The Car Czar - Sac Bee - Why Prius shouldn't be COY

I'd say anything besides a convential car would have resulted in the same reaction. "I don't know it, so it must be wrong."

But lets look at some specific points.

1) A component on a car with a limited life. Hmmmmmm. What a shocking development. Come on. All cars have these and some are very expensive. Let's see, there's the engine, the timing chain, the transmission. Depending on the manufacturer, these items may have to be repaired or replaced many times before the Prius main battery wears out.

2) Another shocking development. Drivers might have to change the way they drive. Drivers of the world unite; you have nothing to lose but your bad habits.

3) Gimme a break. Hard brakers need to change their habits regardless of the car they drive. It's dangerous and wasteful.

4) Virtually all work. No, just the specialized technology. How much does a mechanic have to know about hybrids to change oil, replace brake shoes, align the front end? Besides, experienced Toyota drivers and unbiased surveys know that Toyotas require much less mainteance.

 

What JeffG said. This "analysis" is almost laughable.

Jack

 

Chrysler Crossfire?
Have you looked at that thing? There's no new technology to it and nothing special except that it's very ugly and overpowered.

I really like my 2004 Prius, but I'm the first one to say it is goofy looking. I hope plenty of Crossfires are sold, because Prius is a really beauty by comparison.

 

I have. A 2 door, 2 seat, RWD Chrysler with an MSRP of almost $35k! Geez!

 

There had to be SOMEONE dissing something about the Prius. In all my years of following car-related reviews, very few cars have recieved the positive press that the Prius has. Note that the author has no qualms about the quality or use of the Prius, just the fact that it is new technology.

The time for change has finally arrived. Prius is the first. The rest will follow. He will have to learn to live with it.

 

What a dolt.

Nothing but sour grapes. He sees the future of cars, and doesn't like it because it means people like him who want to drive gas guzzling SUVs using jackrabbit starts and stops are going to slip into the minority. Then they will look like the fools they are.

What may surprise him is that this exact technology can be used to turn an eight cylinder engine into supercharged sports performer. In short, it makes ANY engine more powerful with better acceleration and fuel economy. That is exactly what Motortrend saw.

 

BAAaaaa HAAaaaaa Haaaaaaa!!!!

Boy what a difference 15 months makes . . . :lol:

\"Fuel needs of SUV a drag
I don\'t know about you, but I\'m hurting. Quite badly, in fact.\"
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<a href=\'http://www.sacbee.com/content/business/wheels/\' target=\'_blank\'>http://www.sacbee.com/content/business/wheels/</a>
[unfortunately free registration needed to read more than what I posted above]

He also goes on to say:
<span style=\'color:green\'>"And for those of you who are about to choke on your morning java as you scream, "What about hybrids?" - there\'s a great Web site that can calculate the cost of a hybrid as well as annual gas savings at www.40mpg.org. This site is a must for anyone who is considering the purchase of a hybrid."

40 MPG??? I'd be mad if I only got 40 MPG!!! :mrgreen:

But I’m hurting too Mr. Car Czar dude . . . laughing my nice person off!

(No this isn’t an April Fool’s joke)

 

Oh no.. new technology. Be afraid, everyone, change is bad.

So the battery dies someday. Don't they all? That's pretty much a consequence of it being... a battery. I'd like to see any car that can go 8 years witout some major maintenance costs. At least if the battery dies, you just replace it. End of story.

If the timing chain goes out (well on some cars like my husband's old Saturn) you replace the timing chain, its plastic housing, the engine head, a few gaskets, probably cylinders as they get all bashed up by the valves, and also probably an oil pump in addition to lots of stuff I'm forgetting. And either spend all your free time for a month putting it together again or pay someone a load of cash to do it for you.

My non-Prius Tech husband can do quite a bit of work on Prii at the dealership, and if he can't do it, sure he sends it over to a Prius Master Tech. Wouldn't you want him to? They have the training, and nobody else does. I prefer people who know how to handle those things working on my car.

HMMMMM..... let's think about that.

 

I really enjoy it when threads get resurrected from the dust bin. I mean, this should have had a lot more comment added to it than it has had.

The only arguments he has is that independent garages are "out of the loop", which won't be forever, and that the technology is new, and all technology starts out as new at some point in time. Well, neither of these conditions are critical or all that important. independent garages get a lot of business anyway, and most of their business is out of warranty business. And, anyway, an independent garage can do all the above mentioned maintenance such as brakes, alignments, tires, suspension work and other types of general maintenance right now. If the hybrid components are going bad right now and folks are going into independent shops to get service, rather than going to Toyota for warranty work, something is wrong on both ends, manufacturing and purchaser.

The Prius was very deserving of Car of the Year on more fronts than just being a hybrid.

 

Well, my indepent garage isn't out of the loop. When I ordered my Prius in Oct 2004, I asked. And they answered "No Problem. We already have several customers who own one, so we've been getting people trained."

When I went in recently I reminded them about the new Prius I was getting and they said "We're ready when your car is. We do everything but the warranty work."

My car dealership hates me. They know I won't be bringing the car to them very much. I also am not buying the Toyota Warranty from them either. We're still debating but it will definitely come from here if we go for it.

4 more days and counting!!!! :multi:

Lisa

 

Congrats on the car.

My selling dealer is in a town about 110 miles away from where I live. They knew I wouldn't use their service department much if any, however when I had an issue with the factory setting of my steering wheel alignment the service manager was more than happy to arrange for correction. They do not have an alignment rack and have Les Schwab do all of their alignments. So, instead of me driving 110 miles to get it aligned, they had me do it at a local Less Schwab and they paid for the work done. Very nice. I'm very happy with that dealer.

I will still have a Toyota garage do most of the work to my car that is beyond maintenance, but Costco is going to get my tire business, and I will do my own oil changes with the materials and filter I like, etc.

I believe there is plenty of space in the auto service world for independent operators, but the Prius does make their life more complicated.

 

Hi All,

The guys only "real" point would be that of having to take the car to Toyota for repairs.

Well - I have to say.... I've had high performance sports cars for years and I'd NEVER take one of them to some "garage". Why on earth would I take a high-tech beauty like the Prius to some grease monkey?

Call me foolish for paying dealer prices, but I'll take my prized vehicles to the makers for service and repairs.

Ron (yoda)

 

moran, idiot!! :cussing:
I am canceling my sac bee subscription.

 

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Better yet . . . just make sure you don’t visit his independent auto repair shop with your Prius!!!!

The BEE has its good points, just not necessarily the Car Czar of Biased Misinformation!

 

well i was gonna flame the guy also, but look at the date on the OP. back then, there was ALL misconceptions about the car. im sure he's changed his tune by now

 

Geez what a boob like David Booth (The National Post) here in Canada.

I suppose if the SES light had come on in my former 2000 GMC Sierra this character could have fixed it? I assume he has several thousand dollars worth of OTC diagnostic equipment, the GM-certified software updates for that OTC diagnostic equipment, and an understanding of what the SES even means?

How about the 2004 and up GM cars like the "new" Malibu that need the CANBus dongle to talk to the CANBus vehicle network?

How about the millions of cars with "interference fit" motors and timing belts? The belt is a royal PITA to change, but if it breaks you blow the motor.

If I had a 1969 Chevy C10 pickup with points in the distributor and a grossly over-jetted Holley carb, I'm sure that character would have no problem keeping it running.

Chrysler Crossfire? There are quite a few sitting in dealerships here. During winter they were covered with 2 ft of snow. Two words: PEEE and UUUUU.

 

My local mechanic does the work on my Prius. No he can not yet work on the hybrid components but everything else is just a car. The scheduled maintenance is routine for the most part. He wants training on the hybrid system first because it is new and interesting and second because he sees the number of cars out there with hybrid systems and he wants to stay in business. Finally he told me he now has a "half dozen" customers who have purchased hybrids. He got to look over a Hybrid Escape. I would like to drive one but the dealer does not have them sitting around.

 

"But is the Prius really deserving of a Car of the Year designation by a leading, well-respected automotive periodical? I say no. "

Well, then I suggest he start his OWN magazine, develop a reputation for, oh, about 50 years, THEN he can give an opinion on what Motor Trend should or shouldn't recommend.

Until then, his pathetic sour-grapes whining is worth crap.