My fiancé is convinced of it... He compares it to my "devotion" of Apple and their products. Even though we both got MacBook Airs on a whim on a road trip a couple of years ago. LOL Or that I got him away from his "disposable" cellphone that he had for like 6 years back in Febuary of 2011 with his iPhone as a Valentines Day gift. He laughs at my reading of the priuschat forums, my frustration in short trips (2 miles or less) he takes from time to time, my announcements of the latest mileage we got on a road trip. In some ways I am winning him over to the Prii side. Our two long trips in my Prius to Lebanon Pa and the a trip to Rehoboth Beach De showed him that 300 mile road trips are now more affordable. But in the end the only cult in regard to the Prius is one of not having to worry about what we pay for gas...
I can't get him to coast at all coming to known stop signs or traffic lights, even in his Yaris. But then I am more a stand your ground at times when I drive, so it balances out in the end I guess.
It's no different than being a fan of a particular sports team, a political party, a movement, or liking a particular style of clothing. The only difference in any of these endeavors is the intensity. Some folks are rabid about something, and others aren't. For many Prius owners the car is the manifestation of all their ecological and political aspirations. When they drive it they are part of a movement. It becomes, or is already, a physical representation of what is in their heart and mind. To others it's simply a car that gets good gas mileage. But it really is just another car. It's made of steel, glass, plastic, wires, lights, oils, rubber, and paint. It's made just like all the other cars and trucks, transported by smelly diesels, of metals dug from the earth and in plants where trees were cut down and bunnies sent packing. Less of it, perhaps, but just like all the others. It's easy to lose sight of reality when emotions are involved. $.02
Prius a cult car.... nope. Cult cars are ones where it's drivers wave to each other, flash their lights at each other, beep their horns, or all the above. I've owned two cult cars: Fiat X-19 MGB In both above cases you get really excited when you see another member of the cult and are required to acknowledge the other cult member in an extroverted manor :cheer2: Most times when I've passed or been passed by another Prius- the driver is too- um... I don't know what- to even look over at me. Oh yeah- did own one other cult car- but that was a shameful thing and you actually felt bad for the owner if you encountered one (that ran long enough to actually make it on the road)- Triumph TR7 arguably the worst car ever built!
Besides, a cult would have a slavish devotion to a car, in a sort of weirdly, fanatical, perverse way. To be honest, I believe most of us would go with another car if the car offered better than the Prius. Also, most fanatics would be like evangelists about the car. If you look at some of my postings, while I find the Volt interesting, I stuck with the Prius for the interior and the cargo space. The Leaf, I find also interesting, but find the range to be limiting. The Lexus CT200h, after I got the Prius v 5 ATP, I thought maybe for the money I spent on my car, I should have looked at that, but I stuck with the Prius cause I made my decision, I should stick with it. I am sure, in 8 years time, there will be a different car I would go to, if not 15 (As my Nissan Sentra lasted me 15 years before I switched to the Prius)
.... forgot this... Cult cars make you cry! When I bought my 1976 Fiat X-19 in 1980 it was from a young woman who was expecting and was forced to get a car with more than two seats. I remember her full out crying when I drove off with it! Actually made me feel like a heel for buying it. I bought the 1973 bright orange MGB in the mid 80's. I bought it from a widow who gave it to my buddy at the corner gas station to sell for her. When i finally met her to sign over the papers- she broke out in tears. Cult cars make you cry, we don't cry over the Prius. And most TR7's made their current owners cry daily
Yeah, you guys are a cult. As someone who for some unexplainable reason has spent and does spend admittedly way too much time in Prius Chat, who DOESN'T own a Prius, I can say I've felt it. Like Donald Sutherland at the end of "Invasion of The Body Snatchers", pointing and screeching at one of the last surviving Non-Pod People, I have gotten similar reaction from people who rise up against my advice and opinion with a similar screech of "You Don't Own A Prius! You're Not One Of Us!". This doesn't stop me. I'm still going to try to make it to the Mini-Cooper forum, to let them know what has happened here. But yeah, and all joking aside, there is a degree of cult like devotion demonstrated within the community. BUT...that is to be expected. Even though I occasionally feel a level of ex-communicated persecution based on my admittedly odd devotion to the site, while driving and owning a Honda Fit, I'd say I admire Prius owners loyalty. Are Prius Owners a Cult? Yes, .... A very diverse, large and dynamic Cult. I really hope it doesn't change...and someday perhaps a Prius Shaped Pod will be parked in my driveway.
No no no... You are suppose to smoke a chicken, slowly, basing it with its juices over an hour, then serve it with fava beans and a nice chianti....
About the most cultist cars I've ever owned would be the Corvettes. We were always giving each other the wave. I haven't owned anything cultish since. Now the VW TDI's were somewhat cultish, but it was hard to tell who had one until you passed them.
Smug Alert! Come on, people now, people now People now, come on, people now Got to drive hybrids, people now
This thread is so funny, yesterday on my way to work , I was driving down the tollway and in the lane to my right a blizzard pearl 2010 or 2011 came up out of nowhere rather fast and then paced me for about 30 seconds. The driver was kind of looking at my 2012 and I was unsure if I should give him the secret Prius wave ( if there is one....) . I even asked a coworker ( also a Prius owner) if there was something I should have done...... so maybe we still need to think about a secret wave ?
Unless it gets this bad, it's not a cult. Apple products, on the other hand... I would only buy if the prices were cut by 75% or more.
"You are part of the Prius cult." Am not! Am not! Am not! Am not! It's looking like a twister game with all the denials and qualifications.
Yes, I agree. For most of the active PriusChatters to be sure, Prius is a cult. I don't own a Prius either and I've been infected. This past week on the whole 1,800 mile round trip from here to Tennessee, eastern Kentucky and back I'd yell out "PRIUS!" for every Prius I saw. I thought that it broke the monotony of the drive somewhat, but I'm not sure if my husband appreciated my outbursts. I told him if he thought this was irritating, wait until we have one parked in the driveway. Every morning as I step out the side door or every time I walk past the driveway-- "PRIUS !!!" You will be assimilated. By the close of next weekend I expect to have a Sea Glass Green pod taking up residence here.
You take your hands off the steering wheel, hold your left hand up with your index finger extended. You take the index finger and thumb of your right hand and touch your left index finger with the right index finger at the top and the thumb at the second joint from the top, thus forming a P.
