Just curious: what did everyone drive before getting a Prius, and how does it compare? My Prius is my first new car. Before that, I had a 1988 Dodge Shadow with no air (I lived in a cooler local when I bought it) that I bought used in 1990. Though I sometimes miss Thelma (she was somewhat plain brown car, but a hard worker) because she was very reliable, and her horn MUCH better than the wimpy Toyota horn (and she had an actuall coin holder), Madeleine is a big step up! And very pretty, because I got to choose the color.
1998 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro. Gave it to my wife, who doesn't really have a long or consistent commute (read: low miles). Prius saves me lots of gas. Also, I've become a more cautious driver. The Audi is a lot of fun, but being a techno-freak, I enjoy all of the gadgets in the Prius.
98 Sienna XLE van. Great van, but at 20mpg on a good day, the gas savings is HUGE! Prius is so much more fun to drive and one feels good about the amount of emissions...
I’m not a car aficionado by any means. Any form of transportation that can get me from point A to point B will suffice. The Prius is the first new car I’ve ever bought and driven. Last year we bought my wife a new car, but I don’t drive it and therefore doesn’t count. In order, if I can get this right, my historic cars have been: 2004 Prius! As for comparing, I'm not sure you can. The Station Wagon was roughly a hundred feet long. The Fury was seriously five feet wide INSIDE. The Maxima was the most technologically advanced of the group with voice warnings for lights and doors. Buick Regals are not, repeat NOT, Grandma cars though they are extremely comfortable. But all in all, there is smiply no comparison with the Prius. I had never had a CD player before; never had nav; never exceded 30mpg. The Regal was good for taking vendors, suppliers, and executives to lunch or dinner. But they enjoy riding in the Prius even more. Can't imagine what will come after this car.
I drove a 1995 Honda Civic VX. It was a good car, but had no power and the AC was for the birds. I had to do very little maintenance on it. Right before I sold it I had to fix a sensor that went bad. The car was EPA rated at 44 city and 51 highway. The mileage was higher for non-Calif. cars. I averaged 40 mpg for the life of the car. Some folks were upset about the mileage. One person even had a website called Why not to buy a Honda Civic VX. I am very happy with the Prius. I love not having to shift a car anymore. The AC works great! I died a slow death every summer in the VX. I also am getting 12 mpg better now in a much more comfortable car.
In order of age..... 79 Ford Mustang (rustbucket) sold at 100kmiles 85 Chevy Cavalier (decent car) Sold at 100kmiles 84 Dodge Ram minivan (semiconversion van) wrecked in accident along with my left forearm (not my fault!) 91 Chevy Cavailier (another nice dependable car) sold at 110kmiles 92 Plymoth Voyager (Paint peeled off, but always started) sold 120kmiles 95 Saturn (no ac, no power steering, no nothin', came in a package deal with the wife) sold in June w/ 125k 00 Dodge caravan (it doesn't give a very fuzzy feeling of dependability) Still have it. Hoping to replace it with a Sienna when it's paid off.
Here's a list of the cars that I've owned since high school in the late 1960's: 1. 1965 Corvair Monza - 2 door coupe, 2 speed Powerglide automatic 2. 1969 Corvair 500 - 2 door coupe, 3 speed manual on the floor 3. 1972 Plymouth Barracuda - 2 door hardtop, 318V8, automatic 4. 1976 Mercury Capri II - 2 door hardtop, 2.8V6, 4 speed manual 5. 1981 Ford EXP - 2 door hardtop, 5 speed manual, 2 seater 6. 1969 Corvair Monza - 2 door convertible. 1 of only 521 built! 7. 1985 Pontiac Sunbird 8. 1987 Pontiac Sunbird Turbo GT 9. 1988 Pontiac Fiero GT (totally fun car!) 10. 1986 Chevy Nova (biggest mistake of a purchase!) 11. 1991 Subaru Justy 12. 1988 Pontiac Fiero GT (totally fun car, part 2) 13. 1992 Isuzu Impulse GT 14. 1994 Toyota Camry - 2 door 15. 1996 Chevrolet Cavalier GT - 2 door 16. 1999 Pontiac Grand AM GT - 2 door 17. 2000 Honda Civic HX 18. 2003 Saturn Vue - CVT problematic transmission 19. 2004 Toyota Prius Whew!
To name a few: . 1936 Plymouth . 1938 Willys . 1941 Mercury . 1947 Chevy . 1948 Pontiac Convertible . 1954 Pontiac . 1961 Corvair (first new car) . 1965 Corvair . 1967 Pontiac Station Wagon . 1973 Olds Station Wagon . 1976 Audi . 1979 Saab . 1982 Audi diesel (47 mpg - 750 miles per tank) . 1986 Saab . 1992 Saab . 1994 Saab Coupe . 1996 Saab Convertible . 1998 Saab 9-5 . 2000 Audi A4 Quattro . 2002 Audi A4 Quattro Graduated from used cars to fun cars to family cars to safe practical cars to fun sporty cars. Starting with the '54 Pontiac, all have been reliable and downright enjoyable. Now, in retirement, I've found the perfect car, a technological marvel that's practical, reliable, safe, fun to drive, easy on the aging body, easy on the wallet, easy on the environment that my grandkids will inherit, and an excellent topic for conversation. . 2004 Toyota Prius
These are the cars driven and owned by my family (earlier ones were my parents' cars driven by me): - 1982 Honda Civic Wagon (most reliable car I've ever seen) - 1984 Toyota Corolla (must have been a lemon, very unreliable) - 1989 Volvo 740GLE Wagon (great family vacation car) - 1993 Ford Probe GT (what a fun car) - 1995 Plymouth Neon (bad car) - 1996 GMC Jimmy (wife's car) - 1998 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro (fun car) - 2004 Toyota Prius
I had a 2001 Nissan Xterra that I just loved...except for the gas mileage.....after driving the Prius and driving a few cars since, everything just seems "right" in the Prius..... I also love the fact I've almost tripled my gas mileage!
1. 1985 - 318I BMW ( Fun Car. Still have it. Want to sale it. Had to replace Transmission at 118k ) 2. 1987 - Lincoln Mark VII LSC ( Not a grandma car. Replaced many parts for a sportier ride. 225hp V8 is fun, but pollutes. Horrible traction in the rain. Traded in for prius with 237K miles. All original parts, except front lower control arm. ) 3. 2004 - Prius ( would keep up with the 318I if the traction control could be disengaged. Much more dependable than Mark VII. Ralley's offroad better than both do. )
2002 VW GTI VR6 - 0 problems, fast, great handling, but still not as fun to drive as the Prius. 2001 VW Jetta 1.8T - an actual lemon. VW gave me a full refund at 9,000 miles as long as I bought another VW, which led to the GTI. 1998 Nissan Maxima SE (nice but boring) 1992 Honda Civic VX (I got around 46 mpg, and pretty much loved this car, but needed more room at the time I sold it). 1989 Subara 4WD wagon 1982 Renault Fuego Turbo 1980 Mazda RX7 I'll never own another non-hybrid car!
Ford Explorer. 16 mpg. Only 47,000 miles on it, and I nevertheless got hit for $600 in repairs (oxygen sensor, etc.) the week before I sold it. I actually liked that truck a great deal (it was a Limited model with lots of cool gizmoes like reverse backup beeper, voice recorder, heated leather, keypad entry, etc.), but I'm so glad to be back in Japanese iron! I owned a lot of Toyotas through the 70's and 80's, but none recently until the Prius. Tripling the mpg's = sweet! rob
Hmmmm my cars: 1963 Ford Falcon 1968 Ford Torino 1978 Pontiac Firebird (special ordered) 1993 Honda Del Sol wife's cars (following inherited through marriage ) 1985 blue bomb ( A GM car - mercifullly I forget the make and model - the archtype hanger queen - engine rebuilt twice in one year! had a metalic fleck finish that oxidized in nanoseconds) 1994 Ford Aerostar 2004 Prius
1977 VW Rabbit (30 MPG all the way up to 215K miles) 1975 Jeep CJ5 (no MPG comment, but damn could it climb!) 1989 2-door Nissan Pathfinder (never over 17 MPG, but hauled ALOT of stuff: Christmas trees inside, lumber, camping gear, bicycles inside, two extra passengers) 1994 Harley Davidson Lowrider (50 MPG consistently, zero mechanical probs. Still have it, but the Prius gets more attention now). 2004 Prius (no-brainer, this is one cool car!) Drive fun, drive clean, drive Prius.
A 2002 Honda CR-V that went off to college last month. I hardly needed to replace it, as I board public transit vehicles an average of twenty-five times a week. But the Prius had great appeal and, as my April Order Tracking thread mentioned, at the time my bus to the commuter train had received a 12-month sunset unless things improved when the fare was lowered from $3 each way to $2. (They did.) Fortunately, I got on a 12-month Prius waiting list, then found another dealer with no list and got the car in 22 days. The 12-month probationary period for the bus will probably begin next month, when a less-efficient parking garage opens at the commuter rail station. Until recently we preferred to buy "American" cars. At the time we owned a Plymouth and an Oldsmobile. Both gone now. So much for my loyalty. I consider the US-designed and built Avalon to be very much American.
Currently; 2000 Toyota Echo 1991 Toyota Corolla Before that, a series of Corollas and a Celica. My first car was also a 'blue bomb'; a 1975 Chevy Capri. (It's been Toyota ever since that car. ) Still waiting on the Prius... (It will replace the Corolla.)
Wow, thanks for asking... brought back memories of the past 1937 Chevy pickup...spun axels racing local Judge’s son in a Model A Ford 1954 Chevy pickup… with a ’57, 283 CID motor… wrecked by G/F 1948 Ford pickup… same motor as above…best thing to happen to a Ford 1962 Covair Monza… new G/F… hated that car... spun a bridge, sold it 1955 Chrysler 300… first car I went 150 mph in (wish I still had) 1962 MG… wrecked by wife.. 1967 Mustang… replaced by company car... nice perk 1970 GTO…455 CID, this car went 165 mph…all time rush 1975 Dodge van…†if this thing was rockin… “ 1978 Subaru Brat… neat little truck… sold it for what I paid... 1980 Dodge Colt… fun car with a four speed plus 2 1984 Subaru station wagon… 1989 Isuzu club cab pickup… not many of those 1995 Dodge Dakota club cab pickup… another great car/truck 1951 Ford pickup… reliving my child hood… all Oldsmobile under the Ford skin 2004 Prius… I love this car… haven’t driven the ’51 since I got it…
