Prius is still a rare sight...

No kidding... That super white may have been me! I was in Gatlinberg, TN on Saturday, 13 March. I drove through the entire town in electric alone (had a GOOD charge after coming down US441 from Cherokee, NC). While there, I did see a blue 2nd gen around town, but did not get a good look at it (sometimes, you just need to pay more attention to the cars in your immediate vicinity, you know?) By the time I hit Pigeon Forge, it was night, and I didn't notice any others.

I live in South Florida, and besides for that one, I saw another black 2nd gen in Holly Springs, NC (near Raleigh). Other than those two - nada. Zip. Zilch. I may have passed up a few 1st gen's, but those are not as easy to spot as a 2nd gen. Also, I was alone, so I didn't have a spotter working with me.

This, and the fact that I have only really seen another two around here in the Boca Raton, FL area, I must agree - sighting is still a rarity for me.

Anyway, I love it up there in the Smokies. I hope I will have time this summer to drive the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and maybe even hit New York afterwards. I love driving, and now, I don't have to gas up every few hours! Unfortunately, the Parkway was closed when I was up there this time. But, it was an impromptu "I'm getting the #$!! out of here" decision to do take a week off after being sent to Atlanta, GA for a week. To me, it was an ideal decision to just drive up, and continue North from there afterwards. That reminds me - I have to turn in my expense report now, since I didn't fly up there.

 

I guess the reporters are right then when they say Virginia is second behind Cali for Prius owners. Just yesterday on my drive into work, I was passed by one black 04-05, one tideland, and was driving behind a silver during that time.

Today on the way home I saw a different black 04-05 driving my route. On even short trips around the neighboorhood during the weekends, I can expect to see around 5 new prii.

-m.

 

I saw my first Prius today, it was a seaside pearl 2nd gen. I have been looking for them for 2 years to see how popular they are and haven't found one. I almost wanted to stop them and see where they got theirs. I didn't of course because I'm not like a prius freak or anything

 

Wow! Where was Massachusetts in the article you read? In Boston I see 04-05's everywhere! You can almost take them for granted.

 

Not many here in Central Louisiana either. I've seen white, tideland and seaside. I've never seen a 1st gen. here at all. There is a Silver #4 sitting on the All Star Toyota lot though. The Prius made headline news here since the gas prices are now an average of $2.09 a gallon.

 

I was in Phoenix over Easter weekend and saw only one Prius - a silver one on Easter Sunday on Camelback. Saw lots of trucks and SUVs, though.

Here in the SF Bay Area I can sometimes go days without spotting another Prius and then see several in one day.

 

there are so many around here that i see at least a few every time i am out. last month when getting my oil changed, i was talking to one of the salesman at the dealership and he said that they were about to hit 500 sold since the 2004 model role out and that was nearly all single sales. on the classic, he guesstimated that they sold less than 100 to individuals and the rest were fleet sales.

 

Here in West Oz, in 12 months I have only spotted 4!
At 3/month there should be over 40 in Perth now, but where?
One "out of town" firm bought a fleet of them, - obviously we won't see these around, but expected to spot more locally.
However, the total number of Prius's compared to the local population and "other cars" is small really, so it is a bit of a lottery re actually sighting them.

kenmac

 

There are 4 in my neighborhood alone - mine (Salsa Red), my wifes (Black), and two other Salsa Reds - all within a half mile of one another. Somebody at my office drives a blue one, and I usually see at least one on my commute to work every day. I live in the Kansas City area

 

I remember this same discussion when I bought my Avalanche in '02.....would never see any others...

But the P* has been out for 4 years now?

We have a neighbor that lives on our street that has one. I see others around pretty regularly. We also have a coach on my son's bb team that has one.

Yesterday on the 5 frwy (we were heading to the Mission in San Juan Cap)........I spotted a P* in my rearview.......she passed us so I didn't make any eye contact but I simply held up my hand in a piece sign to her........she didn't even acknowledge.....sigh!
So she exits the same exit .......we pull up beside her and just sit there looking at her (and I've got 2 car lengths of space ahead of me)........She never even flinched to look over at us......pfffft!

ps....had a great time at Mission San Juan Capistrano.....beautifully warm blue-sky day........
here's a pic!

 

That's a beautiful picture! You've motivated me to get off my butt and get out. Hopefully this weekend will be just as beautiful. I'm going to take my mom to the mission. The dealer where I got my car said that they get about 80 Prii a month now which means supply has finally caught up with demand.

 

bought my '05 Prius in Oct. 2004 and saw only about 5 newer generation Prius through December, but now from Jan. through March 2005, I see them much more frequently. I probably see one every other day, and one right around the corner in my neighborhood (I live in a small town of 10,000 population north of Ann Arbor, MI).

 

I typically see a handful each day on my routine commute and errands, around new orleans and metro area.

 

I'm somewhat surprised you didn't see more in the vicinity of Raleigh. In certain parts of Raleigh (around NCSU campus and the Red Hat HQ) and just down the road a few miles in Durham and in particular in Chapel Hill/Carrboro I see them all the time. I live in Durham and work in Chapel Hill and during my 12-15 minute commute I typically will see anywhere from at least 4 to more than 10 1st and 2nd gen Prii.

Also, just applied for my personalized license plate last night, which should be here in about 4 weeks. If after that you see a white 05 with an NC tag that reads /dev/hyb wave at me

 

I have been looking for them since I got mine last Thursday and I haven't seen one yet....

OK - I did see one on the News last night when they were showing a flooded parking lot in Boston and a Silver Prius drove by in the background - but I don't count that.....

 

Colorado Springs is a very conservative city, with an economy substantially fueled by DOD contractors, an army base, the Air Force Academy, and numerous evangelical groups. Here, my wife and I still see as many Hummers as Priuses - though that's a big change from early 2004, when the Hummer/Prius ratio was two or three to one.

However, when we visit her parents in the very liberal university town of Boulder, we see Priuses everywhere - it's hard to go more than a couple of miles without seeing two or three - while our total Boulder Hummer sightings have been stuck at one for a year. (Probably a visitor from Colorado Springs! ) When we were first looking at the Prius in fall of 2003, the Boulder dealer told us they sold more Priuses than any other dealership in the country.

 

with the huge medical research personnel in that area, i am amazed that you dont see them. dont tell me its all Mercedes SE 500's and escalades?

 

I work at a high-tech company near Sacramento CA. If you count my Prius (when I can snag it from my wife) there are probably about SIX 2G Prii in the parking lot at any one time. (Of course, there are over 6,000 people on the campus here as well.) My group seems to have a lot of early adopters - we have FOUR 2G Prii just among the people that I work directly with. In addition, there are a few 1G Prii, a Honda Insight, and a couple full EV conversions. The latest edition to our family came last week, when one of my co-workers test drove mine. The next day, he went down to our local dealership, and bought an un-spoken-for Prius off of the lot!

 

HA! You have it pegged. BMWs (z3, z4, and ugly SUV things), Mercedes, even a few Porsche and Ferraris... but those last 2 are rare. I am a '(bio)medical research personnel' working on a PhD and I feel like I am the only one with any sense in my head around here.

Driving around the Duke campus is always interesting- I live 2.5 miles away and go to school there. In my particular parking lot there are 2 Prii, mine and a silver one.

I usually see 1-2 a day driving around, don't get many waves though. Haven't seen a white one yet. I'll be waving if you see me near Duke! (see car description in signature)