Prius Demographics

• I have always rated transportation in terms of how efficient it is, never for style or status.
• However, when pressed to pick a favorite nonpractical car, I would say 67 Mustangs were kind of cool.
• I'm not an engineer but I teach the budding engineers at the tender ages of 13 & 14, am married to a software implementation specialist, and have two sons studying engineering in college.
• I was intrigued by regenerative brakes in 2000.
• Fell head over heels in love with the Prius in 2007 at the age of 46 and purchased it to replace my 12 year-old, rusted out vehicle.
• After spending the day with hormonal students, driving home in my little red happy pill is a peaceful panacea.

 

But you say you have never seen this on the road??

Have you seen people saying they drive continually in the fast lane at no more than 2mph over the speed limit?

Why call it a limit then drive above it? Is it a lower limit?
Please excuse my ignorance, I am Australian and a Prius driver.

 

and so what's wrong with that? pride in ownership, justification of a major purchase, we all have our reasons for doing and saying why we purchased a Prius.

if you call us "holier than thou" greeners, what do you call corvette club members? thrillseekers, mid-life crisis aversion therapy, the testosterone crowd?

who goes online to talk about how normal their car is? people either go on line tooting their horn about how good a purchase decision they made or go online to say how bad of a purchase they made... so here its gonna be one way or the other...is it our fault its much easier to be happy with our Prius?


if you chose not to buy a Prius because of what you think others might think of you... well, i guess...

thats your decision

 

There is nothing wrong with being a proud owner of a great car like Prius (or Corvette), absolutely nothing! What I find (as I mentioned in my original post) a bit funny is how this pride of ownership all of a sudden translates into extra IQ points and how SOME Prius drivers tend to (without probably even noticing it) become almost obnoxious.

Of course I will not choose the cars based on what other people will think of me! Would I be driving Volvo wagon otherwise?

 

funny you should say that when you drive a volvo because i actually know 2 people who think that volvos are the tits of the Earth...and they think anyone is stupid if they choose to drive anything else...

and like most drivers of other cars, they do have some valid points. safety track records, innovative designs, cutting edge changes, etc. and they are welcome to justify their purchases in any way they see fit.

to me, no one here acts any differently... after all, what can you expect us to brag about??? performance, hauling capabilities??

 

I'm in the over-50 crowd. My take, admittedly fom reading these message boards, is that Prius owners are a bunch of tech geeks. But I have a feeling that's just who's posting on these boards (or at least the fascinating entries I'm greading on grill-blocking, etc). Mean that seriously!

 

You're exactly right.... the demographics of PriusChat lurkers and posters are certainly not the same as the demographics of Prius purchasers. Although I bet that more Prius owners are internet savvy than those that buy most other cars... But I'm in the over 50 tech geek category... computer specialist, ham radio operator, mineral collector, interested in egyptology... I won't go on. I'm sure many Prius owners got one because they have the highest gas mileage and highest owner satisfaction (ok, tied with the Corvette) according to Consumer Reports, and don't know the first thing about the internets (sic).

 

58 here. Wanted something greener to "offset" my full sized Pickup that I use to tow a small (19') fifth wheel trailer in the summer time. Only have about 800 miles on my 2008 pkg 6.

Wanted something that doubled my pickup milage of about 12/18. The gas only autos out there in that fuel economy class make thinking about being in an accident scary. Even in the 10-30 degree (F) we have been having, I am getting 32-40 on mostly very short trips (under 5 miles or so).

I do understand that warmer weather and some additional miles should bring significantly better milage, and have been reading the articles referenced here and elsewhere about Prius milage in an effort to understand how all of this works.

I do wish I could have gotten heated seats. Leather is VERY cold when it's only 5-10 degrees F outside.

 

Then don't buy one. You sound as if you have an aggressive attitude toward Prius drivers out on the road. I've noticed this same aggression from drivers of large pickups in my area. Maybe they are Ivy leaguers also.

 

You got it! I try to push them off the road every chance I have. If I do not scare at least four of them on the way to work, my day is ruined. Where do YOU drive, by the way?

 

male, married, 3 kids, 49, retired military, tree farmer, BS, MS

Other vehicles: 99 volvo S80, 94 F-350 and 03 tractor

 

46

Bought the Prius because I'm sick and tired of Camel Jockey's running the world. The sooner we get off oil, the sooner we can bomb them back into the stone age where they belong.

My Prius is the best step in the right direction right now. When the next better stepcomes out I'll buy that and continue this for the rest of my life.

I love the car. It's the coolest production vehicle on the planet.

 

I'll bet other demographics skew the results ... for instance the south end of (our) orange county CA, the average family income is well into the 6 figures. There are tons of hybrids around. Our home up in the great north west though is probably below $40K anual sallary, and there are way less up there. More than there were a few years ago, but still way less.

 

63. BS in Chemistry from Notre Dame. Retired Pharmaceutical District Manager. Always have enjoyed cars with good handling and above average acceleration. Have come to realize that having the ability to do 0-60 in 6 or 7 seconds means hauling those extra cylinders and HP around all the time and eats way too much fuel...fuel that comes in no small measure from countries that don't like us and our way of life very much. Until some new and still undiscovered energy sources (or safe, ultra high density storage for electricity) are perfected, we are stuck with burning fuel in our cars. I just want to burn as little of it as possible. Looking to obtain a Prius within the next month. Looking forward to posting the photos when I get it. This forum has been very helpful. Thanks to all.

 

You're just tilting at windmills you know. There are now more Prius hybrids being sold in the U.S. then there are Volvos.

I understand people in the fast lane shouldn't be blocking traffic. It's not up to us to enforce the law, in fact it is illegal to block traffic in some states (mine included). I don't do that, but if I'm coasting up to a red light and you're some moron right on my tail, I most definitely will not speed up just because your blood pressure is rising. We're still going to get there at the same time and go thru the same light. And I'm saving you money whether you realize it or not.

Besides, my Prius already has some scratches and dings, you're not going to intimidate me without hurting your own vehicle.

 

Wow! With that post I'm sure you've made Ivy Leaguers, PHD's and Volvo owners all very proud.

 

No, I am an outcast, neither group wants me as a member, that is why I hang around here with the super tolerant tree huggers.

 

I don't understand why they wouldn't want you, you seem like such a naturally friendly person.

If you're ever in town, we can hang out together and watch a light movie, maybe "Who killed the electric car" or "An Inconvenient Truth".

 

Male: 34, married, 1 child, journalist.

 

Demo - 26 recently married - college grad - "Broker" - guess that's my title .. I buy stuff and sell it before I take possession of it.. sometimes Preselling.

Come on guys.. I'm pretty sure he was being sarcastic about running people off the road.. especially a minimum of 4 per day.. who doesn't have a sense of humor here..

I owe a prius.. well sort of.. I bought it for the wife. I did something better than MOST prius owners do. Instead of buying a prius and driving 20, 30, 40 miles one way to work, I moved 1.7 miles from my job. Drive an old beat up car.

My wife is in the process of finding a job closer to home as well and she drives the prius approx 17 miles each way.

Currently we drive the prius any time we have to run out.. or go out on the weekends etc.

HERE IS MY TAKE ON THE HIGHWAY - of Course I believe I am right.

If I am in the left lane doing 65(speed limit) and the middle or right lane are have some traffic and I am passing them fairly frequently, I believe I have a right to the left lane.
If someone is driving along as 65 in the left lane..and the middle or right lanes are ALSO doing 65.. then get the heck out of the left lane!