"Why Aren’t Black Folks Driving Electric Vehicles?" Because of articles like this

Come to think of it, I have never seen a black person driving a Prius. BMWs, Lexus, Mercedes, but never a Prius. I think it's because they have more money than me.

 

Drive a few hundred miles in a southern predominately "black" rural area and take note of how many Caddies there are parked in the driveway of run-down "shanty" type homes.

Not being racist, just factual.

 

The question is racist and the article is garbage.

 

It's not really racism since there is no hatred or racial superiority involved. There is stereotyping going on in the article and in this thread of which I am guilty but definitely not racism.

 

It's much harder to make a getaway in a Prius (it's easily chased down), or pack 7 illegitimate kids with different fathers into a Prius (only seats 5), than say an Escalade (V8, seats 8).

These are factual observations and not in any ways racist. Just sayin'.

 

actually, a local african american radio talk show host drives a prius and everyone has been kidding him all week because he said he got a ticket for going 83 mph and no one believes the car will go that fast.

 

Except these are not actually your factual observations. Just sayin'.

 

None of his listeners remember Al Gore's son getting snagged going 100 mph, a mere four years ago? July 4, 2007.

Leno got good use out of that incident -- not Gore's speeding and drugs, but the Prius going 100.

 

God...Damn this is a terribly written article. Anyway, we already know the reason people (not just blacks) don't drive "environmentally safe" vehicles.

1 - Image: People want to drive something sexy and powerful... period

2 - Cost: When sexy and powerful don't meet your budget, most folks go for the best deal. I can't say I blame people for choosing a $15000 econobox because of the low interest (some 0%) for periods as long as 60 months.

I realize comparing those vehicles to the prius is like apples and oranges but when it comes down to it, people don't care how much they'll spend on fuel throughout the life of the vehicle. They just want the best deal out the door. I've never seen 0% financing on a Toyota Prius, Chevy Volt, or Nissan Leaf.

 

I got mine at 0% interest through Toyota financing. This was also back when Toyota was giving the Prius away due to recalls.

 

come to think of it, some people don't even care if its 20% interest as long as the monthly payments are low. they'll pay the car off for 30 years and claim they got a good deal.

 

<-----This straight Jewish folk drives a Prius

 

none of his listeners know who al gore is.

 

I really hope that is a reflection of my age, not the education and awareness of his listeners.

 

Oh, alright, call it racial stereotyping then.

I try not to identify people by their skin colour, except when they're the same colour as me. Just to be funny, and to make a point. When I say something like 'That white dude...', sometimes people think I'm making a wry commentary of the lack of whites in the neighbourhood. But no, I'm poking fun at the basic human tendency to identify people by their skin colour. Racism is a broad spectrum, but that seems to be where it starts. All we need is an identifiable minority, and we begin to make assumptions.

 

i'm kidding. it's a sports talk show and most of the callers tend to swing the other way. he did get a few calls from prius owners but my point is, do we really know what percentage of each identifiable segment of the population drives a prius? and has this question ever been asked about any other car?

 

+1

Below, we have another wanabe author, trying to convey the same lame presumptions as the author Danny highlighted in the OP:

Say Anything » “Communities of Color” Left Out of Hybrid/Electric Vehicle Revolution

Love the comments ... some of which roightfully bust the author's chops for talking so presumptiouly ... as though he's got it all figured out.

 

LOL, that atlanta post article is off by a lot

The question is not racist at all; studying racial spending habits is not "racist".

 

There is hope for him - I thought he was a terminal drama queen!

 

Would 'profiling' be a more acceptable euphemism?

Are spending habits different because people are different colours on the outside? Should white people all drive the same kind of car, because they're all the same kind of people? Should black people drive a different kind of car, because they're different from white people?

Maybe the racism is too systemic to be obvious.

The very few times I've completed a survey that asked for my 'race', I put 'human'.