So, Here in Berkeley (California) there are more Prii than you can shake a tofu burger at but I'm noticing a trend where Classics will waive only at Classics whereas 2nd Gens wave to each type but only get a response wave (or nod) from other 2nd Gens. Are Classics tired of waiving because they've had their Prius for so long? Coming from the motorcycle crowd, it is about a big as chasm as the Hardley Davidsons waving to each other and snuffing all us "Rice Burners." ('99 Honda VFR800) Anyone else noticing this trend or is it simply a Berkeley trait?
Ithaca (NY) is also lousy with Prii of all generations and overall I would have to say that I agree with you. There is a Classic that parks in the same lot as I do at work and he waves, but most do not. Maybe they look on us as upstarts?
I tried waving at a Honda Insight tonight on my way home. She wasn't impressed and did not return my greeting.
Maybe it's just living in Los Angeles, but I wave at every Prius I see, both first and second generation and I have yet to get a wave back. We saw three 2004's on the way to Santa Barbara today, and not one person waved back. Of course, one lady was on the phone and never looked over at us. On another vain, the car did great on the 140 mile round-trip to Santa Barbara today. Started and ended with the display reading 52 mpg. That certainly meets the EPA estimates for highway mileage. Jeff
I waved at a classic the other day and got an enthusiastic response. My father on the other hand, is borrowing my car, and tried to wave at a passing Insight. The woman didn't notice so he honked and when she looked over he waved. She glared at him and sped up.
It's about 50/50 for me here in Orange County, CA. I get some waves or thumbs up, and others just ignore me. I get more response from the '04 drivers than the classics though, unless I'm driving the classic... LOL -Rick
There are lots of Prii here in Santa Cruz. I definitely get more waves from the new models, but I do get some waves from the old ones, as well. I figure that some of the drivers of the old models don't know what the new ones look like. And plenty of drivers are just self-absorbed and don't notice much of anything. (Scary but true.)
I'm usually paying too much attention to my driving to notice if I'm being waved at. Once in a while, I'll catch somebody waving, and I'll wave back. Where I live, people wave at each other all the time anyway, regardless of what vehicle you drive.
I don't see very many classics here. A bunch of people in a white 04 looked at me like I was crazy here in Orlando when I waved (the tint's dark, maybe they didn't see me), but a guy in my parents' small town in South Florida honked and waved and followed me into a gas station. We chatted while our cars sat opposite two SUVs at the pumps - we had a good laugh over that. Those are the only two I've seen since I got mine three weeks ago, but people at my work and at my fiance's work have been reporting sightings. Some of them wave - now THAT must throw off Prius drivers, being honked and waved at by people in Mazdas and Hondas.
Back in the '50s (maybe it was the '60s), Playboy did a spread on sport car waving practices. They even published a table with sport car names both down the side and across the top. The XY intercept point defined which driver should wave first (the Bugatti never waved first ... But ... Would always wave back). Now I suspect those pioneers who bought the first Prii and Insights see themselves as something special. They, of course, bought the car when it took vision, courage, and imagination to go out and buy these totally new concepts in transportation. They, in their eyes, were the ones willing to step out and purchase these strange little cars in spite of their odd quirks and funny looks. They did it for the earth, for the environment. I suspect many of them begrudge those of us who waited until the car was proven, truly practical, good looking, and, quite frankly, better in every respect than than were those pioneering sleds. Those who purchased the originals deserve to be those who wave second, in essence, waving their acknowledgement of our show of respect for their early vision, courage, and imagination. But those of that group who choose to not wave back are simply saying, in my humble opinion, that their true reason for buying had mostly to do with academic appearance, not with truly saving the earth. Otherwise, they would acknowledge current Prius purchasers, if for no other reason, than for their wizdom in selecting cars that are even cleaner and more resource friendly than were those that were bought by these early pioneers.
I suspect that the whole waving thing just gets boring after you've had your car for a few years. Classic owners are tired of it by now. Plus, attractive females probably suspect the motives of men who wave at them. They have accumulated a lifetime of unwanted attention.
