VOTE your Priuschat Moderator a chance to drive the Lexus Hybrid for a year

[DaveinOlyWA]

well daniel, i think it only interests him because its different. i doubt if he is entertaining any notion of buying one. u know the old adage; "try anything once" ...nothing wrong with that

as far as "fun to drive"... i categorize my Zenn as more "adventurous" which i guess could be in the "fun" category

[efusco]

Originally Posted by daniel

I envy you that Tesla Model S you're going to get! I'm just kind of surprised that a Lexus, with its lower FE compared to the Prius, would interest you.

I think you're entirely missing the point...there's something to be gained from any new experience. I'd love to win a week with a Tahoe Hybrid too, so I can better understand what it is like, how it works, what features GM built into it...and to report back on it and to be able to share that experience with others.

The Lexus has some high tech features that are not even found in the 2010 Prius..I look forward to trying those out and maybe trying to encourage Tesla to incorporate some of those features in the Model S.

I want to be able to answer in a first hand, informative and experienced manner questions from people here, friends, and others who are trying to decide between the two which might be the better choice for them and why.

While your goal is Zero gas, not everyone shares that goal or puts it as such a high priority. Nor is it a practical near-term goal for many people in a rural area like where I live.

It's about experiences Daniel, good, bad, different, whatever...it's what it's about for me.

[daniel]

Originally Posted by DaveinOlyWA

as far as "fun to drive"... i categorize my Zenn as more "adventurous" which i guess could be in the "fun" category

Adventurous because it's unsafe, or because it's unreliable? I gather you've had a lot of problems with it. My Xebra has been surprisingly reliable.

Originally Posted by efusco

I think you're entirely missing the point... [...] While your goal is Zero gas, not everyone shares that goal ...

Yeah, I know. Sigh! But if I was emperor, things would be different around here! I think I should be emperor.

[DaveinOlyWA]

nah mine is reliable enough. i dont drive it more than half its range without charging any more. i used to do errands with it, but use the 2010 for that (otherwise the car would sit most of the time. as it is, i only drive it 5-7 times every two weeks) so now its back and forth to work plugging in at both ends and trips to store which is 3½ miles RT. my son has this developmental daycare group kind of thing once a week that is 5 miles RT. i drop him off for an hour and usually go home, charge up and come pick him up. not sure i would do that with a regular car, but considering it costs me less than a dime to do it, why not?

but then again, i guess its not the money and i have taken to his group thing on the bike a dozen so times this summer but probably only to justify my otherwise wasteful actions and to make my son feel better. ya see, in the Zenn he gets to ride in the front seat so he misses that a lot since he only gets to ride in it once to a few times a week now as opposed to 3-4 times a week like before

its just that, its always an adventure driving it. its either being acosted in the parking lot and grilled about the Zenn or having idiots tailgate me (usually on a double lane road) just to going flying around me to slam on their brakes at the redlight half a block down the road. either way, its definitely not boring.

[daniel]

Well, it's too bad you cannot use it more. While the Porsche waits to be worked on, I drive my Xebra everywhere I go in town. I do get a lot of attention from people wanting to know about it, and I enjoy that. I don't get tailgated, but maybe that's because Spokane is a more laid-back city than the Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia megalopolis with its legendary traffic snarl. I could not live in a place with that kind of traffic.

[DaveinOlyWA]

well, hopefully, i will have other options available soon

[cwerdna]

Wow, today I got notification that I am a winner of a 1 week test drive after all! I guess some people didn't get return their paperwork in time, didn't qualify or balked. 15 votes ended up making the new cutoff.

It's got to be notarized so I hope I don't run into trouble w/me having moved to WA recently and still having a CA license.

Too bad my commute now is only ~2.5 miles one way. It used to be 23+ miles one way.

[efusco]

Originally Posted by cwerdna

Wow, today I got notification that I am a winner of a 1 week test drive after all! I guess some people didn't get return their paperwork in time, didn't qualify or balked. 15 votes ended up making the new cutoff.

It's got to be notarized so I hope I don't run into trouble w/me having moved to WA recently and still having a CA license.

Too bad my commute now is only ~2.5 miles one way. It used to be 23+ miles one way.

I bet, the paperwork is a bit of a pain, but fortunately I got it all in. I got my confirmation e-mail that everything went through and they gave me a number I can call "any time after Sept. 30th" to schedule my 'test drive'.

[daniel]

Originally Posted by cwerdna

Too bad my commute now is only ~2.5 miles one way.

It's good, not bad, that your commute is shorter. You have reduced your footprint! You can still waste some gas during your "test" week, driving as far as you like in the Lexus. (But I hope you won't! )