Autoweek's attempt to take down the Prius

Once one accepts that 20 mpg or 50 mpg is about the same, it all makes sense.

 

Yep they like the German Auto and it is probaly because they are rewarded by the advertising, rarely do they speak about the awful cost of ownership of the German cars. heck I woned a BMW, and every time you went to the shop it was over $1,000 to fix the damn thing. In the Prius review the author is saying buy a stripped bmw 128i rather than a Prius IV. The gall of these people.

 

I read the review too and thought,"Oh, they must study at the Consumer Reports school of auto reviews."

I doubt if they'll get one more reader from that review. In fact, I suspect they are losing readership and think that snark might bring some back. I don't know. However, I did buy a subscription a year or so ago. But lately, I've noticed they don't seem to have as much technical content as I'd remembered in the past.

Bob Wilson

 

So as I'ved said, see which car can last the longest. Never mind their stupid act. Toyota ignored this magazine and it was mad and did the dirty things. We drive good and safely.

 

Autoweek sends me subscription offers that have me wondering how much longer they are going to be around. 52 weeks of this magazine for $8 bucks? That doesn't even cover the cost of postage. They are trying to give it away and I am not a taker. I just let my Motor Trend expire. I have lost intrest in their constant BMW/Mercedes reviews. There is life beyond a BMW.

 

RFLOL.
A classic case of Freudian Prius Envy.

Major/Mega U.S. banks are now speculating on oil to earn money to cover for the bad debts from the Great Recession - they're aren't writing off those bad loans but rather borrowing free money from the Federal Reserve to speculate on oil to earn money to cover for those bad loans. The bad debt from the bad loans is still not 100% covered - so I expect more domestic price spikes in oil/gas in the future as Wall Street periodically bleeds main street to cover for its bad debts. I like to think of it in this way - those Fuel Sucking Pigs(FSPs) on the road are helping pay off the bulk of the Great Recession's bad debt and excesses. Given that my means are much more humble - me and my Prius' contribution to Wall Street speculations and profits must be smaller; however, I salute all those driving FSPs for shouldering most of the burden of repairing our nation's fiscal house.

 

I'm also a Motor Trend reader. Better magazine.

 

I agree it is so biased to the German Auto's it is a sham. The funny thing is Autoweek is now following me on Twitter @autoweekusa The Logo is a Helmet with googles and a low over ear cover and it looks like a German WW II helmet. Wonder is Autoweek knows how far off the cliff they jumped.

 

Autoweek is owned by Crain Communications which also owns Automobilwoche in Germany. They also own Automotive News, Automotive News Europe, and a bunch of other business publicaions. Three that I read regularly are Automotive News, Crain's Detroit Business, and Modern Healthcare.

 

Das Boot !, one can assume that since they take jabs at Japanese cars and promote VW, BMW and MB.

I owned a BMW and it was without exception the worst car I ever owned. Deplorable the break downs and cost of maintennace and repairs. A horrific experience. The Honda's, Acura's and Toyotas I owned have been a joy to drive and very reliable. Not as much fun to drive and the BMW but much more afordable and relaible.

 

Any ideas how we can strike back?

 

That says a lot. Either they are pumping up subscriptions in anticipation of a sale, or they are being paid to be a propaganda rag.

 

After reading this I can't help but think back on that one article that claimed the Prius battery was worse environmentally to make than driving around a Hummer for 300,000 miles... Disregarding facts and overwhelming bias against a marvelously engineered car.

What boggles me is HOW in the world they got their "test" Prius to give one writer 32 mpg and the final stats to say 37.9 mpg. Did they drain the traction battery and then just kept the engine running at 110 MPH while the engine was still trying to warm up? If you push any car this hard I think MPG numbers are going to start evening out regardless. I once, in a huge rush, drove my Prius like a maniac (pedal to the metal at every stop, no coasting to stops, utter disregard for my HSI, freeway speeds of roughly 75+, constant braking and swerving around traffic, etc) and I got 45 mpg at the end of the ~50 mile trip.

Some others mentioned Prius envy so I'm going to mention an interesting interaction I had with a fellow "enthusiast" (although he was of the pickup truck persuasion). For those of you who aren't aware, there is a somewhat large undercurrent of anti-Prius mentality out there among our fellow drivers. Their general opinion of us is that we're tree hugging hippies who gloat endlessly about how much good we're doing for the environment (which we are, but I'll be the first to admit we can do better), how much we save in gas (which again we are), and we do it all the while driving 55 mph in the far left lane (which most of us sensibly don't). In fact, in the internet community, there is a meme out there called "rolling coal" wherein a pickup (usually one powered by diesel) slams on their gas pedal when in front of a Prius to dump a huge cloud of smoke on our windshields.

Anyway I did have a discussion with someone who did this (it was via the internet of course) and I find that Prius envy is actually what drives them to behave and feel this way. He eventually confided to me (and this was through me being nice and courteous) that he very much wishes he had a car that got great fuel economy. Aesthetics aside, he actually very much wanted to have a Prius for daily driving rather than take his truck which nets him oh maybe 25 mpg on a good day. It leads me to believe that their frustration with not being able to have one (higher initial price point, social stigma, they do a lot of hauling, vehicle aesthetics/dynamics, endless reasons they may have which may or may not be as valid) leads them to eventually despise it.

Then there's also the crowd that reads an article like this one and just takes the writer's word for it. (By the way did you know there's still LOTS of people out there who still believe the Nickel Battery article back when the Prius was gaining popularity? I find myself arguing with these people a lot)

The article does have some valid points, though. There are still plenty of ways buying a new car is damaging to the environment versus buying used or going with public transportation, whether it's a Prius or a giant Hemi-powered pickup. What it fails to recognize is that buying a new Prius, while not great, is still better than buying a new Hummer. It also claims to that a Passat TDI gets the same mileage as the Prius? 31 city 43 highway is no comparison to the 51/48. Sure on a week by week tank by tank comparison, maybe not much. But if you're like me and put on 30-40k miles a year, it starts to add up. Plus I think someone charted the emissions on all these vehicles and it appears that the claims that Volkswagen's emissions with diesel are "cleaner" than the Prius were debunked. Also the article claims that Volkswagen's were made in America (which they are) and that Prius is made in Japan (which some are, but there are plants in America too... so... ).

I mean if the article was a long list of complaints about how the car looks, then I'd say fine, you feel how you feel. I personally am not thrilled by the way my Prius looks and sometimes stare wistfully at the Bentley passing me on the freeway, but I decided that I spend so little time actually looking on the outside of my car so why should I care? And the interior is simple but easy to access and I don't spend my entire time driving admiring the interior aesthetics either. I can see out the windshield, and the controls are easy to operate. I leave it at that.

Anyway, disappointing article. More disappointing that there will probably be plenty of people who will read, agree whole-heartedly, and continue to attempt to "roll coal".

I really need to learn how to bring my thoughts into neat concise posts...

EDIT: After some helpful posts and some searching, it appears as if the Prius isn't currently being made in North America. This helps give legitimacy to one of the article's authors' points.

 

AFAIK, VWs are assembled in Mexico

 

Winter is slowly settling in. The car has to warm up in high 30sF in the AM, and gets a little respite in high 40sF in the late afternoon. I drive for fuel economy, and have been averaging 57 mpg on the fuel meter for my 30 mile one-way work commute over country roads at 45 - 60 mph. EPA for our Prius wagon is 42 mpg combined.

The car is comfortable, thoughtfully designed, has amazing reliability, and meets my function requirements really well. This is our third Toyota hybrid; for now I cannot really see any serious competition. Perhaps the LEAF if it is reliable and I can obtain clean electricity.

 

Thank you for the clarification. Over land transport is probably better for the environment than over sea transport but I know for a fact there are a couple of Toyota plants in America. (Sometimes I wonder why we import Prii from Japan? To meet demand?)

I didn't notice it initially but my Prius was manufactured in Japan.

 

A couple years ago Toyota came close to opening a Prius plant in the US, but a drop in fuel prices and the recession put it on hold. Toyota is not a risk taker when it comes to it's quality commitments. If Toyota can assure quality and increase profits by manufacturing locally, they surely will. I half expect the manufacturing to end up in Canada rather than the US, but that is jus a guess.

 

No Priuses is assembled in North America yet.

Some are assembled in Germany. Some (like the current gen Passat) are assembled in the US, specifically Volkswagen Group of America - Chattanooga Plant.

 

A quick google search has made me realize my error. Thank you for this! Well, I guess that means there was one valid point in the whole article...

 

VW in Mexico: link