I arrived home last night at the same time as one of my neighbors. We're in a 46-unit condo complex and have underground parking and he parks near me. As we were walking to the elevator room he mentioned that I inspired him to look at hybrids, because of my Prius. When I first got my Prius, he and a few other neighbors were very interested in how it works, how many miles per gallon I got, and I talked it up as much as I could at the time. He said that the Priuses were pretty hard to come by, he had a tough time finding a dealer nearby that had any to look at, much less buy. So he headed over to Ford and got himself an Escape Hybrid a couple weeks ago, and he loves it! He has a couple of small children and a dog, so he said he needed something that size. But he was getting tired of his Isuzu SUV with its crappy gas mileage, especially with gas prices on their way up again. He thanked me for getting him interested in hybrids, and we exchanged some mpg-talk (he's getting ~33 mpg right now). It felt good knowing that my purchase and knowlege of the Prius (mostly gleaned from my fellow PCers) actually infected someone else and inspired them to go hybrid also. Yes, I said infected. It is infectious, this appreciation and love of hybrid vehicles, especially the Prius.
Way to go. Make sure that if they buy it from the same dealer they mention your name. Even if you split the money with the neighbor, a little money is better than no money. Especially if you find out later that "if only he had mentioned your name..."
I love to "talk up" the Prius with people. We are becoming more common all the time, at least where I live. I hardly ever hit the road in La Mesa without one of my neighboring Prii. Keep the Black Beauty shiny and pretty until the baby takes over things, then the poor little car might not get polished up so often, cereal is between the seats.....
Great job! I've got several people interested, but none that have taken the plunge. Poor souls, they don't know what they are missing!
woohoo! all my neighbors think the prius is totally cool, but none of them can afford a new car. oh well. at least they're inspired for the future.
Cool! I've inspired many folks, including the university president, to purchase a Prius...all seem to be waiting for I don't know what! I did inspire a friend to recently turn in her Toyota Highlander 4x4 for a hybrid Toyo Highlander 4x4...she loves it and likes the HSD. Apparently several folks at her work have asked her about it.
As a long time Subaru user, I've "Inspired" a few friends to buy Subarus over the years. When I told a friend that I got a new Prius, she said "Traiter!, you talked me into buying my Forrester (which has required 3 new windshields due to mysterious cracking). Then she asked me how I liked the Prius, and how much mileage I was getting. I still have the Subarus, but really enjoy driving the Prius.
We have apparently inspired 3 friends to take the plunge and buy their very own Prius. No one else has ever followed our lead in the auto purchase. Can't count minivans because everyone was buying them when we did. When we bought a Pacer at the same time as my husband's co-worker, we had someone to commiserate with at least. Having a Prius and comparing them and the things we have learned and passed on is much more fun!
I saw a Highlander Hybrid in our school parking lot in one of the Administrator's spots. I think it might be one of the Vice Principals. He was asking me about my Prius last fall. I haven't had a chance to ask him if it's his. The other day another Administrator saw me get out of my Prius and asked me about it. I had a chance to dispell a few of the standard myths. Don't know if that short conversation will bear any fruit. I'm hoping someday to get my parents to buy a hybrid when they finally get rid of their Cadillac. They are very disenchanted with GM and Cadillac so I'm hoping to steer them toward a Camry with all the bells and whistles, rather than a Lexus. My Father says the next car he'll buy is a Lexus, but that's a lot of money and they're retired. I think I can talk my Mother into the Camry as a 'Lexus for less money'.
