What is up with all of the Prius Hate ???

Meh, we deal with this every day, just gets more blatant when gas gets ridiculous! We just have to try and drive courteously, don't hold up the traffic to get that one more mpg, and IF they ask about the car, don't be preachy!

 

Re: What is up with all or the Prius Hate ???

I hate those rotten plug-in guys & their smug attitudes, especially when they lean out their windows and yell "gas guzzler!" at me.

 

People that do that much hating have issues. Since there are so many of them, I expect hard times ahead.

So you have a bunch of people that embrace racing on the streets with gas guzzlers, adding to highway deaths, road rage, and even higher gas prices.

Figure best any of us can do is look out for #1.

Keep driving a Prius or the like and being green at home.
Live frugal - not just because it's a good idea anyway, but because the hating gas guzzlers will push the fuel prices back into the recession zone - AGAIN.
Hopefully over time, the economy will kick some of them in the a$$ enough they will get it.

But again, just prepare for the future and live a lot better than these idiots.

 

I discussed this with a co-worker who drives a Chevy Tahoe. My roundtrip drive to work is 85 miles. His is six miles. His Tahoe is more green than my Prius, I had to admit.

There are some people who hate all things liberal, and they associate Prius with liberal, and I think that's where the hate mostly comes from.

 

That's a false admission.

Your Prius is more green than his Tahoe. His commute is shorter and greener. You burn more fuel them him in absolute quantities, but the distance you go is greater.

Prius is greener than Tahoe
6miles is greener than 85 miles

There is a very notable distinction that has to be made.

And even if you factor in the warmup cycle (1mile to 2 miles depending on climate/conditions) where you "only" get mid-30's, it is still greener all the way around.

 

I still think there is some envy and fear behind the hate. They may not want to admit it, but they hate the fact our manufacturers didn't create Prius first.

I saw a post from a frequent prius hater on facebook ... said they hate the fact Prius, so they claim ... takes away American jobs.

I said, so you'd like Prius to be mnfrd here in the states, or you'd like Ford or GM to make one that competes with Prius.

 

There is probably a little less hate for the 3rd gen Prius than for the 2nd. 2nd looks a little droopy in the butt. But likely still hate for 3rd gen as it looks like iconic Prius. I think definitely less hate for Prius v and c because they look like hatchbacks, not Kammback.

 

I'm pretty sure that my Prius consumes more gas and emits more carbon in 85 miles than his Tahoe does in 6 miles.

 

Agreed. That's a commute. Your commute is less "green" than his commute. Your car is more "green" than his car.

Your green car on an un-green commute is less favourable than his un-green car on a more green commute.

 

It's due to mostly 2 things.
1. Prius drivers driving below the speed limit.
2. Conspicuous conservation. This is a new economic term that represents a phenomenon where people make choices that signal to society that I am greener than you, holier than thou, etc.

 

Watch how the hate comes out as gas goes up and the Prius line Outsells many other "green" cars... I'm thinking 28K or more in March...

 

In a civilized country, such a driver would be ticketed.

This country is not civilized enough. In my area, there is no smog test and people commonly remove cats from old cars to sell them for scrap. Then I have to inhale the CO fumes following a ghetto car. Some cars drive with all bulbs burnt out. Nobody seems to care. Policemen are to busy sitting at donuts places.

 

Ok, so I've spent a couple hours browsing and posting (for Prius) on the many facebook 'hate Prius' pages. Here's the most common theme(s)

1) Complaints about slow Prius drivers. i.e. doing 55 when driver behind wants to go 65, etc or 25 in a 40, so they claim

2) erratic Prius drivers - changing lanes without signals, sudden lane changes

3) Apparently smug Prius drivers looking down their nose at others.

4) All the comments about how lousy they are - slow, gay, ugly, fat, look like a pig, etc... sometimes from diesel pickup drivers who want to smoke them out or run 'em over.

5) Don't get very good fuel economy, like 40 mpg when a clean diesel for example gets 50, etc....

 

I used to hate the Prius too, it had that "hey I'm better than you because I'm saving the earth!" attitude/connotation...like the earth needs to be save by polluting humans. But 5 years ago when I started reading about PSD and how the whole hybrid technology works on Toyota's HSD system I was captivated and intrigued. I must admit I was very skeptical how this half gas half electric system could work in synergy and what an oxymoron it was to save fuel by adding an additional drive train!

I hate how Toyota had made this technology to work so efficiently and reliably even though I still think that the hybrid system is still only a transition over to BEV, albeit a great technology. I'm starting to see BMW, Infinity, Ford, Kia, Hyundai, etc etc etc all starting to finally accept the idea that hybrids are the real deal and it's enough for them to finally follow Toyota's gamble and lead 15 years ago.

 

It's unbelievable. There is an incredible distrust for regulation in this country. It has become one of the 3 or 4 top talking-points of republicans seeking the presidency--going so far as to declare intentions to shut down the EPA. Regulation is the only thing that is going to stop people and/or companies from pouring waste into our water supplies or blowing toxic fumes directly into people's faces.

If you wanna see something that will really piss you off, this is a link to a website that is all about maximizing the amount of smoke you can sh*t out of your exhaust pipe:

How To Make SMOKE And Lots Of It! - Diesel Bombers

This website illustrates pretty well why regulation is needed. There is a very simple concept in economics called negative externalities. A negative externality is an event that causes a negative impact on a person or people not directly involved in the transaction (e.g. your kids getting asthma because of increased air pollution from an industrial plant). Pollution is a great example of a negative externality. So is energy dependence. The main significant consequence of a negative externality is that it encourages overproduction of whatever behavior is causing it. This is where government can provide a legitimate solution to the problem. Relying on the goodwill and decency of the public is hopeless. Just refer back to the pollution maximization link above if you are not convinced.

On a personal level, I would like to find the guys "smoking people out", strap them down, and fart directly down their throats if they love pollution so much.

 

Only problem is, the EPA showed just how useless they are in the realm of protecting the public during that BP oil spill fiasco. BP ran the show and basically shrugged off any orders they received (particularly in the area of suggested oil dispersants). I see cutting out a wasteful, gutless agency like that as a good thing. Of course, that doesn't address the rot of the underlying corporatocracy/crony capitalist system and associated lobbying that has facilitated the rampant corruption we see today.

Also, when regulations are being used to stifle industry and threaten the energy sector to the point that their increased costs *will* be passed to the customer, it's time to reform and reel them in, especially given the fragility of a worldwide economy already teetering.

 

I get a lot of people tailgating me in the Prius even when I'm going the speed limit, I tend to believe part of it is their rage against the Prius, the other part is they do this to everyone because they are not very conscious of the wear and tear on their own vehicle, stress level, and wallet.

It really takes good will power to drive for space, and not for time. I can understand that it's frustrating for somebody to be behind me going 50 in a 50 when they are used to going 65 in a 50, but I'm obeying the law if they are mad at me for that they deserve the ticket.

 

Just because an agency is doing something wrong doesn't mean we should get rid of it if the underlying need for the agency exists. It should be reformed. When I see ineffective or corrupt cops, my solution is not to dissolve law enforcement. I'm not educated enough about the performance of the EPA during the BP spill to really comment, but I do remember that there was an agency (not the EPA) whose job was to monitor off-shore drilling activities and it came to light that there were gift and sex exchanges between BP and that agency.

Regarding your point on regulation hurting energy companies and threatening a fragile recovery: It seems clear to me that oil companies are still earning record profits and receiving subsidies. As for regulation threatening economic recovery, I'd want to see some evidence that that is happening. Even if it is happening, you must weigh short-term gain versus long-term gain. If you use China as an example, they have toxic rivers, erosion, and horrible air pollution, and you have to look at the damage that is going to do to the economy in the long-run.

People who call you a "tree-hugger" or a "job killer" don't get the fact that the best arguments for sensible regulation and conservation are based on the protection of people and the economy--not some sentimental urge to help to poor bunny rabbits that will end up magically costing Joe the Plummer his job.

 

There's a HUGE difference between law enforcement and regulation ....

REV