Another Idiot Reporter

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ May 24 2007, 10:22 PM) [snapback]449524[/snapback]</div>

One would think that if you write an article on something where you are perceived to be an expert journalist that your research would be talking to actual owners, dealers, and taking your own test drives. Her article doesn't do anything but tape a few other articles together. Also again with the comparison to the econo car, (yaris). If the prius was the same size as the yaris we would be getting 100 MPG, it is a good mid size sedan comparable to others in the exact price range.

 

Okay, if we're going to keep posting about reporters who haven't a clue regarding what they are reporting, we will need a separate folder just for these threads.

 

Perhaps she should have spoken to someone who actually owns and drives a Prius. 33 mpg!!! Come on!! Intept reporting once again.

 

Must be a new green guy taking over for Peter Valdes-Dapena and recycling ancient and inaccurate information again. Never fails since CNN Money/Auto is very anti-hybrid.

This long-term article from Edmunds 2006 only confirms how that CNN writer looks for the worst. Even Mr. Valdes-Dapena had a better article here.

 

I agree that the CNN article is poorly written. Poor research and shoddy interviewing (if any). The Edmunds article isn't much better either.

"but we'd like to put 100,000 miles on the car so we can see how a really used hybrid holds up. We're almost halfway to our goal [approaching 50,000K], and while the Prius continues to perform admirably, its age and wear are starting to show." - Edmunds article

Uhh, let me see. A car with 50,000 miles actually looking/performing like it has 50,000 miles?!?!? The HELL you say!

Dear Edmunds, you of all companies should know that vehicle depreciation happens to ANY vehicle. To list mostly cosmetic issues with a vehicle is irresponsible because that is obviously a specific case of an owner that may not have taken the best care of their car.

On the other side of the coin, I could compare a vintage 1965 Mustang in tip-top shape with a Prius and claim, "All hail the '65 Mustang! It clearly has held up over 40 years and still performs wonderfully and there are no cosmetic blemishes!"

I'll never understand is how pundits against hybrid vehicles discuss how it will take X number of years for the hybrid upgrade to pay for itself. While I agree with this concept, they always forget to mention that their calculations are based on fuel prices STAYING CONSTANT!

What they should be saying is, "With gas prices at $3.28/gallon, the prius will take X number of years to pay off the upgrade. But we all know gas prices will go up. Given the history of gas prices climbing, we've projected that gas will be say . . . . $4.00/gallon in 1 year, therefore with this formula in mind, the prius will take "original X" - y months to adjust for rising fuel costs."

Still, people won't believe the pundit hype for long if we all simply rave about our hybrids! Your neighbor will say, "I heard on CNN, that hybrids are bad because of such and such. Is this true?"

I'll say, "No, I consistently get over 50mpg and my hybrid (which I bought used) just passed 30,000 miles."

Sometimes I feel like I'm a walking advertisement for Prius. I don't mind though, I love the product!

 

Since I'm a Realtor, I'm constantly meeting new people. At some point, 90% of these people will notice my Prius (one of the reasons I put the "gas electric hybrid" decals on the car) and ask me how I like it. It is at this point that my Realtor hat comes off and my unofficial Prius spokesperson hat comes on.

Of course the common question is "what kind of gas mileage are you getting?". I start with a disclaimer that the type of driving I do for my business and our topography is likely to yield the lowest possible gas mileage; at this point the "I knew it was hype" smirk begins to appear. Then, just as the smirk approaches full blossom (timing, is, after all, everything), I tell them that I'm only getting ~45 mpg. The transition from smirk to disbelief is a beautiful thing to witness. Then I tell them that the mpg is but a small factor in my decision to own the vehicle - the low to zero emissions, the bluetooth and navigation for my business needs, the ability to haul more cargo that they would imagine, etc.

It's my little way of stickin' it to the man.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ZenCruiser @ May 25 2007, 10:35 AM) [snapback]449763[/snapback]</div>

I worked two years in Saudi Arabia for OPEC (ARAMCO).

The Prius is my way of sticking it to the Imam.

Harry

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ May 24 2007, 08:22 PM) [snapback]449524[/snapback]</div>

Ironically, Edmunds.com wrote that "Most Prius owners say their cars typically achieve real-world mpg ratings in the mid-40s".

http://www.edmunds.com/toyota/prius/review.html

I don't think I could get any lower than high 30 MPG if I tried! I've never got any lower than 43 MPG, and that was a full tank where I paid no attention to driving technique.

I wrote the reporter an email stating the reporting is incorrect, but I actually thought the article did a pretty good job of pushing hybrids, despite the mistake. She said you'd pretty much recover the extra cost you paid after a couple of years.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Earthling @ May 25 2007, 08:57 AM) [snapback]449775[/snapback]</div>

I saw a Prius last night with a personalized plate: "NO OPEC"

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Earthling @ May 25 2007, 10:57 AM) [snapback]449775[/snapback]</div>

:lol: :lol:

 

i get 55+

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ZenCruiser @ May 24 2007, 11:23 PM) [snapback]449563[/snapback]</div>

So true, and yet it brings up a point: Are any other cars subject to this constant stream of disinformation and propaganda? I mean, does anybody say Corvettes aren't fast, or an F150 can't tow a trailer, or Hummers aren't macho-looking, or Mercedes have a crappy ride? Why us?

Has any other car ever been subject to similar treatment via disinformation, and why does anti-Prius propaganda play so well?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(chogan @ May 25 2007, 12:48 PM) [snapback]450013[/snapback]</div>

The EPA test suite was designed by the Big 3 to help them meet fleet mileage requirements. They are universally optimistic in their ratings. We had a 23mpg Saturn that measured out at 15-17; a 26mpg Saturn that did 18-20; a 30mpg Toyota that did 22-24. My better-informed friends driving 15mpg trucks tell me they don't see better than 10 around town, and the only way to hit 15 is to drive "downhill on a highway."

The overwhelming majority of drivers, when asked what mileage they get, tell me what they'd *like* to get and believe that's what they *do* get. Ive had hummer owners tell me they're getting 22 miles to the gallon. They just have no clue. And why should they? Fuel economy and environment had nothing to do with the way their desires were shaped, and nothing ot do with their purchase decision.

The point the press latches onto is mileage for the Prius, because that's the easiest way to make the story seem relevant to an otherwise uninformed reader. And it's a lot more palatable to bash an import for making only 2/3 its EPA number, than to write about how our national fleet average of 27.5mpg is actually running at *18mpg.*

 

Actual numbers aside, it would be nice when talking MPG to put things in perspective. the Side by Side Comparison on the DOE's fueleconomy.gov website is fun -- http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/sbs.htm. It keeps it all relative.

 

This stupid article is now in the middle of http://finance.yahoo.com/. The link is also titled "The Real Truth About Hybrid Cars."

 

I wrote this author when I read the article earlier in the week. I asked if they actually did any research on their own. To quote 33 MPG is absurd. I think I said something like: "You'd have to drive like a crazy person to get on 33 MPG in a Prius." I have not received a reply.

 

No surprise that CNN is anti hybrid. Everyone at CNN still feels they owe Chrysler for getting their show on the air (or more appropriately getting their show on the road)

 

Put 5 full size adults into the Prius and you could get 33mpg under the right conditions as I did yesterday. Put 5 full size adults into a Yaris and see what happens.

I average around 45mpg when I pay no attention to how I am driving by myself in mixed local and highway driving. If I pay attention to how I am drving I get in the low 50's.