The hummer comes to mind, but only via the environmentalists and not really in any major public media outlet. Sure, they'll note how the mpg is like 9, but won't editorialize it as a bad thing. The prius on the other hand seems to be held to a standard like no other car. If it can't teleport from point A to B, then it gets criticized for this deficiency and is somehow twisted to make it seem environmentally evil. Huh? I guess GM must have hired the misinformation hitmen who did the swiftboat campaign.
The VW bug got beat up pretty badly back in the sixties. Even Bill Cosby did a routine bashing the beetle. Tom
The Corvair. My dad owned one, until he was convinced by my mother, who in turn was convinced by Ralph Nader, to sell it. He always regretted that .
My first car, a 1964 Chevy Corvair 900 Monza coupe, was completely unsalable after the media broughaha. It was a fine car in perfect running order but I was only able to sell the engine and twin turbochargers to a biker who was building a chopped trike. The rest of the car went to the scrap metal crusher.
I think the Prius also gets more positive coverage than other cars. It gets more coverage in general. And I don't think the negative coverage is the product of a media bias - just lazy reporting, each time a study such as the Prius vs. Hummer comes out.
