Why is this car different (or why am I so obsessed?)

The most outstanding point, to me, is that with this car for the first time in automotive history the energy from decelleration/braking is not totally lost to heat.

Less waste is good :mrgreen:

Peace

 

I've only had the car a week and already I find that I really love it. I did also feel this way about my last car (1990 Acura Integra), which I sold last week. For the past couple of years I have wanted a new car, but I could not find one that I really liked. It was frustrating. I looked at the 2002 and 2003 Prius, but the cargo space was just too limiting for me. When I saw the information last summer about the upcoming 2004 Prius, I knew that was what I wanted. I have not been disappointed.

 

Jeff, your experience sounds a lot like mine. I first saw the new Prius on the internet April 17, which is also my birthday. I fell in love with it on first sight and vowed to have one as soon as they came out. It embodies everything I believe in - clean air, energy conservation, enough room for comfortable travel, hatchback. Now with gas prices increasing daily here, I realize what a good move it was. I just feel good driving the Prius - it is the first guilt-free car. It's a shame that Toyota did not anticipate the demand better, but I believe that in time, we will see Prii everywhere with happy people behind the wheel.

 

For me this car is FINALLY something 21st century! :lol:

 

I grew up in the 60's with a family that loved Corvairs. For those of you who remember Corvairs, don't laugh too hard, at least not until you try to put the Prius into the same perspective that the Corvair was in back in the 60's. For those of you who remember the Corvair only by a stigma that was attached to it by Mr. Nader, let me remind you of a few things that made the Corvair rather special for its day:
1. Air-cooled, rear engined mass produced car made by GM's Chevrolet division. (built to counter the VW Beetle)
2. 4 Wheel independent suspension.
3. Available as a coupe, convertible, 4 door sedan, truck, bus, camper, panel van or a station wagon
4. Turbo charged and 4x1 bbl carb configurations available.
There were 1.7 million Corvairs sold between 1959 and 1969. Of those, I have owned 3 (including a '69 Monza convertible of which there were only 521 built) and my family has owned at least a dozen others.
5. The Corvair was exonerated by NHTSA in 1972 from the charges that Mr. Nader levied against it in his book Unsafe at Any Speed. (In his book he cited films showing drivers oversteering the Corvair to the point where the car could flip over--those drivers were hired by Ford! hmmm..)

The Prius at this point in time is anything but mainstream, as was the Corvair back in 1959. As GM was trying to do back then, Toyota is trying to market to a niche that previously did not exist. The Prius is indeed a paradigm shift away from what has been offered by auto manufacturers for years. And I can't wait to get mine!!

 

As an engineer, I was floored by the elegant implementation of a high mileage vehicle. Who would have figured a car where the engine is never disconnected from the wheels, where there aren’t any friction parts in the transmission path of power to the wheels (no clutch, no bands) where taking your foot off of the accelerator puts energy back into your tank (battery). It is the neatest engineering solution I’ve seen since I can remember. I had to have one, and am getting rid of a 2 year old MB when mine comes in next week. I could wax poetic forever about this think and have only begun figguring out how they are controlling it all. All boils down to a HUGE WANT !!

 

Jeff,

I first saw the 2004 Prius in a newsprint ad probably in September. The silhoette just grabbed my eye. I read the copy and saw that it was the new Prius. I had been following the development of hybrids for a couple of years and had test driven a Honda Hybrid. I was impressed but not the point of buying.

I had dismissed the Prius as too complicated a drive system compared to the HCH. Then I started researching the car, thanks to your website and John1701a combined with what Toyota.com had to offer and Edmunds I became a sponge for information and completely changed my opinion of the drive system and recognized its elegant simplicity. In early November I was able to rent a TRAC car for a weekend and the reality of the car exceeded my expectations, an order was placed shortly after that.

What is different about this car? This is simply the best car design in the last 30 years. It is the car I wanted but could not find. It is innovative, attractive, practical and value priced. No other currently produced car can make the same claim that is what is different.

I'm glad you have your Prius now. I hope you are out driving while I write this message. Let us know what you think. I like mine better every day.

John

 

Sorry (carefully removes foot from mouth ) soon though, right?

Keep the faith, John