I didn't buy a Prius just to save money!!

[font=Comic Sans MS:3a64659d37]By the way, bumblebees can't fly, either.

There's always someone to tell you you are wrong. I bought my Prius for the same reason you did. To breathe easier, and avoid heart attacks in gas stations.

[/font:3a64659d37]

 

I also get frustrated with the articles and even Toyota when they do not emphasize the "clean green" aspect of the Prius. It truly is not all about the savings...at least for me. My number 1 reason for purchase was the ultra low emissions. Think Toyota really should use this aspect more in their marketing.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NewType\";p=\"107592)</div>

traffic jam in Seattle?? what you talking about?? we never have traffic jams!!!

HOWEVER...

i was on the I-405 coming home yesterday and from 2 miles south of I-90 to 3 miles north of I-5, i crept along at 5 mph in stop and go traffic. it was hot... about 85º and i had the air on at 70º so my mileage went from 59.5 to 53.1 mpg. i rolled along in traffic nearly falling asleep because i was so comfortable when along side me came this guy in a full size GMC pickup. he had all the windows down...dont know why... at 5 mph, it simply doesnt help. he appeareed to be very animated and pounding his fists on his steering wheel. after about 5 minutes, i got tired of trying to figure out what he was saying.

i do owe him a debt of gratitude since im sure i would have fallen asleep had he not caught my attention. after about 62 minutes we came upon a minivan completely burnt sitting on the hiway 167 on ramp. the right two lanes were blocked causing the slowdown. as soon as we past this point the speed immediately sped up to normal and the truck next to me roared off only to slow back down again at the I-5 interchange which was only a few miles down the road. i will say the GMC had decent brakes as it nearly rear ended a car...so i guess GM's arent worthless after all

P.S. my mileage was able to recover to 54.7 mpg in the 30 miles i travelled after passing the major traffic jam since after that point only had the usual slow down at Hiway 512 and Hiway 16

 

My number one reason for buying a Prius was to encourage new cutting-edge technology which will someday lead us away from oil dependency. Remember, I said 'someday'. I don't believe we are there yet, but there must be pioneers to lead the way. Right behind my desire to be a pioneer was the emissions factor which is a gift to future generations. Save money on gas? Merely a byproduct of my other desires. I ignore articles which try to distract me from my main purposes, and like so many others on this board try to educate when ever possible.

 

One of the reasons we bought a Prius is so that we could get features that we otherwise couldn't afford. Well, we could afford them, but didn't want to spend the money.

How much would you have to pay for another car that Smart Entry, airbags all over the place, flexible configurations for cargo, traction control, vehicle stability contol and all kinds of other neat gadgets?

The low fuel costs makes the real cost of operating the Prius lower, so we could spend more money on the initial purchase than we would otherwise be comfortable doing. :mrgreen:

 

I don't know if I would have gotten one without low emissions. It would have been hard, especially now after having the nav system, SE/SS, Side airbags, all of the gadgety things!

 

We all could have saved money and bought an Echo (or similar econobox) . . .
but then we would have had to drive an Echo. ukeright:

We could have paid a lot more and bought a Hummer . . .
but then we would also have to pay A LOT more for gas, and____, and_____. :x

For me the Prius was the right choice. Comfortable, extremely versatile, safe, fun to drive, gadgets galore, and ecologically correct . . . or at least a lot less ecologically incorrect. But beyond all of that, the Prius is my insurance policy on four wheels.

I don’t worry about future gas prices!!!
I laugh at the thought of $3/gallon. Even at that level, I would still be paying less per mile than I was with the car the Prius replaced!

----------
“On Monday, traders continued to track hurricane Emily, which slammed into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula with winds of about 215 km/h per hour. Markets were watching for any effect on the Cantarell oil field in Mexico, which could instantly cut off around three per cent of the global supply of 84 million barrels a day, analysts said.â€

“Petroleos Mexicanos exports 80 per cent of its 3.4 million barrels worth of daily production to the United States . . .â€

Full Story

Just one good hit by a hurricane, earthquake, or other natural disaster or man made major interruption, and “hello $3.†. . . yawn. :mrgreen:

 

On topic?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA\";p=\"108287)</div>

traffic jam in Seattle?? what you talking about?? we never have traffic jams!!!

HOWEVER...

i was on the I-405 coming home yesterday and from 2 miles south of I-90 to 3 miles north of I-5, i crept along at 5 mph in stop and go traffic. it was hot... about 85º and i had the air on at 70º so my mileage went from 59.5 to 53.1 mpg. i rolled along in traffic nearly falling asleep because i was so comfortable when along side me came this guy in a full size GMC pickup. he had all the windows down...dont know why... at 5 mph, it simply doesnt help. he appeareed to be very animated and pounding his fists on his steering wheel. after about 5 minutes, i got tired of trying to figure out what he was saying.

i do owe him a debt of gratitude since im sure i would have fallen asleep had he not caught my attention. after about 62 minutes we came upon a minivan completely burnt sitting on the hiway 167 on ramp. the right two lanes were blocked causing the slowdown. as soon as we past this point the speed immediately sped up to normal and the truck next to me roared off only to slow back down again at the I-5 interchange which was only a few miles down the road. i will say the GMC had decent brakes as it nearly rear ended a car...so i guess GM's arent worthless after all

P.S. my mileage was able to recover to 54.7 mpg in the 30 miles i travelled after passing the major traffic jam since after that point only had the usual slow down at Hiway 512 and Hiway 16[/b][/quote]
[font=Comic Sans MS:7c9c56da94]Dave, how is your post on the topic of "I didn't buy a Prius just to save money!!"?[/font:7c9c56da94]

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MarinJohn\";p=\"108289)</div>

Ditto!

 

I posted this math in the "So this jerk says..." thread, but it's pretty relevant here, so here it is again. Forgive me if re-posting is a breach of ettiquite.

Oh, and it does make sense in $$ terms. I'll go from spending roughly $5K / year on gas to $1500. $3500 / yr. is a lot of money.

if you care, math as follows:
Then: (100 mi / day / 15 mpg) = 6.6 gal / day * 250 weekdays / year * $2.69 / gal = $4483 / yr. + weekends ~ $5K

Now: (100 mi / day / 45 mpg) = 2.2 gal / day * 250 weekdays * $2.45 gal = $1347 / yr. + weekends ~ $1500)

and that assumes gas stays steady (not bloody likely)

dave.

 

RESALE!!!

It does make economic sense. The Prius has the best resale value of any comparable car. As gas continues to go up, Used SUV's and regular cars will have very little resale value if any, while "true" hybrids will hold their value.

If you buy a Camry and drive it for 3 years, what % of the original cost can you recoup at resale? 60% or so?
Now check out the cost of a 3 year old Prius. They are selling for absurd amounts.

That additional resale value will make up for the premium price of the hybrid all alone. Add in the tax credit and the fuel savings (I calculate about $500/Year) and the car DOES make economic sense regardless of any "green" factor.

 

Congratulations on saving money, whoever doesn't buy a Prius. Good luck with that. :lol:

Sayyyyyyyyyy, NewType is right. It DOESN'T have a cigarette lighter (or ashtray, neither). I hadn't noticed that before. Another reason to love that Prius o mine. :lol: Thanks NewType.

 

I live in one of the few areas of the country where it makes sense to own an SUV - Lake Tahoe. In the winter, we often get snow dumped on us very rapidly, have lots of hills (have to cross a 9000 foot pass to get to Reno, the nearest big city), and have very slippery road conditions. When plowing through snow, a powerful vehicle is almost mandatory. The solution to this? A '99 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited as a primary vehicle.

Most of the time, driving conditions in Tahoe don't require an SUV... we have maybe ten bad days per year that probably wouldn't be appropriate to a non-four wheel drive vehicle. On those ten days, I'm glad to have a Jeep, but the other 355 days are a different story.

I bought the Prius for three reasons. The first was that gas prices were climbing, and it didn't seem practical to keep spending $40-$50 a week to fill a Jeep that only averages about 12mpg in the mountains.

The second reason is a little tougher to describe... I call it "liberal guilt". Like a lot of people in this area of the country, I only drove an SUV because it was necessary... but didn't like the 'feeling' of using that car. The Prius, on the other hand, feels good to drive. Looking at the info screens shows that in some small way, I'm having less of a negative impact on the environment than I used to have. As an environmentalist, I was talking the talk, but not walking the walk (or driving the drive, as the case may be). With the Prius, the talk is backed up with action... and that feels good.

The third reason is the range of amenities that were available on the Prius. On icy roads, the VSC is great, even if the Prius is a two-wheel drive car. The airbags are similar to what one would find in a much more expensive car. The NAV system and the Bluetooth hands-free phone are great options with a lot of 'cool gadget' factor. Most importantly, my dog fits in (and is comfortable in) the back of the car!

Bottom line, it feels good to drive the Prius. It feels like I'm driving something high tech, and doing something very good for the environment at the same time.

The Jeep is parked beside the house (currently having it's battery recharged... hasn't been driven since April), waiting for the first one of the ten days when having it will be a good thing!

Dan

 

WTG DAN!!