Suggestions for PAS sufferers. Purchase tire pressure gauge, use on current car. Serious drivers of high-mpg vehicles know their tire pressure. Practice pulse and glide driving and anticipatory slowing/braking in current car. See how much tank mpg increases.
I did suffer greatly from PAS. I waited 65 days for my '05 Prius. I now suffer from PSA (Prius Separation Anxiety) when I am at work.
Fortunately, I don't have to put up with PSA at work..... But at home, that's another story. Though I'd have to term it something like OPD (Obsessive Prius Disorder). I'll be watching TV or listening to music, and suddenly get up, go to the window, and admire the cool sleek look of my new car. Or the commercial comes on TV, where the kid voices call out the different Toyota models' MPG. They get to the Prius, and as they say "60" I call out "47.7" (or whatever my current MPG happens to be). And, I spend way too much time, staying up way too late, scouring PriusChat... and writing posts like this. My roommate thinks I've gone crazy.
An idea on the cell phone is to buy an unlocked one off of eBay and never again have a contract obligation to a cell phone company. It's pretty nice to be a free agent on a month-to-month deal, fully free to take advantage of any deal that comes along.
Got that covered. But I also have been finding myself turning off the ICE at stop lights where the wait is about 2 minutes. I smile to myself thinking I already have part of my Prius this way. PAS? Ya think I got infected? Heck yea!! Gawd I love this thread. But my wife thinks I have gone over the deep end now. My wife just commented "unfortuantely, there are a lot more people out there like me. We need a support group."
You can't really do pulse & glide in your current car, unless it is an HSD You can 'pulse' but 'glide' is 'coast': engine compression and the transmission drag will slow the vehicle way too fast and use more gas continually getting back up to speed than if you had just maintained speed. You'll decrease your mileage. You CAN and SHOULD practice anticipatory slowing/braking in any vehicle though. That light that just changed to yellow 1/4 mile ahead is going to be red when you get there whether you maintain speed to the last second before braking, or take your foot off the accelerator and 'waste' gas only at engine idle speed. Your brakes will last longer too. Just be mindful you don't cause someone behind you to miss their left turn signal because you were slowing too much too close to the traffic light changing to green. Same thing is true, maybe more so, coming up to a line of cars at a stop sign. Try to time it so you only stop ONCE; when YOU get to the sign. Anything else and you are wearing your brakes and transmission unnecessarily plus wasting gas every time you start moving. I had them do the 15K mile brake check when the TTs were put back on for the winter 2 weeks ago (at 14K miles). I didn't see any reason to pay them to pull the wheels off to do it when it is time for the 15K oil change next month. Greater than 75% of the brake pads remain. I expect my first, and likely only, brake pad replacement around 60K miles in 5 years.
I guess I'm going to be the odd one here. The Prius is just a vehicle that can take us places without getting hot, cold, or wet. It does it on less gas than anything else, but for us, traveling is more than how much gas we used We just did a 2200 mile long weekend to check out a piece of equipment that I bought. At the start of the trip, we thought that afterwards, we would both agree to get our minivan back and let someone else have the Prius. We survived the trip,(750 miles yesterday), but neither one of us like a small car. We were both impressed with how it handled in the mountains, both going up and coming down. We drove from 55 to 75 mph and averaged 45 mpg. Our minivan would have averaged 24 on the same trip. Although we aren't going to rush out and trade it now, it will be gone by spring. The GPS is not near the quality of the portable Garmin that I use in other vehicles nor does it provide the amount of info I like to see. The Blue Tooth feature is also harder to understand than a normal hands free phone. I would not spend the money for either of them again. As you can see, I am not as infatuated as most on this board are with this car. My wife and I love to travel, but we are spoiled from having larger more comfortable cars in the past. The cost of operation is not as important as the comfort and convenience of a larger vehicle. Doug
Bear in mind that, as RL Stevenson wrote in 1881, "To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." In other words it will seem like any other new car after a week.
Party pooper Doug reminds me of that old Peggy Lee song: "Is that all there is?.......Is that all there is?" I personally get excited still about things. The Prius is but one of them. :wub: We need to feel excitement in our lives. Otherwise whats the point? argh Back to feeling PAS and proud of it. So there!!
I couldn't agree with you more Three60guy. We need excitement in our lives. 30 years ago, I would get excited about a new car. Now a car , any car, is just a way to get around. I get excited about my grand kids when I see them enjoying life. I like the excitement of a fast motorcycle ride through twisting curves that drag the foot pegs. ( That is until my wife starts jabing me in the ribs.) I get real excited when catching a 7 or 8# largemouth bass. I like getting a birdie on a par 3 hole too. Driving over Red Mountain pass in Colorado in the motorhome is breath taking and is sure to get my heart pumping. I think I would get real excited if I were to win the lottery, but someone told me I had to buy a ticket , so I guess I won't be winng it. Excitement in our lives is essential for a good life. I used to get excited about things like cars, trucks, boats, etc. but now I get my kicks out of lifes experiences. Different strokes for different folks I guess. Doug
I do not know, but washing the owner's manual by hand might REALLY be obsessive. I just toss mine in the washer.
OH really?.. I was hoping the disease would lessen!... I figure I will be on the forum less because I will be playing with my car instead!... On the other hand.....the weather sure sucks right now!.. seems we get into these 2 - 3 week patterns of freezing wet windy nasty weather!..... I don't know if I can bring myself to getting my prius dirty! :lol: They say it only rains once here in Washington State.. it starts about September and Ends about June!
Read "The Prius That Shook The World". Of course it is out of print, impossible to get (though you might try e-bay), and I would not have a link to a PDF of it. So do not even think of sending me a PM asking for the link to the PDF.
Would you be interested in a used 20 gig 4th generation for $200.00? It is about 2 months old... Let me know...
Naw, you're right, Doug... It's a different kind of excitement, though -- it's a Christmas-like anticipation that you know will go away after a while, but it's still there. For my night job, I'm a musician -- I've performed in front of 12,000 people and I've performed in front of 12 people and that's a real rush that I know will always be there. Just leave me to my silly vices for the time being. ;p Things'll get back into perspective soon enough.
yea... I'm already fretting about my neighbors, you see, they seem to watch out their front window "as they are retired" and seem to know everything that goes on across the street at my house.......When I put on my first coat of silicone NUfinish, and I'm polishing up my new prius that is already looking perfectly perfect!... I really hate to think I am going to look like a goofy kid at christmas with his first new bike,... but I'm afraid I can't figure a way around it! :lol:
