Tape up the section of the dash board that shows instant MPG, and the hybrid status. Only allow MPH and gas tank level to show. Ha Ha! LOL!!!
Or just switch to the mode showing the car, turning wheels, and arrows going here and there. We had a ride in a Prius cab; that's what the guy had showing, and he was really driving like it was stolen.
I tried that, but I was still driving conservatively watching the rolling car picture to prevent the engine from kicking in or to get to the car to get to re-gen mode as often as I could. Once I taped everything thing up and focused on the road I was driving "normal" LOL!!!! Speaking of cabs, it's like overnight the city is flooded with all Prius cabs. everywhere!!! When I first saw a Prius cab I thought that was cool, but now I am not too sure. I don't want to be associated with cabs...
How about fake engine sound all the time car is moving so drivers "accelerating" in the first half of HSI zone would be fooled that engine was running?
How's about taping a close-up of the front grill and headlights of a tractor trailer onto the rear-view mirror?
That reminds me of Cyril Kornbluth's classic SF short story (written in 1951), "The Marching Morons", in which Barlow, a man from that time, is woken from suspended animation to find himself in a high-tech futuristic society - but all is not what it seems. A couple of excerpts: Barlow and Tinny-Peete arrived at the concrete highway where the psychist's car was parked in a safety bay. "What-a-boat!" gasped the man from the past. "Boat? No, that's my car." Barlow surveyed it with awe. Swept-back lines, deep-drawn compound curves, kilograms of chrome. He ran his hands over the door -- or was it the door? -- in a futile search for a handle, and asked respectfully, "How fast does it go?" The psychist gave him a keen look and said slowly, "Two hundred and fifty. You can tell by the speedometer." "Wow! My old Chevvy could hit a hundred on a straightaway, but you're out of my class, mister!" Tinny-Peete somehow got a huge, low door open and Barlow descended three steps into immense cushions, floundering over to the right. He was too fascinated to pay serious attention to his flayed dermis. The dashboard was a lovely wilderness of dials, plugs, indicators, lights, scales and switches. The psychist climbed down into the driver's seat and did something with his feet. The motor started like lighting a blowtorch as big as a silo. Wallowing around in the cushions, Barlow saw through a rearview mirror a tremendous exhaust filled with brilliant white sparkles. "Do you like it?" yelled the psychist. "It's terrific!" Barlow yelled back. "It's -- He was shut up as the car pulled out from the bay into the road with a great voo-ooo-ooom! A gale roared past Barlow's head, though the windows seemed to be closed; the impression of speed was terrific. He located the speedometer on the dashboard and saw it climb past 90, 100, 150, 200. "Fast enough for me," yelled the psychist, noting that Barlow's face fell in response. Screamingly sweet blasts of sound surrounded them as they stopped for a red light. "What the hell is going on here?" said Barlow in a shrill, frightened voice, because the braking time was just about zero, and he wasn't hurled against the dashboard. "Who's kidding who?" "Why, what's the matter?" demanded the driver. The light changed to green and he started the pickup. Barlow stiffened as he realized that the rush of air past his ears began just a brief, unreal split second before the car was actually moving. Read the story at the link above for the rest.
The Prius has some zip to it... torque off the starting line has me ahead and enough juice to be respectable in the left lane... Wait, what?!
lol, what a difference 2,000 miles of ocean makes. I am getting fed up of being stuck behind small suv owners doing 40/45 mph on the roads because they can't afford to go any faster. Seems to becoming more popular now we have record petrol and diesel prices. I have done a fair bit of driving and people definitely seem to be driving slower and slower over here. OK not everyone, but a definite noticeable majority of drivers. Because the Prius is so light on the gas I'm able to drive and accelerate with no worries. Petrol near me is about £1.40 a litre and diesel about £1.45. So high fuel prices and turned the tables.
Especially with the grit on the roads for the winter here, I've spun the wheels of the starting line in the Prius more than any other vehicle that I've driven in my 20 adult years. Having 100% of torque off the electric motor available IMMEDIATELY off idle is really something--I LOVE it.
Happens here in the States whenever prices of gasoline move up toward $4.00 a gallon. The bigger the vehicle, the slower they will be going. Noticed on this latest price jump to 4 bucks that speeds didn't come down quite as much, overall. Looks like some might be getting accustomed and dulled to that price level. Next stop, $5.00 per gallon.
Thanks for the link. I used to be a huge sci-fi fan when I was a teenager. This reminds me an unrelated piece by Stanislaw Lem about future where people are very content with easy life, except for few who have "hallucinations". It turns out the the hallucinations are real and reveal bad living conditions on overpopulated planet and the rest of the people are duped by drugs into being happy. I hate to say it but both of those pessimistic scenarios are actually happening, albeit very very slowly.
