ATTN ALL PRIUS LOVERS!!

- having a high level of education than other car driver groups
BSEE
- having much higher income than the average car buyer—approx. $100,000 a year v.s. $85,000 a year for the average buyer.
No
- being more likely to be female.
No
- being a few years older than the average car buyer—closer to fifty rather than the average age of forty.
- driving fewer miles on average
Yes
- planning to keep their car longer than the average person—a bir more than 5yrs rather than less than 5yrs
17 years for last car
- being willing to pay more for an environmentally-friendly (or “greenâ€) product.
No
- wanting to personally do something to help reduce vehicle pollution.
No
- expecting fuel prices to grow a lot faster than other people do.
No

Do you agree with these descriptions of hybrid owners?
No. From reading these web sites I'd say there is no one kind of Prius buyer except maybe that we're all equipped to not listen to the media's lies telling us not to buy one.

 

I agree with the others: most of the questions here are too vague (except for the gender question) to make your survey reliable. But here goes:

I fit your criteria in these ways
* 4-year degree from a liberal, liberal arts college.
* I plan to drive this Prius until it can't stand me anymore.
* I willing to pay a little more for eco-friendliness, but I couldn't have afforded a lot more.
* The low emissions do give me a warm fuzzy feeling, but I don't see any difference between that and the "environmentally-friendly" point above.
* I believe that gasoline is still unnaturally cheap, and the price has nowhere to go but way up. Most of the people I know disagree and many even think the price will go down if we can just drill in Alaska or if we all avoid buying gas on alternate Wednesdays or the like.

I don't fit your criteria in these ways:
* Well, I thought I was at the average income 'til I saw your $85k "average buyer" figure. Is that in US dollars or Australian dollars, and how bad is that exchange rate?
* Male
* 37 years old, and this is my second car
* Fewer miles than what? I'm at 15k miles/year but I don't know where that rates in your scale

By my count, I only fit five (or four, as two are the same to me) of your nine criteria, and I'm a mismatch for four of them. So, I don't consider myself to be a member of your club. What source are you citing when you come up with your thumbnail sketch?

 

OP has not been back. Not sure about the relevance of time difference between US and Australia. Seems to me, however, that someone with a genuine question would have been back before now. Are we feeding trolls?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusseeka @ Sep 2 2006, 06:14 AM) [snapback]312999[/snapback]</div>

hi there. my name is pete and was getting very tired of becoming a puppet with the oil companies so reaserched the prius and talked to about 20 prius owners put my eldorado cad up for sale got the prius on feb 8th 2006 and fell head over heals in love with it. i intend to stay with the toyota prius forever. i just love it! happy driving this wonderful machine! see ya. B) pete

 

- having a high level of education than other car driver groups
Registered Nurse
- having much higher income than the average car buyer—approx. $100,000 a year v.s. $85,000 a year for the average buyer.
RN in Social Service field....much lower than 85
- being more likely to be female.
Got me there....
- being a few years older than the average car buyer—closer to fifty rather than the average age of forty.
See signature
- driving fewer miles on average
Sorry..the more the better. If I did not have my elderly mother to care for I would be out thereeven more!
- planning to keep their car longer than the average person—a bir more than 5yrs rather than less than 5yrs
Don't know...upgrade is an enticing word
- being willing to pay more for an environmentally-friendly (or “greenâ€) product.
Yes but I woould not have Bought a Gen I because the style/size did not fit my lifestyle, this one does.
- wanting to personally do something to help reduce vehicle pollution.
I am happy to be part of the solution
- expecting fuel prices to grow a lot faster than other people do.
Don't really think about prices too much. Happy with gas mileage but I love the technology in this car, SKS, the transmission, low maintenance and no smogging!

Do you agree with these descriptions of hybrid owners?
Hybrid owners are very individual, a bit quirky. I do think we represent a fairly more aware group (as opposed to "intelligent") as a blanket statement. I think we are a curious bunch, adventurous.

And to be truthful, a bit geeky!

 

having a high level of education than other car driver groups

I am a student at the moment. Working on a BS

- having much higher income than the average car buyer—approx. $100,000 a year v.s. $85,000 a year for the average buyer.

Just got out of the Navy so um way way lower.

- being more likely to be female.

Male.

- being a few years older than the average car buyer—closer to fifty rather than the average age of forty.

26

- driving fewer miles on average

Yes around 8000

- planning to keep their car longer than the average person—a bir more than 5yrs rather than less than 5yrs

I don’t know up until know I have only had a car for 2 years at a time never bought one before. Never liked one enough to buy until the Prius.

- being willing to pay more for an environmentally-friendly (or “greenâ€) product.

No! I bought the Prius because I like the car.

- wanting to personally do something to help reduce vehicle pollution.

Never thought of that.

- expecting fuel prices to grow a lot faster than other people do.

I hope not I would rather see them drop.


Do you agree with these descriptions of hybrid owners?

No

 

I just saw this article linked in another thread:

http://www.jdpower.com/studies_jdpower/pre....asp?ID=2006147

And at least some of OP's junk comes from this, but is MIS-QUOTED! Notably, the income and age things are reversed. It says Average new car buyers are in the $113k household income range, and avg income of those considering a hybrid vehicle is $88k, avg 43 yrs old.

I also considered mentioning the fact that results are further skewed by the whole "internet access" thing here, but second-guessed because of the whole "gadget freak" thing. Then again, it's still a major skew....

Maybe we can just think of this thread as a way to get to know each other a little better

 

i'm 22 yrs old

i have about 60k miles on my 04 prius

I don't make a whole lot. i won't say.

nothing else i can really answer...

i think the car breaks the mold for the Steriotypical driver. I've seen prius drivers of every age around here. and.. i've seen a lot of prius.

 

- having a high level of education than other car driver groups~ No. Graduated HS, attended some college but haven't managed to get a degree yet; someday though!!

- having much higher income than the average car buyer—approx. $100,000 a year v.s. $85,000 a year for the average buyer. If this is per household, then Yes.

- being more likely to be female. Yes

- being a few years older than the average car buyer—closer to fifty rather than the average age of forty. No...I'm only 28

- driving fewer miles on average No. I put 180K miles on my previous car in 9 years; I tend to drive ~20K miles per year on average vs the usual annual 'average' of 12K

- planning to keep their car longer than the average person—a bir more than 5yrs rather than less than 5yrs Yes. I'm aiming for 10 years for this Prius. If my Saturn could last 10 years (I bought it used) then I have faith that my Prius will last just as long, if not longer, being a Toyota.

- being willing to pay more for an environmentally-friendly (or “greenâ€) product. Yes

- wanting to personally do something to help reduce vehicle pollution. Yes

- expecting fuel prices to grow a lot faster than other people do. YES

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ichabod @ Sep 2 2006, 07:16 PM) [snapback]313311[/snapback]</div>

I'm guessing that that is what we have here...OP has still not been back!

 

I would say that's a symptom of a rare disease transmitted solely by contact with other Prius drivers, and for most of us that contact is provided by PriusChat. I'm going to label the disease type as a "PCTD", or PriusChatted-Transmitted Disease. Probably not typical of your average Prius driver

Yes, but mostly because I want them to know how cool the technology inside it is. And it doesn't hurt that it polishes my image as a tree-hugger... I cut my ponytail years ago, so I had lost the outward appearance for a while, but thanks to my Prius, I'm BACK! (and in slightly better style this time )

Ummm... I spent the time to make this. Does that answer your question?

That did not describe me pre-Prius-ownership. Now it does. I didn't by the car because I'm more informed about cars, I am more informed about cars because I bought the Prius.

Pets? How dare you? They're our CHILDREN!!!

Seriously though as one who never cared a damn for a car before, I can testify as to how endearing they are.

 

education - BS in computer science
income - 40k/year
sex - male and yes please
age - 24
miles - a bit fewer than usual. maybe 12k a year
definately planning on keeping it a long time
willing to pay more for environmentally friendly vehicle - yes
wanting to personally do something - yes
expecting rising fuel prices - yes

 

Don't know if you're still collecting data, but always happy to talk about myself.

I don't own a Prius yet but ordered one to lease, should be deliverd before the end of the year.

- having a high level of education than other car driver groups
M.Sc. degree

- having much higher income than the average car buyer—approx. $100,000 a year v.s. $85,000 a year for the average buyer.
About $40k/y

- being more likely to be female.
Most likely male (but my gf will drive the Prius too).

- being a few years older than the average car buyer—closer to fifty rather than the average age of forty.
26

- driving fewer miles on average
Estimated 30,000 km or 18,641 miles per year

- planning to keep their car longer than the average person—a bir more than 5yrs rather than less than 5yrs
Will keep it 3,5 years

- being willing to pay more for an environmentally-friendly (or “greenâ€) product.
Yes, but not much more.

- wanting to personally do something to help reduce vehicle pollution.
Yes, especially in the city

- expecting fuel prices to grow a lot faster than other people do.
I don't know.

Good luck with your assignment!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusseeka @ Sep 2 2006, 06:14 AM) [snapback]312999[/snapback]</div>

I have a hard time buying that you are actually doing this as part of educational project. If you are, you need to sit down with with your instructor for some review... and start over. Your questions are all loaded with what appears to be bad assumption to achieve desired results. If you are doing this to get a grade, you are getting off on the wrong foot.

 

Yep. PharmD

Yes.

Yes, as it so happens...
Uh, no. Mid 30's.

Hmmm. I guess around 14K a year.

That's a big maybe. Traded my last gas guzzler for the Prius after 3 years of ownership. Yet, I still have my '93 Civic Del Sol. So, it depends on my situation at that time in my life.

Yes, but not much more.

It is one factor that tipped the scale, but not a large motivating factor. Call it a way to make me feel good about trading off my previous vehicle (that I loved.)

Yes, that was part of it. There's a big difference between filling up weekly with 15 gallons of gas versus 10 gallons every 2 weeks. You do the math. Oh, and did I tell you how much I really dislike Osama Bin laden? No? Well, I do, and I don't feel like funding his little pet projects any mroe than I have to.


You have hit upon a nice group of folks who are really enthusiastic about their vehicles; be it for environement reasons, economic reasons or just because the car is just plain cool to geek type/techno type folks. And if you think of it... there aren't too many folks in the demographics section you identify that are big "Netizens" that frequent forums, much less forums devoted to their vehicle. So, while I think this is a nice place to gather some information, I think you will need to hit the pavement, and really get out in the "real world" and off of the Internet if you really want to effectively research the cross-section of Hybrid Vehicle owners.

But good luck in your research....

 

- having a high level of education than other car driver groups

not really, some college, tech school sure

- having much higher income than the average car buyer—approx.
$100,000 a year v.s. $85,000 a year for the average buyer.

not anymore. in fact less than half the lower figure. not rich, dont have a lot of possessions, but found out for me, my primary need is to work for fun. unfortunately, what i consider fun just doesnt pay much yet.

- being more likely to be female.

nope... have to say with the technical aspects of the car, would be just the opposite. my SO is afraid to drive the thing.

- being a few years older than the average car buyer—closer to fifty rather than the average age of forty.

yes but barely and very very young at heart.

- driving fewer miles on average

well having a commute of less than 6 miles one way did make that true, but have a planned job change coming up that will greatly increase my driving distances. also, with a roomy car, i volunteer for all trips of distance so i actually do more driving than i would with a normal car

- planning to keep their car longer than the average person—a bir more than 5yrs rather than less than 5yrs

i keep cars very very long periods, so probably not. still have a 1990 ford pickup, got rid of a 1987 corolla for my 2004. i am getting a new 2006 soon so will have this one, but a good plug in option will make me trade up even if available soon (may just keep both)

- being willing to pay more for an environmentally-friendly (or “greenâ€) product.

tough question. depends on what it is and my needs are. would not buy something for the sake of buying something if i did not have a use for it. (my SO does all THAT kind of buying)

- wanting to personally do something to help reduce vehicle pollution.

well ya... i would hope that everyone would. i believe in global warming, i believe that the huge increase in childhood asthma is all related


- expecting fuel prices to grow a lot faster than other people do.

well yes and no. didnt think that we would hit $3 as fast as we did, but dont think it will stop until we hit $5 or so. i still think that eventually, gas taxes will have to pay for many infrastucture improvements that the US desperately needs. the small increase now will force many many more people to look at other options for transportation and its imperative that the government responds to those demands as these people simply dont have the resources to "ride out the storm". a highway system that is networked that can control the movement of the vehicles on it is still decades and billions of dollars away, but the benefits in reducing gridlock, gas consumption, and increasing productivity would be enormous

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusseeka @ Sep 2 2006, 11:46 PM) [snapback]313369[/snapback]</div>

Please understand that, with this list of assumptions, you'll get plenty of support here... however, like it's been said before, we aren't a representative sample of Prius owners. i've met many more in parking lots and such, who aren't competitive with their mileage, and don't care about the environment... they simply looked at the car and ran the number themselves, finding that, in the long run, it would be cheaper to own.

IMO, a successful ad campaign for a Prius wouldn't focus on these aspects. instead, you need to combat the predjudices and misconceptions most people have, some of which are:
- Increased cost of maintenance
- "Doesn't live up to the EPA numbers"
- requires special training to drive
- can't go fast
- requires plugging into the wall

So, you'll need to get across several points:
- Maintenance of a Prius often costs less, as the brakes last longer and the amount of time between recomended oil changes is greater.
- The batteries in a Prius are reliable: and should one die, it's covered under a huge warrenty (up to 10 yrs, 100,000 miles in CA, slightly less around the rest of the country).
- No car lives up to the EPA numbers. The difference is, you don't have a digital readout telling you up to the minute information on how your car is doing. Challenge the viewer to track their mileage over several tanks and calculate the % difference from EPA numbers.
- The Prius can be driven just like any other car, with no changes!
- the top speed in a Prius is 108 MPH (limited by the computer).
- No Plug! the Prius takes care of its self, recharging the batteries from braking, or in extreme cases using the gas engine

and to answer your original questions:
- BS + Masters
- currently 69k/year
- male
- 24 years old
- drove 5k miles in the first 3 months...
- I'll trade it in when something more economical comes along... like a plug-in Prius
- I paid more up front for the "green" car, but plan to have overall savings over the other cars i was looking at due to decreased gas consumption. So i'd say it was an intelligent, economical decision, only slightly motivated by "green"
- I personally hate polution and the way cities smell... but thats why i live in MN, where i can drive up to a lake (any lake) whenever i want and get away from it.
- I expect fuel prices to grow at the fastest rate sustainable by the market... While that rate isn't so fast right now (i think it outgrew the market a bit, which is why prices have cut back the past few weeks here), once we hit peak oil, the growth rate will be limitless. The first headline that hits the papers saying some major oil field just ran out will send everyone into a panic, take my word for it.

and as stated above, this (nor any of the posts here) can be considered representative of all Prius owners... simply put, those who would come to participate on a site like this will, generally, fit most of your expectations, and then because of participating on a site like this they'll gradually be "molded" into fitting the rest of those expectations. Of course, i'm generalizing, and there are definately those here who don't fit into the generalization. It's similar to brain washing... If everyone keeps saying how great something is, and you hear about it multiple times a day, eventually you'll agree with them, even if you had the opposite viewpoint to begin with.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusseeka @ Sep 2 2006, 06:14 AM) [snapback]312999[/snapback]</div>

- having a high level of education than other car driver groups
Two BS's, minor in math

- having much higher income than the average car buyer—approx. $100,000 a year v.s. $85,000 a year for the average buyer.
Not anymore - 2001 was our peak year for combined income. Then the tech/financial industry layoffs took care of that. Are these Aussie dollars? As pointed out elsewhere, this is not typical American income, even for household (vs. personal).

- being more likely to be female.
No, sorry.

- being a few years older than the average car buyer—closer to fifty rather than the average age of forty.
No, sorry, but I am pushing forty, altho it's hard to admit.

- driving fewer miles on average
Yep (600 miles/month plus occasional trips). And I bike to work occasionally too, to reduce it even more (about 10%). That was a deliberate action on my part when looking for a new job.

- planning to keep their car longer than the average person—a bir more than 5yrs rather than less than 5yrs
Kept my last car over 6 years and wasn't really ready to get rid of it, so pretty likely to do the same again. Might keep it for life, depending on how things work out.

- being willing to pay more for an environmentally-friendly (or “greenâ€) product.
Yes, to a point.

- wanting to personally do something to help reduce vehicle pollution.
Yes.

- expecting fuel prices to grow a lot faster than other people do.
Yes. Altho I didn't expect $3/gal+ as soon as it happened. And I expected more changes in driving habits when $3/gal happened. People didn't seem to care much for the most part, other than complain and point fingers at oil companies. But peak oil is coming, and in the 5 years this will all seem rediculously cheap.