My son hates my Prius- How can I mod it to be cool to a 13yo

[plusaf]

I certainly hope not! If you have, you run the risk of being called a "girlie man" by

it's pronounced "gur'-lee-mon'", right?

how about the "green flames" front side decals that appeared in some of the early Prius print ads?

[tappel]

Might be a gender thing. My 13 year old daughter is as excited about the Prius as am I...she can't get enough of it.
I returned home after being out for a few hours Sat. Seems as though two boys from her class just "stopped by". She reports that they didn't stay long as they wanted to see the Prius!

[daniel]

What do you care what a 13-year-old thinks? It'll be at least 12 more years before he even begins to metamorphose into a human being, assuming he's precocious. I actually don't care for the looks of my car. It's a question of function over style. That corny turtle shape gives it the c.d. that partially accounts for it's spectacular highway mileage. Tell the kid it's a free country and he can think whatever he likes, but he's got no say in the matter because it ain't his car.

[starla30]

Originally posted by daniel
What do you care what a 13-year-old thinks? It'll be at least 12 more years before he even begins to metamorphose into a human being, assuming he's precocious.

Hey! I resemble that remark.

[kenmce]

Your not thinking of letting some ungrateful child actually *drive* your Pri, are you? He'll get bubble gum all over the dash! His buddies will throw up in the back! You'll get upset every time he brushes the door on something. He won't appreciate it, he can't.

Assuming you can do it, you should look (together) for some kind of big four door, bench seat, four or six cylinder american steel. Something with big bumpers maybe. He'd prefer eight cylinders, but if you're paying for it let him wait. If he learns to drive on an underpowered car he'll learn to drive cautiously without you having to nag him. He can earn those last four cylinders.

I would suggest 1990's or 1980's vintage, 75,000K or less. Bring it home, put it in the garage or out back. Let him pimp it out any d**m way he pleases so long as you consider it safe. He and his buddies will have a project, have something to dream about, and you'll know where he is. Heck he might even learn something about cars while he's waiting.

On the very day he becomes eligible for a learners permit he can go get one and the car will be there and ready. Meanwhile, the *real* car will be spared his grubby attention.

[Bob Allen]

Looks are totally subjective. My partner, Lyle's, 15 year old son thinks the Prius is the coolest looking car on the planet, like a spaceship or submarine. His dad, he and I took his dad's 2002 Jetta TDI (formerly the coolest car) over to Moses Lake, WA, to take delivery of my Prius. Lyle immediately recognized that the Prius was, indeed cool looking.
Don't lose sleep over your 13 year old stepson's attitude. In a few months, it will all change, especially if he notices some celeb he thinks is cool, driving a Prius. You know in your heart of hearts that some of this is a reaction to your obvious affection for the car and his need to distance himself from yet another corny adult.
Hang in there.

[aarons12]

my 17 year old thinks my prius is pretty cool but he much prefers it in black...

[Tempus]

Pay a bunch of cute girls to come running up and oooh and aaah over the car.

[bruceha_2000]

And, of course, 'cool' changes. About 15 years ago, my neighbor's 16 Y/O son got a car and it HAD to be a VW Fox. The ONLY cool car around. His dad could have handed him the keys to a BMW or Porsche and he would have turned it down. Of course, now he is a contractor and drives an F-250 :-)

[Vernon]

While I was waiting for my Prius, I considered cancelling the order and getting another car only because I did not like the way it looked. My 14 year old son commented that my concern was "just vanity," and suddenly, appearance didn't matter to me anymore.