Why do people hate the Prius?

Other than my best friend's neighbor, who happens to work for Ford, and builds Taurus's here in Chicago, I have not really encountered too much of anything from anyone.

As for him, Mr. Ford, as I call him, he has the greatest myths and stereotypes regarding everything from people who buy a Toyota, to and loves to berate me for 'ignoring the blatant lies and illusions that the Prius people make',. and seems to think that I am literally stupid for putting my life at risk, and his job at risk, by driving a Toyota. When I remind him that I sold my Taurus for the Prius, he just gets redder, and it's fun to watch him steam up.

I told him that if he keeps getting so steamed, I will try to capture that energy to power my prius too... lol

 

I don't have a hate-story, but I know we had to sit at my grandfather's dining table to discuss our reason for not purchasing a GM. He worked for GM for 35 years. He agreed we had to make the "right" move to a vehicle that gets 50mpg. (Of course with EBH and the EV-mod, even in winter, never got below 55mpg.) However, now he is excited - the Volt is coming. So now we are beginning to get a few comments - but I wouldn't say hate. Our Prius still gets mostly curious questions.
For some, it is tough to admit US manufacturers have dropped the ball to foreign auto-makers. I hear that a lot (I live next to Detroit). In fact, Nissan's Leaf might give the Volt a run for its money. It all comes down to pricing at this point. Come on GM!! (please......

 

There is a lot of BS out there about the Prius. I don't think people realise that the stories of fabulous fuel economy are pretty much true. There is an old saying "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is", except with the Prius it IS true.

Here in the UK a modern diesel car gets much better fuel economy than an equivalent car you get in the States, but the Prius will still beat the diesels.

It really is a case of having your cake AND eating it. Read up more on the Prius, go for a test drive. You'll see why it is proving more and more popular.

 

I bought my Prius just as Mr. Sikes went for his road trip and the lady in New York hit the wall. So I had to explain to my daughter that I wasn't doing something crazy. As those cases have been cleared up, she now thinks I am even smarter than before because I predicted the car was not at fault in either case. (I know that position was common on this forum, but in the outside world, it was a different story.)

Here in Washington state, the Prius is popular and Toyotas in general are very popular. I would not expect any hateful comments. My dad was a transplant to Washington from Indiana, where every single one of his relatives worked for Chrysler. I had some explaining to do several years ago when I bought my first Toyota (a Corona!), but he got over it in time. I think the first gas crisis in the 70's really woke him up. I was getting 20+ MPG in my Corona and he was getting less than 10 MPG in this gawdawful Dodge truck he had.

 

Maybe it has to do with all the "celebrities" who drive them (when they have a chance to be seen on TV), or all the people who drive them and are insufferably condescending to others, looking at all of those not in a hybrid as baby seal clubbers?

I have read a couple of posts on here that are most annoying. I don't assume too much about anyone based on what they drive, but there are some here who assume that all of us who drive this type of car are exactly the same. Big clue...we are not.

That attitude by many of us who drive a good car might explain some of the "hate" but doesn't excuse it.

 

I worried a little about this at first, but have yet to see anything I would call Prius "hate".

I expected to be verbally abused by the "buy American" crowd, but have yet to experience that any place other than internet forums, where some people do get a little kooky.

I expected to be a target on the road for aggressive drivers, but the experience is no worse than my last car (Tacoma).

The Prius has been around long enough that people don't pay it any particular attention. It's just another car on the road. You would probably encounter stronger reactions (fear and contempt) to driving some of the new micro 2-seaters.

 

Envy, and...envy.

And being "new": humanity is not too fond of "new". The Prius is new and "people" tend not to be willing to (even try to) understand "new" - try to fight 100 or more years of "normal" cars mindset - it is very tough.

It took me several weeks to get used to the fact that when I turn on my Prius it doesn't make any starter noise. Now, I have actually the opposite problem - why are all these cars in need to make noise to start up

In the US you can add "hate" maybe also due to the fact that the "Japs" destroyed the supremacy of the GM/Fords, etc. and have a hard time maybe admitting that their US cars were crap in terms of quality. And now (since you have been spared from the EU Diesel technology that kicks nice person, honestly speaking ) even on FE.

In Germany there is no hate at all. You are already guilty for not buying a "superior german made car" - they are the only ones on the planet making good cars and all other manufacturer's cars are jokes. Live with it.
So there is not hate - you are simply pitied upon

 

Mostly it's the real or perceived douchebag pompousness of the owners. Like, go to google images and type "prius bumper sticker". It's so cliche with the impeach bush, end the war kind of rubbish.

Also, previously priuses have been a net cost; not really money saved, so it was a bit of a statement, and often people who make statements with their cars ARE douchebags.

This will be less of a problem as more of them and more priuses hit the roads. Most people I know make fun of me for having bought one. I expected this and take it in stride and laugh at myself, too. Just because the stereotype is so brutal against them. At least I haven't bought a miata (yet). Some friends of mine today proposed that instead of using the word gay we would from here on use the word Prius in its stead.

The hate is deep. Just roll with it. I expected it and don't care much (at all)

 

Oh, and speaking of hilarious, some good friends of ours who refuse to buy foreign (I guess they don't realize that domestic/foreign means almost nothing anymore regarding where the money is going) were incredulous--literally shocked--that we were getting a Toyota. The guy told his wife he couldn't believe I was putting my family at risk in a Prius.

But hey, the FUD worked out well, I got a wicked rate on this thing because sales went through the floor

 

I regularly encounter people who let their vehicles idle. When I bring this to their attention as having a negative impact on their wallets and our mutual air quality, they get very upset, often stating, "I don't want to wear the starter out." I comment that my vehicle has no starter and only idles when it needs to, often shutting down at stop lights. They generally get further upset at this point and exclaim, "What am I supposed to do, buy a new vehicle?!" I comment, no, just turn your vehicle off.

These encounters help to summarize people's fear of the unknown. We are in information overload - people do not know what to accept. At the same time, we are in Peak Everything - where resources and choices are becoming more limited and more expensive. Any suggestion of limits is greeted with skepticism because advertising has promised no limits. We are supposed to have what we want, when we want, how we want at minimal or no cost. Prius, Tesla, Nissan leaf and other vehicles indicate Detroit and Big Carbon (oil and coal companies) have been lying and we have been giving them our money for too long.

This leaves most people with "no easy alternative." People make decisions based on what they know, not what they do not know. When I show people a spreadsheet of my Prius fuel economy (≥ 50 mpg for almost 70k miles) they usually comment, "I don't believe it!" I can almost hear their brains asking, "How is possible for you to get 3X better fuel economy than me?! This implies they are foolish and spendthrift.

A granddaughter and grandfather are walking along the street. The granddaughter says, "Oh look! A $20 bill!" The grandfather replies, "Don't be foolish. If it were genuine, someone would have picked it up already!" So it is with Prius and similar vehicles. If these vehicles are so good, they would be driving one. Since they do not drive a Prius, they cannot be as good as the hyperbole.

The key to succeeding in Peak Everything is efficiency and conservation (vs. inefficiency and waste). Until we pay the European price for fuel, ca. $2.50 Liter ($10 gallon), the skeptics will continue to look at Prius as suspect.

 

The NY Times online had an article about the hybrid Volkswagen Toureg. Someone who commented on it mentioned the Prius and how all the people who drive it have this attitude of ohhhh look at me. I care more about the environment than all the rest of you and I'm so much better than you. The guy went on and on hating the car and the people who drive it. A few of us tried to educated him. How much good it did I don't know but I was so dissapointed that someone could be so ignorant about a great car, not to mention have this whole mental picture of what a Prius owner thinks!

Someone at work, who owns a hybrid Accord, busts my chops all the time about how everytime there's a car slowing down traffic it's "one of those cars" as he puts it. He only leased the Accord because it was the right price. He's not into hybrids. Other than him, I haven't come accross any true "haters" since I've owned the car. I think now that everyone else is coming out with a hybrid car the Prius doesn't stand out as much as it used to. There also seems to be quite a bit of them on the road around here.

Maybe it's just certain parts of the country???

 

One thing you will realize is that other drivers on the road will try to cut you off much more when you drive a Prius than other cars. I found this to be true because since I got my Prius I've been cut off more than any other car I owned. I think this is because most people think that the Prius is a slow car and it's going to hold them up. There are a lot of morons out there.

 

From what I've seen that's a lot of it- backlash against something being pushed by Hollywood types (some of whom may be percieved as being a bit hypocritical).

 

ignore your brother in law. his feelings are very justified. he makes a living from people driving high maintenance, unreliable cars; everything a Prius is not

 

It is tougher to say 'there is nothing you can do' when there is an easy way to start to wean yourself from the ICE. As EV, Fuel Cells and the like, become viable and no sweat, eventually the Prius will be old tech. I can see hot rodders in 50 years fawning over the Prius as the last way to get an ICE.

 

Not a bad point.

The starter argument is a bit different; the Prius has a huge motor to start back the engine. I did read on CNN about it yesterday, though, and it calculated gas savings for a normal car vs money lost on starter wear and it was still a net gain, but it is admittedly a pain to manually start/stop an engine constantly. I certainly don't do it in my other car unless I anticipate a wait more than a minute or two. I never bought a Prius to save the environment, to be honest, it was a purely financial calculation with a very miniscule part of that motivated by being interested in the tech.

 

When I threw out my PC with all of that buggy Microsoft software and replaced it with a MacBook and an Acer netbook running free Linux software, they laughed.

When I threw out all my incandescent light bulbs in 1996 and replaced them with compact fluorescents, they laughed.

When I refused to buy another "big three" auto because of lousy fuel economy and chose a Jetta TDI, they laughed - didn't I know that diesels won't start in the winter?

Now I'm in the process of replacing all of my compact fluorescents light bulbs with led lights, and have packed in my trusty 9-year-old Jetta for the even greater fuel economy of a Prius. And yes, you guessed it, they're still laughing.

 

To be honest with you I don't think people "hate" The Prius.

What really is happening is that The Prius has been succesful and is different and Iconic.

That can breed strong feelings of loyalty as well as the opposite. I don't really see it as "hate" so much as ignorance.

I have a friend, and he is a friend, but when I told him I had considered strongly the Toyota Prius, he started in with all the usual stereotypes and mistaken concepts. Battery Replacement, Battery Production being the scurge of the planet, stereotypes about "smug" owners...

I just calmly countered.

The Prius is just a victim of it's own success. I think some people just aren't as receptive to change, or open minded enough to research.

I don't think my friend and his wife, given their lifestyle would want a Prius under any circumstance. In other words, I don't think they would drive a hatchback whether it was a Matrix, Yaris, Fit, or Prius.....

I don't know if it's hate, I think it's mostly ignorance with a degree of fear of something "new" or that challenges their concept of what an automobile should be or has been for most of their lifetime.

I think Prius owners can be proud that they own and drive a vehicle that illicits that strong a reaction from people.

I think it's a good sign that up or down, good or bad, you have a product that is revolutionary enough to make some people nervous.

 

Not mentioned so far is the good chance that a Prius owner MIGHT believe in anthropological global warming (AGW) and that identifies his sympathies in the vicious political divisions that are wracking the country. I have a long time "friend" who is an engineer who can't discuss my FFH technically at all because he can't get past the fact that "Obama" took money from him to help me buy my car in C for C and he knows I believe in AGW. He dismisses the fact that it lessens our oil dependence on the people that hate us. So it goes!