrificing my lifestyle (meaning, without moving, changing jobs, or taking other more 'drastic" measures to reduce my impact.)

 

Rats,

Normally I'd agree with you. I had my last car for 10 years and wouldn't have gotten a replacement if it weren't near death (the car was 15 years old). This time around, however, I think I won't do that because the automotive industry is really in such flux now. If a plugin hybrid comes out that is affordable I think that I'm gonna have to jump on it. The nature of my driving is such that I'd so rarely actually need to buy gasoline. I love the thought of that.

 

Great post except this part. "direct cause...and the vast majority of all u.s. directed terrorism"?????????

This is an example of an entire point of view being discounted because of one statement. Kind of like "the boy who cries wolf". I was listening and agreeing, then I read this....which is IMPOSSIBLE to support and you lose me on all the other good ideas.

But, then again, there was the Walt Whitman quote about "I am multitudes".

So, I'll just agree that I do everything I can to minimize my impact...and let the rest go.

 

thank you for the compliment, and please allow me to clarify that statement which you feel might discount the rest of my post.

first, global warming. global warming is a solid, hard fact and nothing the g.o.p. says can change it. the world is roughly five degrees fahrenheit warmer than it was a century ago. the temperature on the earth is regulated mostly by the levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, and modern industry creates these gasses by burning fuel to create electricity. ergo, industry causes global warming. again, i'm not the one making this claim; it's being made and proven by dozens if not hundreds of the world's respected scientists.

secondly, terrorism. to sum it up dramatically, al-quaeda's distaste for the united states stems from our intervention in the middle east in the first gulf war. the presence in the region, which is seen as holy land, of western infidels was seen as religious treachery, and was not to be tolerated. now, anyone who believes that our presence in the gulf doesn't have to do with oil is misled: it is oil. was saddam hussein's government corrupt and dangerous? absolutely. should he have been removed from power? absolutely. would either bush senior or bush junior have cared one tiny bit if billions of dollars of oil weren't relevant? no way in hell. and while i do have problem with that, the real problem i have is with the lie. even though i don't agree with it, i see no shame in saying, "we're going to iraq because we have a vested interest in the fate of that region, and while we're at it there are two or three madmen that need to be imprisioned," though of course that is a simplification.

if the united states paid no attention to the middle east, then there would be (virtually) no middle-eastern-related terrorism directed towards us. and since our only, and i do mean only, reason for being in the middle east is oil, then that is the cause of the terrorism.

again. i'm simplifying, but i'm not making this up.

hey, thanks. i appreciate that. i do really dig walt.

cheers
sam

 

Actually, it probably goes back to the Crusades, but perhaps more specifically to WW I, when the (Christian) west toppled the Ottoman Empire and carved up the Middle East into artifical client states run by puppets, all of them brutal dictators, kept in power by western money and weapons. Saddam Hussein himself was kept in power for a long time by U.S. money and weapons, and paradoxically, U.S. support for Hussein at that time was probably one of the grievances that the Arab people still hold against us.

But since the discovery of oil in the Middle East in the 1930's, that's been the west's interest. We prop up dictators there when it suits us (the Saudi and Kuwaiti royal families, installed by the west in the first place), and we take them out when it suits us.)

It's all about oil, as you say, but I think it goes back much farther than the first Gulf war.

 

I am going to ignore the whole SUV thing I try to reply to your original question.

You probably know already but the 2006 tax credit can equal real money back to you around $3000 where the 2005 deduction depends on your income and will be far short of $2000.

The HOV sticker law can be withdrawn at any time the DOT or EPA or whoever controls it decides it is not in the public interest. They can also extend it for years and years too. Nobody knows what they might do but it will come up for review in 2006.

I saw somebody already posted the answer to the emissions question.

I have read a lot about driving the Prius in a way to improve MPG and have now tried out various techniques myself. Most of my driving is on the freeway and I will NOT drive 55 (in any lane) just to get good mileage when everybody else is going 70, 80 or even higher. I think it is very unsafe to drive 10-15 MPH below the flow of traffic. I personally have witnessed two accidents due to large speed differences between cars. I just leave a little extra room between me and the next car and try to pay attention!

I started watching the "Consumption" screen on the Prius MFD. This screen gives you a bar graph showing your average MPG over the last 30 minutes in 5 minute increments. (6 bars) After 10 or 15 minutes of driving you can quickly see how you are doing on your MPG over time. Review the screen in a parking lot first so you don't run into somebody and learn to quickly glance at it when moving. There is one more bar on the far right that shows your current MPG. It goes up and down all the time.

I quickly learned that accelerating up hill "kills" the MPG, but almost any small dip in the freeway and a light foot on the gas pedal can put your MPG to 75 or 100 for a few seconds or longer without losing more than 1 or 2 MPH. So when the traffic is moving, I am going between 70 and 75 MPH, I try to be very gentle on the gas pedal and for any slight decline I back off the pedal and watch the MPG go up. I lose 1 or 2 mph on the speedometer. If traffic is really light (no one directly behind me) I might let my speed drop to 68-69 MPH so I stay at 100 MPG longer. Then gentlly press on the gas again. I try to look ahead and when I come into traffic I take my foot off the gas pedal a little early so as I am slowing down/coasting as I approach slower traffic and my MPG shows 100. I end up slowing a little more than I used to but I find it gets any tailgaters off my rear---bumper.

On my morning 75 mile drive to Orange County (not every morning) I get 50 MPG fairly consistently. On my way home which is usually late in the evening I get about 45-46 MPG. The difference is because the two hills I cross in the morning almost always have traffic and by looking ahead I can get almost 60 MPG on the way up and the way down. (Creep up using mostly battery and coast down which helps recharge the battery). In the evening there usually isn't any traffic so trying to maintain 70 MPH going up hill "kills" the MPG. The Prius has no problem flying up the hill, but the MPG is down to around 15 so it lowers the average pretty quick.

Around town I watch the traffic lights and slow down early when approaching red lights or when I signal to make a right or left turn and there is not a light. Again, you can watch the MPG go to 100 for a few seconds before you turn. If you are going less than 40 MPH you can sometimes lift off the gas pedal and the "Energy" screen (which has arrows indicating if the engine is running and if it is charging the battery or powering the wheels along with what the electric engine is doing) can actually go blank (No arrows). This will of course improve your MPG. For myself, even city streets flow at 45 MPH or higher so I don't see the "blank" screen very often.

For cool technology I really like "seeing" what the car is doing ("Energy" and "Consumption" screens). I also use the navigation and the bluetooth (BT) phone connection. I either listen to CD's or listen to the radio. I almost always have something playing. The fact that the car turns off the volume to the radio or CD when somebody calls me AND I press the green "phone pickup" on the Prius MFD without touching the cell phone is great. Then I just start talking. NO headset, no clipping the microphone to my shirt. To hang up I click on the red "hangup" icon on the MFD and of course the radio volume comes back on. Also, while I am on the phone the navigation system stops talking. I can switch to map mode to see where I am but the system stays silent. After a little setup I now have the Prius display the incoming phone number and name of the calling party on the MFD. It uses the phonebook downloaded from my cell phone.

Things specific to CA: The City of LA is starting to offer free parking to hybrids and a few hotels give parking discounts. The 91 freeway express lane (toll road) mentioned the hybrids in the last newsletter but hasn't make any decision regarding reduced toll rates.

You asked if you are missing anything. The maintenace schedule is basically oil changes (and filter) every 5,000 miles until you get to 100,000! No timing belts to change. Coolant should be good for 100,000. Spark plugs should be good for 100,000. Transmission oil is used for cooling only so it gets "inspected" but no changing until 100,000. The electric engine battery is warranted in CA for over 100,000 miles.

After reading a lot of posts on this forum and others, some people view the Prius as a stripped down economy car that is too expensive. They say you will never save enough in gas to recoup the extra cost of the car even including the tax breaks. They are probably right. But, I didn't buy the Prius to just save money. I could have bought a Toyota Corolla, an Echo or a 4 cylinder Camry. I had enough money to buy a 6 cylinder loaded Camry or a 6 cylinder Toyota Sienna with lots of goodies. I had been driving a 2000 Sienna LE which had 231,000 miles on it when I sold it. All miles put on by me. I paid over $3.00 per gallon to fill up my Sienna with its 17 gallon tank. I could continue to do that if I wanted, but I was tired of cutting other things out of my budget so I could afford gas.

I bought the Prius (after a lot of research) because it was different. It was time for a new car and it does save me money over the Sienna. (Of course) But I didn't want a Corolla or a Camry anymore. I wanted something new and different. However I want my 4 year old daughter and my wife to be safe when we travel on vacations and weekends. Air bags all around on the Prius with Option 6. I travel too far to buy an electric only car. So the Prius was perfect for me. I am doing my small part for the environment and foreign oil problem, I use all the technology that it has that you can't get on a Corolla. Even aftermarket goodies wouldn't be so well intergrated. I use the car pool lane. I have had great luck with Toyotas in the past. I will probably put 30,000 miles a year on this car and expect it last into the 200,000 mile (7 years or so) range and my monthly gas bill has gone down 50%.

IMHO, the bottom line is that this is a great car if you are willing to commit to it. It has new features, it won't be exactly like the last car you owned. It will make funny noises that no car you ever had before made. (Every time you turn it off it pumps coolant into a thermos like holder and you can hear it for a few seconds). It might "feel" different to drive. Be willing to accept the minor differences and you get major improvements! If you are not willing to accept some differences then buy the Corolla or the Camry.

Hope this helps and sorry for the long post.

Jeff