1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Thanks but I give up!

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by Accomac, May 4, 2012.

  1. Accomac

    Accomac Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 3, 2012
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    Pa.
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Hello and I guess goodbye!

    After putting a down payment on a 2011 Prius Two I found your forum and decided to join.

    Then I found the topic "What every newb should know" and I read it 3 times. Then I read the part that describes the HSI and how best to learn to drive a Prius effectively.

    After that was done I called the dealer and cancelled the order and got my DP back!

    I think it's great that everyone here is so committed to bringing things to light that I never even thought of. I'd have done better if I had found the forum FIRST and then looked at the car!

    I was impressed with the way it drove and it seemed to be a non-offensive friendly sort. But............ after reading the little I did that was enough. There is no sense listing all the do's and don't's that I can't be bothered with. I need to be able to get in car and have it go whether it's sunny or snowy and I don't have time for snow tires or any other sort of babying to get the top mpg.

    Thank you all very much, it your effort to provide information you have saved me a ton of money. Whether or not you intended it to be that way I'm not sure, but I am grateful I found your site.


    Regards,

    Accomac
     
  2. San_Carlos_Jeff

    San_Carlos_Jeff Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2005
    871
    160
    0
    Location:
    Northern California
    Vehicle:
    2012 Chevy Volt
    Model:
    N/A
    Sites like this, and topics like the one you read are frequented by mostly fanatics. The vast vast majority of Prius owners just hop in, drive it like any other car, and enjoy the high mileage, space, and reliability.

    You may want to reconsider...

    -Jeff
     
  3. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    11,627
    2,530
    8
    Location:
    Southwest Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    No worries; if the time spent here helped make you a more informed consumer it was time well spent. The Prius is not for everybody, all the time. Stay open-minded :)

    That said, the car *is* a get up and go car. You do not have to think about it to use it, and its stellar reliability will keep it on the road more of the time than most any other car. So I do wonder if you mixed up "have to know", with "might want to know" or "good to know." Maybe we mixed those things up for you. My wife has never read the manual or this website, has no idea how the thing does its magic, or care one bit. In our recent car shopping she refused to buy a non-hybrid.

    Anyway, good luck in your car shopping; I hope you find a car to your liking with excellent (albeit not Prius level) fuel economy.
     
  4. pippijones

    pippijones Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2010
    63
    4
    0
    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    I am one of those drivers, i drive my Prius just like I drive any other car and I still get great mileage. It really is a great car, so I agree with Jeff in saying that you should reconsider.
     
  5. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

    Joined:
    May 22, 2009
    9,083
    5,798
    0
    Location:
    Undisclosed Location
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    You gave up without much of a fight...

    But as I've said in other threads with other would be buyers, if you don't want a hybrid or a Prius...for whatever reason or reasons, then by all means don't buy one.

    Without the offering of specifics of what you read, that has reversed your decision it's near impossible to offer a counter opinion or argument.

    The Prius in most situations CAN simply be jumped in and driven.

    How much you want to commit to adopting hybrid driving techniques is entirely up to the individual. The Prius WILL get better MPG's than most vehicles if you decide you do NOT want to adopt any of them.

    I would agree that snow or ice is not the ideal Prius environment, but snow and ice are not the ideal driving environment for many vehicles...and ALL vehicles do better in the snow...with snow tires.

    But the bottom line is? If you've given up, before you've even started? Then giving up the idea, was probably the right thing to do.
     
  6. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    18,058
    3,074
    7
    Location:
    Northern Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    I don't buy it. There is nothing special about driving a Prius; it drives like any other automatic car. Are you bothered by the intricacies of ordinary automatic transmissions? How about fuel injection? That's pretty complicated as well.

    You don't need to understand how a Prius works to drive it, just as you don't have to understand how any other car works.

    What complete silliness.

    Tom
     
    5 people like this.
  7. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2005
    15,232
    1,563
    0
    Location:
    off into the sunset
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Or any other piece of modern technology, like a computer, or a refrigerator, or even a digital watch.
     
  8. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 14, 2009
    6,722
    2,121
    45
    Location:
    North Yorkshire, UK
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Wait a year or two when fuel goes up even more - he'll be back :)
     
    1 person likes this.
  9. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2004
    14,487
    2,997
    0
    Location:
    Fort Lee, NJ
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Isn't it all that matters? Why were you impressed and how many MPG did you get on that drive?
     
  10. macmaster05

    macmaster05 Senor Member

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2009
    4,050
    729
    5
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Hahaha. Was it something I said?
     
  11. firepa63

    firepa63 Former Prius Owner

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2005
    1,761
    208
    0
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Troll???
     
    5 people like this.
  12. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2010
    3,964
    2,613
    0
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I heard that people buy Corvettes and Porsches and then take performance driving classes at racetracks. So they must be very complicated to drive, if you need a crash helmet, closed course and a professional instructor to learn how to drive one.

    Or maybe...
     
  13. cap160

    cap160 Older Member

    Joined:
    May 8, 2011
    78
    7
    6
    Location:
    Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    GET IN AND GO! NO MUSS, NO FUSS:rockon:

    don't over think this thing!:D
     
  14. markabele

    markabele owner of PiP, then Leaf, then Model 3

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    5,084
    1,782
    1
    Location:
    Nebraska
    Vehicle:
    2018 Tesla Model 3
    Model:
    N/A
    Why would you say this? It takes off slow, stops slow, has ABS, and has traction control. Other than AWD and snow tires those are the most important factors for good winter driving.
     
  15. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 14, 2009
    5,683
    953
    124
    Location:
    Redondo Beach, CA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    The OP ranks right up here with the one who complains the engine runs every damn time the car is started.
     
  16. Keiichi

    Keiichi Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2012
    808
    79
    2
    Location:
    Goleta
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    The thing most people also don't realize, is that when you look at the MPG and then drive your car and wonder where the MPGs are, is because of how someone drives a car.

    The High MPG and the HSI threads were more for people who want to eek out more.

    When you look at the link in my signature, all that stuff is from catgic and he is eeking out 70s out of a standard Prius and 50s out of a Prius v... A car that is rated at 42 COMBINED MPG.

    People will wonder why their MPG is low, and some of it will be due to how they drive. You will never hit your Estimated MPG on a car unless you are conscious about how you drive, be it Prius or any other car.

    I will not say you will regret it later, just understand that those of us who are 'babying' our car, are trying to milk as much as we can out of the investment. And trust me, being a Californian, I see people in Prius cars buzzing past me too while I am trying to up my MPG usage even more than what I initially started out with at 33 MPG.
     
  17. GSW

    GSW PRIUS POWER

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2009
    537
    74
    0
    Location:
    Jacksonville
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    You GM exec's have wayyyy too much time on your hands.
     
  18. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

    Joined:
    May 22, 2009
    9,083
    5,798
    0
    Location:
    Undisclosed Location
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Please note, I say "Ideal" vehicle and environment...

    The "Ideal" vehicle for snow and Ice, is a snow plow....or a tank....

    I'm not saying the Prius isn't perfectly useable in snow and ice, and perhaps better than some...worse than others.

    But given that it is low clearance, and Gen 3 has underbody panels...and Prius are originally equipped with low rolling resistance tires, I think that makes it fair to define a Prius as not the "ideal" snow or ice vehicle.

    I haven't driven a Prius in snow or ice conditions, but most of what I've read from people in environments where this is common...snow tires are a must.

    But as I said, that fact is comparable to the majority of vehicles sold...

    So in short, low clearance, underbody panels, and if you don't change over to snow tires? Low Rolling Resistance Tires...are all reasons I'd say Prius isn't the "ideal" snow vehicle...even if it can be perfectly viable in snow and ice for the majority of people owning them.
     
  19. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 14, 2009
    6,722
    2,121
    45
    Location:
    North Yorkshire, UK
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III

    lol of course. So you're about to buy a car which takes time and an emotional investment, but you read one article on a website and decide to cancel everything? ha ha ha, whatever.

    I might write an article suggesting people send me $500,000. Do you think he'd read that and pop a cheque in the post? I hope so.

    I love this forum - this tread has cheered up my weekend.
     
  20. ProximalSuns

    ProximalSuns Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2012
    1,877
    21
    27
    Location:
    PNW
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Oh no, thank you. Its not often we get completely fake posts like this but a fun exercise when we do.

    I think it was "I don't have time for snow tires" that gave you away.