They have this empty plant in Mississippi ... then the Georgetown KY plant has a lot of capabilities. ...

Bob Wilson

Those plants aren't in Japan. Now do you get it.

I don't buy my car to make a job for someone else. I buy my car so I can afford to keep my job.

Bob Wilson

What do you do?

Mostly I try to keep my wife happy but I'm paid to be a network engineer. The Prius keeps my daily and weekend commutes affordable and the occasional site visits within reason.

Bob Wilson

I guess we have something in common.

:hug:

If finances were the bottom line, you would have bought a used $4000 1980s honda civic. But you didn't. Face it ... you bought the Prius because you think it is super awesome cool !!!!

In response to the original post ... gasoline prices are actually on the rise. Have you noticed ? Here in CA, the average prices I am seeing are around $2.69/gallon for 87octane. (it seems like it was just under $2.00 not too long ago). Today, the Saudi Prince said he will not increase oil output until oil stabilizes around $80/barrel. As a result, oil prices shot up even further today.

We sold a 2001 Echo for $3k, which the 2010 Prius replaces. That Echo had 29,500 miles on it and other than one insurance company repaired accident and some hail dimples on the hood, was in perfect working order. It still had the original tires and the depth was very good, not even close to the wear markers and no abnormal patterns.

Now we will be a two, Prius family with a 2003 NHW11 and a 2010 ZVH30. The NHW11 will remain the commuting car and the 2010 my wife's goin' for groceries car. It replaces a compact Echo with a family sedan hatchback; the improved mileage means even she will save fuel; the new car warranties means we'll get at least a decade of reliable service; and it is very quiet. We'll also use it for cross-country trips instead of the 8 MPG RV. Did I mention we also get an insurance discount because it is a Prius?

So we're pretty happy. We have two of the best cars on the road with outstanding reliability, quiet, and efficiency. We can use either based upon the trip requirements and have the RV for "camping." I think we're in pretty good shape.

As for Prius envy, darn, sounds like a personal problem. As Jesus said, 'You should not covet thy neighbor's ass."

Bob Wilson

With a change from an Echo to a Prius, the coveting would not be of the neighbor's ass anymore, but now the neighbor's oxen. That's a much more desireable vehicle.

In fact that is what made this deal possible. I was not going to replace a perfectly good, NHW11 Prius already getting 52 MPG with a ZVH30. For us, that old Echo was 'toast.'

We sold it to a co-worker who has been commuting in a small, Toyota pickup truck. His family includes three kids, the oldest is in the 6th grade. With the Echo, they can load everyone or at least two adults and two kids without a problem and the trunk has a lot of space. They also have the option of folding down the rear seats and two taking oversized loads around. He and his family will lot more use of that Echo than we were getting.

Bob Wilson

2010 Prius model code is ZVW30. The W indicates the platform; W30 indicates third generation of Prius (xW) platform.

Toyota's model codes indicate engine series and platform. Before they had too many letters, the engine series was just followed by the platform; fine for Corolla (E platform, e.g. model codes ZRE152, ZZE150) and older engines that only had one letter, but they've now run out of single-letter codes and moved on to two-letter ones. They appear to have a three-letter limit on the combined code, so have encoded the second letter of the engine series and the first letter of the platform code to get the middle letter of the model code. That makes it impossible to know what the first letter of the two-letter platform code is, of course.

Anyway, the first three models were coded NHW10, 11, 20, from NZ engine + xW platform. The 2010 car changes to a 2ZR-FXE engine so the model code changes to ZR engine + xW30 platform = ZVW30.

Info from Toyota I.D. Codes (after 1977).

Thanks! I knew that but early in the morning, the coffee hadn't kicked in.

Bob Wilson

I rest my case.

Oh I agree. Also Bob is a nosey bugger and wants to know how the Prius ticks, so without a Prius that is a little hard to work out.

We can all thank people like Bob for their wealth of knowledge which they put their hand in their pocket to find. Thanks Bob for finding the 2010 Prius super cool and fantastic and I look forward to reading you future reports and findings.

I name Bob but there are many more. I wont start to list them here because if I leave one out I might offend, better to offend a whole raft of people than one or two.:target: