Article in NY Times (London ed.)

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxo @ 2007 July 29 09:43 AM) [snapback]487095[/snapback]</div>

The first statement shows how successful advertising has been at convincing us cars are an extension of our personality, rather than transportation. As for the US going Metric, it's good to see you're keeping your sense of humour, Oxo. B)

 

An accurate, unbiased poll is actually very expensive and difficult to field. The biggest problem is there are very few organizations willing to pay money for a poll that is "validated" to be unbiased.

Now conducting polls for paying customers is a completely different operation. These are easy: 1) Determine what you (or your paying customer) want to "uncover", 2) Structure the questions according to the purpose of the poll, 3) Use the cheapest labor available to execute.

So in the poll below, which answer better reflects your feelings:

a) Owning a Prius make a Statement about you and the need for addressing many issues, including oil dependance and environmental impact.

B ) You bought it only for higher fuel economy

You get the idea. If you were at the receiving end of a poll like this, it all becomes clear.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxo @ Jul 29 2007, 11:43 AM) [snapback]487095[/snapback]</div>

The reasons I got a Prius:

2) Fuel Economy (saving ca$h)
2) Convenience (not having to stop for gas so often, less frequent oil changes, reliability)
3) Futuristic design and many advanced features available usually only in a lot more expensive cars
1059) Saving the environment ;-)

And it'd be very nice if the US finally went metric. It's a lot easier, ya know!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxo @ Jul 29 2007, 12:43 PM) [snapback]487095[/snapback]</div>

I'm curious: did they publish the two photos that they did in the NY print edition? One is of a couple in the trunk of their Prius, and the other is of someone (actually it is me) with my Prius in front of some power lines (some sort of "statement" I guess).

I purchased the Prius because we drive our primary car 33,000 miles/year and basically they pay back period for the car was 18 months. I detailed this to the writer, but all she was interested in was the comment that our daughter had made that she "was so proud to have such environmentally conscious parents". I'm sure that if I hadn't passed our daughter's comments on to the writer, that I would not have been included in the piece.

After the article appeared, I wrote to the writer complaining about the "slant" of the piece and she replied "that was the direction that the editors wanted to take".

Though I am a (retired) engineer, I do have some background in market research studies (I've been resposible for probably 24 of them for Kodak) and do recognize that they can easily be terribly misleading. Being very careful about what questions you ask, and how you ask them is most critical. A good survey does not have to be expensive - but it does have to be intelligently designed. I really doubt if this one was.

 

People only buy Hummers because the Prius doesn't come in yellow.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxo @ Jul 29 2007, 12:43 PM) [snapback]487095[/snapback]</div>

The USA is converting to metric inch by inch.

 

don't forget, the Brits are not keen on the Prius because for years they have had cars that get better mileage (non-hybrid). this is a UK thing and a trend that we have fallen waaayyy behind.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stev0 @ Jul 29 2007, 02:31 PM) [snapback]487184[/snapback]</div>

I find this very, very funny

 

I've thought about this long and hard and that's why I finally decided to buy a Hummer.
This is hilarious!


--des


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stev0 @ Jul 29 2007, 05:31 PM) [snapback]487184[/snapback]</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxo @ Jul 29 2007, 11:43 AM) [snapback]487095[/snapback]</div>

That information was from CNW (Art Spinella), a known source of disinformation about the Prius. His other two claims to fame are the statements that a Hummer is less environmentally damaging than a Prius (based on his analysis), and that the Prius makes no difference in total household fuel efficiency (based on his survey). So, we can now add, people mainly buy a Prius to "make a statement" (again, based on his survey).

FWIW I posted a comment to the original NY Times article to that effect: why quote a known liar on this subject?

This is another bit of anti-Prius propaganda. The media are so hungry for man-bites-dog stories that they are more than willing to print nonsense, as long as they can attribute it to someone. So, saying that the Prius sells well because it's a great car is dog-bites-manm but saying that, in effect, the median Prius owner is an airhead who wants to look green, that's got "human interest". Unfortunate that this gives disinformation a respectable venue, but ... we get the media we deserve.

I looked around a bit when the original NY Times article came out a few weeks back, and the results of several formal and informal surveys of Prius buyers were posted on the internet. The overwhelming top reasons for buying a Prius are high fuel efficiency/low operating cost and low environmental impact.

So, your intuition is correct. People mostly buy it because it's a great car.

Finally, I can't mention the Spinella Hummer study without saying the following: If you take the results of that study, showing "energy cost" of $2.50 per mile for the typical passenger vehicle, multiply by total US passenger vehicle miles, and compare to total world payments for energy of all types, you find that US drivers consume roughly 4x the entire world's supply of energy. I realize our fleet is inefficient, but it's not that inefficient. My points are that 1) Spinella numbers for that study are off by about two orders of magnitude, and while people on this board have pointed that out in various ways, I have yet to see anyone in the popular press do the simple arithmetic to show how ludicrous that study is, and 2) so, how much scrutiny are they likely to give a mere survey of preferences?

My guess, from the numbers, is that the 7 Prius owners who answered Spinella's survey gave those answers. It's just that reporters seldom think to ask questions actually relating to the quality or believability of the numbers. Instead, my (very limited) experience has been that they think of the punch line first, then fill in whatever will get them to that punch line. So, to them, the numbers hardly matter.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MJGreen @ Jul 30 2007, 01:55 AM) [snapback]487250[/snapback]</div>

Yeah but our fuel prices are much higher. I suspect as a % of income, on average we pay more than you for fuel even with more efficient cars on the roads. Perhaps our anual <strike>milage</strike> kilometerage is less.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxo @ Jul 29 2007, 06:43 PM) [snapback]487095[/snapback]</div>

They use this units in Japan and India afaik. Maybe statistical data are taken from Japan? Or maybe gathering statistical data has been outsourced to India?

- Piotr

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stev0 @ Jul 29 2007, 04:31 PM) [snapback]487184[/snapback]</div>

Or, if you really *do* need a 4x4 as a second vehicle, say that gravel road out to the hobby farm that due to torrential rains has washed out TWICE so far this summer, or last winter when blizzards left me snowbound a couple of times, then you do the sensible thing and get a REAL 4x4 that gets better fuel economy, is far more reliable, and here in Canada around 45% of the cost of an H2

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stev0 @ Jul 29 2007, 05:31 PM) [snapback]487184[/snapback]</div>

Except if your in Canada, and you're in a Prius cab.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MJGreen @ Jul 29 2007, 08:55 PM) [snapback]487250[/snapback]</div>

Man this is so not true! Its a myth. There are small piece of sh*t diesel cars in Europe that get great MPG but still not as good as the Prius. Some of them advertise 55 to 60 mpg but thats under optimal conditions and in reality they only get 40 to 45 tops.

 

Say 'Hybrid' and many people will hear 'Prius'

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/04/business...874&ei=5070

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman @ Jul 30 2007, 06:37 AM) [snapback]487389[/snapback]</div>

I test drove one of these and the "bumper" fell off. needless to say I didn't buy it.