My son hates my Prius- How can I mod it to be cool to a 13yo

it's pronounced "gur'-lee-mon'", right?

how about the "green flames" front side decals that appeared in some of the early Prius print ads?

 

Might be a gender thing. My 13 year old daughter is as excited about the Prius as am I...she can't get enough of it.
I returned home after being out for a few hours Sat. Seems as though two boys from her class just "stopped by". She reports that they didn't stay long as they wanted to see the Prius!

 

What do you care what a 13-year-old thinks? It'll be at least 12 more years before he even begins to metamorphose into a human being, assuming he's precocious. I actually don't care for the looks of my car. It's a question of function over style. That corny turtle shape gives it the c.d. that partially accounts for it's spectacular highway mileage. Tell the kid it's a free country and he can think whatever he likes, but he's got no say in the matter because it ain't his car.

 

Hey! I resemble that remark.

 

It's not a good car for a child driver - too sophisticated

Your not thinking of letting some ungrateful child actually *drive* your Pri, are you? He'll get bubble gum all over the dash! His buddies will throw up in the back! You'll get upset every time he brushes the door on something. He won't appreciate it, he can't.

Assuming you can do it, you should look (together) for some kind of big four door, bench seat, four or six cylinder american steel. Something with big bumpers maybe. He'd prefer eight cylinders, but if you're paying for it let him wait. If he learns to drive on an underpowered car he'll learn to drive cautiously without you having to nag him. He can earn those last four cylinders.

I would suggest 1990's or 1980's vintage, 75,000K or less. Bring it home, put it in the garage or out back. Let him pimp it out any d**m way he pleases so long as you consider it safe. He and his buddies will have a project, have something to dream about, and you'll know where he is. Heck he might even learn something about cars while he's waiting.

On the very day he becomes eligible for a learners permit he can go get one and the car will be there and ready. Meanwhile, the *real* car will be spared his grubby attention.

 

Looks are totally subjective. My partner, Lyle's, 15 year old son thinks the Prius is the coolest looking car on the planet, like a spaceship or submarine. His dad, he and I took his dad's 2002 Jetta TDI (formerly the coolest car) over to Moses Lake, WA, to take delivery of my Prius. Lyle immediately recognized that the Prius was, indeed cool looking.
Don't lose sleep over your 13 year old stepson's attitude. In a few months, it will all change, especially if he notices some celeb he thinks is cool, driving a Prius. You know in your heart of hearts that some of this is a reaction to your obvious affection for the car and his need to distance himself from yet another corny adult.
Hang in there.

 

my 17 year old thinks my prius is pretty cool but he much prefers it in black...

 

Pay a bunch of cute girls to come running up and oooh and aaah over the car.

 

And, of course, 'cool' changes. About 15 years ago, my neighbor's 16 Y/O son got a car and it HAD to be a VW Fox. The ONLY cool car around. His dad could have handed him the keys to a BMW or Porsche and he would have turned it down. Of course, now he is a contractor and drives an F-250

 

While I was waiting for my Prius, I considered cancelling the order and getting another car only because I did not like the way it looked. My 14 year old son commented that my concern was "just vanity," and suddenly, appearance didn't matter to me anymore.

 

Sounds good. Studies show that teens are listening to their parents, even when they appear not to be. So you can be a 2 Prii family, showing your support for the environment and innovation. He can talk muscle cars all he likes, but when the time comes, he might make better decisions than what would apper to be the inevitable. When he starts looking to drive for real, he might also be swayed a bit by how much the insurance and gas costs on that "0-60 in 6 seconds, no back seat" car! Heck, start now - give him a hypothetical part time job, at minimum wage, show him how taxes cut that down, then see how many hours a week he'll have to work just to afford his dream machine

 

What about all the cool gadgets on the inside? I mean c'mon, who doesn't love a push-button ignition! :mrgreen:

I very much understand your son, though, because I was quite the same at the age of 13, except instead of male cheerleading, I did choir. Very nice ratio of women to men, especially once I hit 16 and was still (and can still) singing soprano :mrgreen:

No, I'm no castrada

More seriously, I really do think that all the gadgetry could definatly grow on your son...tell him the Prius is like a concept car you can drive (that's my own personal opinion). In the end, I think I'll just grow on him.

 

Turn him into a tekki; buy him a bunch of tekkie stuff. Then talk up the technological wonders of this car. Ask him to go to this site (see link), study it, and then be ready to discuss with you how this car is so technologically advanced compared to the common road car:

http://home.earthlink.net/~graham1/MyToyot...tm#EngineStarts

 

Ask him what he thinks of the -> Volta <- and if he likes it, tell him it is a further development of the Prius and is also a hybrid.

 

Having now driven in the Prius, my 11 Y/O thinks I should get a "squished face" car. She likes the energy flow display, the rear windows that go all they way down, the fact that is much easier on the environment, unlike SUVs which are ALL VERY BAD and pollute a lot. She is very black or white on everything. I'm not sure I convinced her that there was a difference between a Hummer and a small SUV, which can get better mileage than some cars.

 

Yeah I like the looks of the viper, or early 60's 'stang or to steal someones icon... the batmobile. Hummers on the other hand.... :cussing: But I was talking with with my instructor the other day and comparing our new cars.
We're both down to visiting the gas station about once a month. Me because I drive a Prius. Him because he drives his new Z no more than 1 day a week. :mrgreen:

Pointing out it's a car with a 12-24 week wait list because everyone wants one wouldn't make it cool would it?

I suppose the tough love approach is to tell him since the car is so hideous and uncool he no longer has to ride in it. Walking, bicycle and bus can all get him where he needs to be. Naw...

Fortunately my 7 year old DTR thinks the beast is kewl.... she likes stealth mode.... she'll be chanting as we drive by the school.... you cant hear me....

cas (mostly recovered former teen male)

 

Gotta love that batmobile

I too, however, find the Hummer to be repulsive, along with it's European brother-in-concept, the G-Class.

 

Combined with the gender: unknown in your profile, this is kinda funny ;-)

 

sheesh... the gender bit in profile came after i signed up... I just never updated.
but i can see the humor. wish i could claim it had been intentional....

cas (fwiw... long past teen chronologically but i'm not growing up)