Prius Myths and their Rebuttals

That is a perfectly valid point. As an enthusiast, your needs and wants are much different than someone just needing a reliable commuter car.

I have several friends that spend ridiculous amounts of money on old cars, but that's what they like to do. One has the largest collection of running Stanly Steamer vehicles. I can't fault them any more than I can fault private pilots spending money on gas for their planes, or spending ridiculous amounts of money to sail our boat for "free".

Tom

 

The invalid part of the remark is calling the Prius an 'appliance car.' That is simply an opinion, no more useful than me posting that trucks are appliances.

 

Keep in mind that was at the depths of The Great Recession. You may have to wait for the next economic meltdown to get your cheap gas.

 

lol what? why is that a political statement? and then you call all of us liberals. So you're saying it's not okay for Republicans to care about our environment?

Do you know what our environment gives us? The food you eat, the water you drink, the air you breathe is all effected. We learn about this in grade school, it has nothing to do with being right or left.

You say you are conservative, yet you're chastising others for making a choice to be conservative on gas and therefore giving away less money to rich families in the middle east. How do you think those 18 year olds can afford multiple 100k+$ supercars? It's because we keep buying their oil, DUH!

I live in the Midwest, I've gone to GMI, and I think you're carrying a political chip on your shoulder that makes little sense.

 

Really?

Krelborne (Sorry if I butchered the name) said it himself "Unless you want something more fun to drive"

If you think fun to drive, and a Prius is one of the first things that pops into your mind, then you are a strange man.

Im also not totally against alternate sources for energy, including hydrogen, what point im trying to get across here is that the prius is not The Lord himself in a car.

Most people Ive asked for opinion in the subject agree, its an ugly car, that can barely move out of its own way, and the initial cost far outweighs any benifits of purchasing it for the sole reason of Fuel Effiency.

 

Did you miss the part about I'm for drilling more here in america? I also have found that the prius is targeted to a liberal audience.

The enviroment today, at least by me is a hell of a lot cleaner then it was back in the day. I live next to an airport, and by multiple heavy industries, im aware of air quality issues.

My family is also involved in farming, I understand what gas/oil prices does to the bottom line there too.

Its a political statement for the yuppies that make 100k plus a year, yet buy a prius? what happened to making it big and buying a lincoln, or a caddy? Guess I was raised diffrent. A lot of the folks I see driving em in the uppity neighborhoods, are not the type to be concerned about gasoline prices.
Where is this other money going? Oh wait, to the japs, not to American autoworkers.

 

Personally, I bought a Prius after driving a Camry into the ground (and beyond - with a couple doors from a junk yard after being t-boned and a beer can shell clamped around the exhaust in a couple places to keep the noise down). The Prius was simply the best and cheapest option out there that gave me everything I wanted - useful toys (rearview camera, bluetooth phone), no maintenance needs/a warranty (I have a Triumph Spitfire in the garage for wrenching), easy to park (I abhor driving big cars), lots of room inside, and good mileage. Yes, cheapest - I could not get the combination of features I wanted for less even if I compromised on one (I would take somewhat lower mileage).

It's odd that people don't blink an eye if someone rolls up in a car with a $3000 leather option, but if they roll up in a Prius that has about a $3000 'hybrid premium' suddenly there's some big statement being made.

 

I give up. The guy obviously doesn't have the facts or the capacity to put up a good argument. He is simply here to sling mud. If you doubt me go check out his Dodge Durango forum.

Just another troll with a political chip on his shoulder.

 

Ford Fusion Width: 72.2" not 80". 80" is the car with mirrors.

Look, the engine bay is much smaller in the Prius so it doesn't need that extra length. That doesn't mean the interior is 15" smaller, does it?

Prius Leg Room: 42.5/36.0
Fusion Leg Room: 42.3/37.1 or (Hybrid: 42.3/36.7)
Malibu Leg Room: 42.2/37.6 (where's the 17 inches that I'm missing?)

Prius Hip Room: 52.7/51.2
Fusion Hip Room: 54.0/53.4
Malibu Hip Room: 53.0/52.1

Prius Luggage Capacity: 21.6 ft^3
Fusion Luggage Capacity: 16.5 (Hybrid 11.8)
Malibu Luggage Capacity: 15.1 ft³

 

And I dont have the slightest problem with the reasons you bought a car for.

The people that git rid of perfectly good cars in order to buy a prius to save money or help the enviroment, thats BS.

Also, the extra pricetag on a hybrid probably does turn off some potential buyers. I question if these cars profit toyota whatsoever

 

Something wrong with the forum?

You havent given me any other reasons then its good for the enviroment that I cant respute.

A Prius IS NOT cost effective for someone with my driving habits

 

Are we drilling here in America? Nope. So it's still going to the middle east whether or not your intentions are for oil here or oil elsewhere. And it doesn't matter. If you're conservative you should want to conserve our oil anyways.

People still buy Lincolns and Caddies. But how many people make 100k a year? I certainly don't! Do you? Even if I did, it doesn't mean I'll spend frivolously on a new caddy. They are nice, but boy they are expensive too. Not to mention, they are just as flashy as a Prius but it's like flaunting wealth.

I didn't buy the Prius because I wanted to make a political statement. I bought it because I liked the gadgets! Other cars for the same price didn't have the same gadgets as it did in 2004. Why do you have to assume that it has to be a political statement?

 

He already posted calculations based on gas at 3.00 per gallon (which it is definitely not 3.00 per gallon in chicago, more like 3.80 at least) and based on your 18,000 per year mileage and it showed you'd recoup the cost of the Prius in three years, and then you'd start making money after that.

MATH DOESN'T LIE!

 

Oh, but please don't make it out to assume that I'm trying to get you to buy a Prius. I think you should get whatever car you want.

I bought the Prius cause I liked it. 'Nuff said! I don't need someone telling me what I can or cannot buy.

 

At 3.54 a gallon, with a 15 mpg average. I spend $4295.41.

With the prius, I would spend $1352.28 (50 city 45 hwy)

$2943.13 savings a year.

Now with a car payment how would I save money? It would take me 3 years if the car was 8829.39

now how about a more realistic 15-20k? Then its 4,5,6? Not worth it my friend, plus higher insurance, plating, registration etc.

 

Any forum that supports attacks on other forums does indeed have a problem.

1. How does your fleet reduce harmful emissions output better than a Prius does?

2. How does your fleet reduce oil consumption and increase national security? Keep in mind that oil reserves are finite so drilling in the US barely makes an impact in our total consumption and you are still wasting the resource faster than those in a Prius.

No one ever said it was the right car for you. You signed up on this site throwing your own rocks.

You talk about the Prius being ugly and not fun to drive but look at your fleet? I've owned many sporty and very fast vehicles in my lifetime yet the Prius is my favorite so far. People change when situations change. The smart ones do anyway.

 

And in the end you would have a newer car with better amenities and doesn't pollute as much. That is how most people purchase cars. I realize you are still young so maybe you don't have the lifetime experience some of the other people do?

*edit* I didn't mean that to be as condescending as it was written. Sorry.

 

Yup, that would be me. I sold a 1996 Dodge Dakota for $750...

 

Buying a new car period is usually not the best way to save money. But if you are already set on buying a new car, a Prius has been found to save far more money than it's cost premium (Consumer Reports did a decent analysis on this and they're pretty hostile to hybrids actually - they had to retract and correct their initial analysis due to a pretty embarrassing error in their depreciation calcs).

Buying a prius does help the environment, that's simple and obvious math. A number of reputable lifecycle analysis's have settled that question of facts.

You're a GM grade idiot if you think hybrids don't profit Toyota. They haven't sold 2 million of them at a loss (after running down how they were doing a bit, I actually tossed a bit of TM ADR in my retirement portfolio - they have a tech lead for the upcoming transitions).

 

I agree (from a "sportiness" perspective), but there are a lot of other popular cars that I would also say the same thing about. Most of my rentals, for example, except perhaps that Mustang.