Dead Silence

[bps]

This is a great thread!

My First Prius Moment: I just picked up my new Prius 2 days ago and had traveled out of state to get mine. Anyway, the next morning I am chatting with 8 of my coworkers when someone asked if I got my new car the night before. After proudly saying yes, one of them asked what I got.

I said, "A Toyota Prius."

"Oh", he replied. "Does it get good gas mileage?"

"Yep. The dealership was 170 miles away and I used just under 3 and one-quarter gallons of gas coming home."

He stared at me with a blank, almost stunned look on his face. "What? You're telling me that you went 170 miles on just over 3 gallons of gas?"

"Yep."

The entire room went dead silent. Several of my coworkers drive big trucks and they were awe-struck, and didn't know what to say.

Inside I was smiling as big as could be...

Bryan
(51.8 average on my trip home from the dealer)

[qbee42]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(KMO @ Jun 30 2006, 12:36 PM) [snapback]279159[/snapback]</div>

It seems that US drivers seem to get higher mileage. Don't know why - better climate? different driving patterns? the coolant storage? smaller wheels?
[/b]

It's from driving on the right side of the road: less drag going with the grain instead of against it; that sort of thing. :P

Tom

[john1701a]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bee13 @ Jun 30 2006, 09:15 AM) [snapback]279074[/snapback]</div>

I'd like to hear about your Prius "Precious Moments." Please share them.
[/b]

Mine was with another Prius owner earlier today.

As he drove by, the realization that I was carrying 2 kayaks (one almost the length of the Prius itself) on top suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks. The excitement in his eyes was quite obvious, making his furious waving totally unnecessary. I saw him look upward, then the resulting huge smile.

It seemed darn clear that he wasn't aware that Prius was capable of such a feat. My demonstration fixed that.

The experience actually caught me completely off guard. It's too easy to forget that most owners don't participate online like we do. So their knowledge comes only from personal actions and the first-hand observations of others. Today, I was an "other". It was pretty sweet!

[ScottY]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ Jul 1 2006, 05:57 PM) [snapback]279793[/snapback]</div>

It's from driving on the right side of the road: less drag going with the grain instead of against it; that sort of thing. :P

Tom
[/b]

Another reason might be that we have the coolant storage tank and they don't?

[darelldd]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ScottY @ Jul 1 2006, 06:04 PM) [snapback]279865[/snapback]</div>

Another reason might be that we have the coolant storage tank and they don't?
[/b]

Must be that EV switch costing them all that mileage.

[bee13]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bps @ Jul 1 2006, 05:03 PM) [snapback]279783[/snapback]</div>

...they were awe-struck, and didn't know what to say.

Inside I was smiling as big as could be...
[/b]

Bryan,

It's really interesting to be there at the precise moment of realization when traditional vehicle owners/users get the picture. I don't think one is being smug if she or he simply shares the truth about the Prius' economy numbers. In my mind, the Prius and the great mileage it achieves speak for themselves.

Granted, the Prius ultimately still gets all its propulsion from gasoline, and the Prius is considered intermediate technology spanning the gap between petro-based fuel and whatever the next generation of auto energy turns out to be. Despite all that, the level of increased efficiency over the current automobile mainstream is still pretty awesome. It's just taking higher fuel prices to demonstrate the value and good sense of new, high-efficiency vehicle technology.

Still, it's great fun to watch the light flicker in others and then come on full, isn't it.

[rogerSC]

Last year I was working in Santa Cruz, and everyone knows about what the Prius can do there, so I had to wait to see people be a little taken back until I started working in Santa Clara this year. I'm getting about 55mpg on my commute, and whenever this is mentioned, it really quiets most people down while they internalize that number.

Seems that the idea that you pay more for a Prius and don't get the EPA mpg is pretty rife these days, due to a lot of media misinformation. So when you first tell people that you commute in a Prius, they get ready to sneer at how stupid you were to overpay on such a large purchase that doesn't deliver what it promises.

It is satisfying to see people be surprised by my gas mileage, but not exactly in the way that I had expected...

-Roger