Gallup Surprise: Most Americans Now Say They May Buy Hybrid Cars

my personal experiences are even more biased than the study.

Nov 2003, i order my Prius. gas is 1.40 tell family and friends.

responses

90% whats a Prius
10% why you pay so much??

July 1,2004 i receive my Prius. gas is 1.20

response

50% whats that??
30% you could have bought X car for Y dollars
20% if you think that Prius is a good buy, i have ocean front property in arizona...

July 1, 2005 gas is 2.10

50% the gadgets are kinda cool, but its too much money
50% my car gets about 40 mpg so there aint much difference. (the average mileage of people saying this is actually 25-30 mpg)


Oct 1, 2005 gas is 2.87 (never hit 3.00 in my area)

70% you pay WHAT for gas every week?? (actually about $20-25 every TWO weeks)
30% yea, i have been looking at those hybrids... if only they were a little cheaper

April 1, 2006 gas is 2.60 (has gone up 40 cents in past 5 weeks)

30% wow Dave, you really scored on that Prius ( i mentioned after 23,000 miles and 21 months that i had just recently past $1,000 in gas. some i work with have almost that much since the first of the year)
70% ya, i am really looking for a Prius too. i am even willing to settle for a used one at a good price (good luck with that !!)

 

This morning some of my friends were commenting about the pump cutting off when it hit $75.00.

 

nope. i have filled over $100 in gas several times

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Somechic @ Apr 11 2006, 01:37 PM) [snapback]238179[/snapback]</div>

It depends on the gas station owner/manager.

My boss said he could not get more than $50 of gas into his Denali in his neigbhorhood gas station.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Apr 12 2006, 11:27 AM) [snapback]238584[/snapback]</div>

Yes that is also part of my fear - and on of the reasons why I have placed my order for the CH - to be here in May 05, so I can be a little bit more an "incognito Hybrid driver"

Realy I do believe that there will be more vilonce at the pump, an on the road. A couple of days ago I was reclessly "tailgate" by a "red neck" in his moran V8 Pickup, and I was going at least speedlimit...

Ralph

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dipper @ Apr 11 2006, 03:09 PM) [snapback]238250[/snapback]</div>

It's amazing how quickly one adjusts. I was alarmed when my last tankful exceeded $20! .

PS: gas going locally today for $3.08/g.

 

So, who is the Prius owner that was quoted on CBS radio yesterday?

On the way home I heard a CBS radio report describing the impact of gas prices on personal spending. The reporter interviewed someone on the East Coast bemoaning the fact the prices at the pump were almost equal to their rent payment.

The next person, someone from Seattle, was quoted, "I hadn't really noticed. I drive a Prius."

Was it anybody on this forum?

I'm seeing more Prius in San Antonio all the time! "Smug" is on the increase!

 

Life is all about choices. I don't get it when somebody else acts out because you made a different choice than they did. In over 6000 miles of Prius driving since Jan 12, I have only had one incident where I thought I was targeted (followed too close by a big white Chevy pickup, down the off ramp, and then to the next stop light) he gave me a dirty look at the next light and drove on. His problem, not mine. Can't we all just get along?

Back in '73 I had a bumper sticker on my Vega that said "If you drove a car like mine, there might not be a gas crisis". The Vega got about 21 mpg. I would never display that sticker, now at more double the mpg. Times have changed.

 

I increasingly get questions from people about "what kind of fuel economy does the Prius genuinely get?"

I keep extra copies of the spreadsheet showing individual tank and cumulative fuel economy (now at 23k mi). I hand them a copy and comment about fuel economy goes down (in all vehicles) in winter because of cooler temperatures and difference fuel formulae and tends to go up in summer. They walk away saying, "I can't wait to show this to my husband/wife!"

People are skeptical and asking good critical thinking questions.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Somechic @ Apr 11 2006, 09:27 AM) [snapback]237990[/snapback]</div>

So why is my commute taking longer than before? I haven't seen or heard any anecdotal evidence to back that up, apparently I live and work in too affluent an area. Walking to the sandwhich shop today I went past a guy sitting in his car with engine idling. Ate lunch, came back, he was still there. Beautiful day, it wasn't like he needed the heater or anything (the windows were open). My guess is, he wanted to listen to the radio without running his battery down, didn't think about how idling hurts the catalytic converter. (As well as the unnecessary greenhouse gases, pollution, and dollars going to unfriendly nations).

I wonder how they worded those questions and what the demographic really was, those numbers seem really high.

nerfer

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SAPrius @ Apr 12 2006, 02:06 PM) [snapback]238643[/snapback]</div>

It was me. I was a little annoyed that the reporter didn't notice how special I was right off the bat.

 

I have observed a shift in the people within my sphere of influence. They have started asking more about what mileage I get and are complaining about their gas bills (almost all of them drive either a full-size truck or SUV).

My dad even recently told me he wanted to get a hybrid car to save on gas. He thought it was kind of neat, but this is the first time he has really been serious about getting one. I doubt he will get one, as he really doesn't want to pay $20K+.

 

Interesting article.

I have people asking me questions all the time.

I was able to drive my parents 400h for a little over a week. It is truly an awesome hybrid. While i tend to punish my cars with speed, the lexus never did get below an average of 20mpg.

Now.. have people driving other Lexus vehicles (bigger suvs) and complaining they are getting in the low teens. I usually tend to tell them about the 400h and my prius at this point. I also tend to tell them that i drive fast. This tends to put them in amazement.

The other day i had a friend question me about maintenance and overall cost.... the whole " they cost more " thing going on. So, i give him the basics. Yes you could have toyota service the car every time, but you are not required to. Oil chang 5k. No timing belts, 45/50k inspection isn't "needed" but is good for warranty purposes. besides oil, it's air filters till you get to around 100k. engine is estimated to last over 500k miles. battery is tested/estimated by toyota to live 21 years.

that's when they usually do the :blink: :blink: thing.. it's kinda fun. In the end, they are always saying "cool" or "i'll look into that as my next car" .. it's fun being a hybrid owner

 

V8Cobrakid.... I can see that SMUG ALERT coming from 2 blocks down.... :lol:

 

yes.. but they can't h34r: :lol: