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Prius Drivers?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by clifford, Aug 1, 2006.

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  1. clifford

    clifford Member

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    In my area, while driving my 2006 Prius, I find that most Prius drivers look old, serious, and self absorbed.
    No one waves or hardly looks as I pass let alone waves back. What is the deal here?
     
    #1 clifford, Aug 1, 2006
  2. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    <==== Do they look like this?
     
    #2 TonyPSchaefer, Aug 1, 2006
  3. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Shut up, I'm fixing my hearing aid and don't care what you have to say anyway! :eek:



    But yea, it does seem that the only people I pass are older and oblivious as I wave away at them as if unaware that they're supposed to think of their car as something completely unique, special and part of a close nit community....go figure.
     
    #3 efusco, Aug 1, 2006
  4. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    yeah... people suck. :(
     
    #4 galaxee, Aug 1, 2006
  5. Frank Hudon

    Frank Hudon Senior Member

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    yup the Prius wave is dead as a door nail. I can't even get a Classic driver to wave anymore. Were mainstream.
     
    #5 Frank Hudon, Aug 2, 2006
  6. marjam

    marjam Member

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    I had a 1974 Celica. It was only the second year of a whole new car for Toyota. Celica drivers waved, flashed lights, stopped and talked and it was really the good old days. I feel that drivers now seem to be in their own little world where everyone else on teh road is in their way and are not to be considered as human. Since 2001 I have rarely gotton another Prius driver to look at the car, much less notice that I am waving and smiling at them.

    And no, I do not look like Tony's avitar! ;)
     
    #6 marjam, Aug 2, 2006
  7. bulldog

    bulldog Member

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    Just on Monday I stopped behind a guy as I was pulling into work. He saw me and turned on his hazards, I waved and he turned them off. Nice gesture.

    So it is not toally dead.
     
    #7 bulldog, Aug 2, 2006
  8. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clifford @ Aug 1 2006, 08:28 PM) [snapback]296064[/snapback]</div>
    I do not know, it just doesn't seem to be the thing to do w/Priuses. I'm 31, so I don't think I'm in the old crowd yet. Those w/Camrys DEFINITELY don't wave to each other. :lol: (used to drive a 91 Camry and my mom has a 96 Camry)

    The 350Z crowd on the other hand... we usually give each other a thumbs up or a wave...
     
    #8 cwerdna, Aug 2, 2006
  9. Renocat

    Renocat Member

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    Having only had my Prius for 2 weeks today...I still get excited when I see another. I try to make eye contact with other Pri drivers, but have had no luck so far. I think it would be cool to have a prius wave. I used to drive a jeep wrangler and every jeep wrangler driver would wave...very cool. Hence the sign you see on jeep wrangers: "It's a jeep thing, you wouldn't understand"

    Perhaps we should get a window decal that says, "It's a Prius thing..."
     
    #9 Renocat, Aug 2, 2006
  10. miwaku

    miwaku New Member

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    Before I traded in my 99 Prelude, we all waved & flashed at one another. Now my fellow Prii drivers rarely do so. Last week in DC, I saw so many Prii, it would've been exhausting to wave...
     
    #10 miwaku, Aug 2, 2006
  11. mootsman

    mootsman New Member

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    FWIW

    do not know how much alike other drivers I am but I can say this:

    1. I don't own a cat which seems to be the predominant pet here (do have a WONDERFUL Border Collie).
    2. I'm 60 but my wife and I kayak, mountain bike race, and play in a bluegrass band.
    3. I've been retired 7 years and I'm serious about the important issues but otherwise am not wound up too tight.
    4. Generally speaking I feel more like an outlier on this forum than the others I frequent (Cycling, Civil War History, Bluegrass Music, guitars, etc.)
    5. I've seen one other Prius since I bought mine two weeks ago and that was on an out of state trip.
    6. For the guy who recently posted that Prius drivers looked like grandfathers -- as stated I'm 60 but this photo might adjust your attitude a little about us old folks.
    7. Our other vehicle is a Honda Element and that is a very friendly community, i.e., waving at one another, etc.
    Pardon the ramble
     
    #11 mootsman, Aug 2, 2006
  12. GreenGene

    GreenGene New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(miwaku @ Aug 2 2006, 09:02 AM) [snapback]296199[/snapback]</div>
    Yeah. One day last week, on just one street, I saw two Barcelona Reds coming at me. I looked each driver right in the eye and smiled and was ready to wave, but they never looked in my direction. That afternoon I probably saw 20 or more Prii on the way down I-95. If I had waved at them all, my arm would have gotten quite a workout.

    I'm sorry to say that I think I missed the Prius wave moment in time.

    But I'm happy to say that I didn't miss getting a Prius! :)
     
    #12 GreenGene, Aug 2, 2006
  13. Soylent

    Soylent The v isn't a station wagon! It's just big boned

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mootsman @ Aug 2 2006, 09:30 AM) [snapback]296207[/snapback]</div>

    Hehe you're exactly how I'd picture a Prius driver.
     
    #13 Soylent, Aug 2, 2006
  14. molgrips

    molgrips Member

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    Mootsman - what the hell are you riding in that picture?
     
    #14 molgrips, Aug 2, 2006
  15. Skwyre7

    Skwyre7 What's the catch?

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GreenGene @ Aug 2 2006, 09:31 AM) [snapback]296209[/snapback]</div>
    Gene, next time I'm up in NoVa, I'll be sure to wave to all the Barcelonas I see, just in case you are one of them. I'll wave to all the other Prii too.

    I did actually get a Prius wave in DC a couple weeks ago from a Driftwood with NY plates.

    I rarely get a wave in Richmond anymore. It's kind of sad. But most of the Prius drivers down here are older (I'm 26, so a lot of people fit into that "older" category) and seem to be concentrating on their own driving.
     
    #15 Skwyre7, Aug 2, 2006
  16. randreed

    randreed Same as it ever was . . .

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mootsman @ Aug 2 2006, 09:30 AM) [snapback]296207[/snapback]</div>
    That GREAT picture needs some sort of soundtrack added!
     
    #16 randreed, Aug 2, 2006
  17. Starfall

    Starfall New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GreenGene @ Aug 2 2006, 08:31 AM) [snapback]296209[/snapback]</div>
    What was once a clique phenomenon is now a mainstream fact of life. There is probably one Prius per square block in the part of town where I live. Most people just use it for transportation - it is a car, after all.

    A lot of people on PriusChat tend to view their cars & the whole "Prius experience" differently. No value judgment implied but it's just that it's unrealistic to expect others to conform to our norms & expectations.

    If I asked my neighbor what his car's name was or what mods he had made, he'd most likely search the ground for the screw which must have most assuredly come loose from my head ... <_<
     
    #17 Starfall, Aug 2, 2006
  18. nerfer

    nerfer A young senior member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clifford @ Aug 1 2006, 10:28 PM) [snapback]296064[/snapback]</div>
    Maybe they're too busy with the MFD, trying to get into no-arrows mode... :huh:

    I grew up in a rural area where everybody waved to each other anway. Nothing too big, just a couple fingers off the steering wheel. I've tried waving to people in similar cars here, but never gotten much of a response.
     
    #18 nerfer, Aug 2, 2006
  19. jimmyrose

    jimmyrose Member

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    Maybe they're all too focused on the MFD's energy/consumption screen to notice other Prii. :)
    I've waved a couple of times (Rand are you ignoring me? :p ), but haven't gotten one back.
    We do this all the time on motorcycles and it's pretty consistent and still pretty cool after 5 years of riding. The only ones who generally don't wave back (outside of being in a tight turn, using the clutch, etc.) I've found are Harley owners who seem not to respect metric bikes (aka rice-burners - disclaimer - not my term). Not all Harley owners, mind you, but 9 out 0f 10 times the guy who didn't return the wave is on a Harley. Just the way it is and no big deal.
    I wave anyway. I do it because it's a friendly thing for ME to do, not because I expect something back.
     
    #19 jimmyrose, Aug 2, 2006
  20. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    I do agree that we 'enthusiasts' here at PC are a far different breed than the majority of those who now own a Prius. Many of us were early adopters while the skeptics and more cautious stayed away until us guinea pigs worked out the kinks.

    I'm sure that some of these folks are not very interested in the inner workings of HSD, never even heard the term pulse & glide, and their eyes would glaze over completely as we started to discuss the data out put on the CAN-View.

    They bought a fuel efficient practial car at a reasonable price that had some nice amenities and maybe they thought that being a hybrid it was kinda cool and cutting edge...but the fascination ended there.

    Initially I was kinda disappointed that I wasn't so 'unique' any more when I started seeing a Prius on an almost daily basis. But now, I'm happy. I get a good feeling inside that this car is making it. It is accepted, it is main stream, it is "just another car"...and that is a darn good thing IMO. The fear and ignorance will go away and hybrids will be seen as the way cars should be, just as every car should have seat belts and air bags.

    Certainly there's still a place for us enthusiasts....we're going to be the ones to break in the PHEVs, to convince folks that those work and aren't inconvenient too. And one day we may catch up to Darell and be on the cutting edge of long range every-day EVs.
     
    #20 efusco, Aug 2, 2006
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