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New Prius Owner - Chicago Area

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by PRIUS007, Jan 9, 2008.

  1. PRIUS007

    PRIUS007 James Bond -007

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2008
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    Location:
    Mundelein, Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Hello-

    Just wanted to take a moment to say HELLO to everyone.

    Been looking for a Prius for some time now and just picked one up this weekend.

    Traded in my Hummer H2 on a 2008 Metallic Gray, Touring Package #6.

    I instantly went from using 4 gallons of gas a day to less than 1 gallon a day. :D

    I'll post pics shortly...
     
    #1 PRIUS007, Jan 9, 2008
  2. nerfer

    nerfer A young senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2006
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    Location:
    Chicagoland, IL, USA, Earth
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Good choice I'd say! Gas prices are going up again this week, and you know that's not the end of it. Thank you for doing your part to reduce funding for terrorists.

    If you haven't already, check out the site that TonyPSchaefer put up:
    http://www.ChicagoPriusGroup.com/
     
    #2 nerfer, Jan 9, 2008
  3. a priori

    a priori Canonus Curiosus

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2007
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    Location:
    Chicagoland (West)
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Congrats! Welcome!

    I look forward to the pics.

    Most of all -- thank you for replacing your H2 with a Prius.
     
    #3 a priori, Jan 9, 2008
  4. cnschult

    cnschult Active Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    i'm from mich but there is actually a local prius group in chicago, they have bbq's and talk and do prius mods like help you install your own engine block heater, etc, do a search for them on this site, you should find them, or maybe one of them will see your thread & contact you.

    since you have the gray touring package, you may be able to remove the full silver plastic wheel covers this spring, I think there are some really cool gray aluminum alloy wheels underneath that would give your car an aftermarket look.

    When women looked at you in the hummer, they were thinking, "he's probably bought that giant truck to make up for something really small"

    you'll have much better luck with the ladies now :cool:
     
    #4 cnschult, Jan 10, 2008
  5. PRIUS007

    PRIUS007 James Bond -007

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2008
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    Location:
    Mundelein, Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Thanks for the welcome. Looking forward to interacting with everyone here. I've spent so much time reading here and don't even feel like I've scratched the surface of learning the Prius yet.

    Between work and the weather, I haven't taken any pictures of the new Prius (it sure is pretty though) but here is what I came from.

    [​IMG]
     
    #5 PRIUS007, Jan 10, 2008
  6. cnschult

    cnschult Active Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
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    one more thing prius2007, your fuel economy will be horrible at first for 2 reasons:
    1. its winter time, cold weather keeps the engine operating at an unideal temp and batteries have less capacitance in colder weather and will thus help you less.
    2. you don't know how to drive the car properly, it will take you months to retrain yourself to coast to all the red lights or even the green lights that you know you have no chance of reaching in time

    don't feel ripped off by toyota if your fuel economy is under 40 right now, by the time spring comes you should be skilled enough to be around 50mpg.
     
    #6 cnschult, Jan 10, 2008
  7. PRIUS007

    PRIUS007 James Bond -007

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Mundelein, Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Actually, funny you mention that...

    So far, my average mileage (according to the computer) is 48.9MPG, which, with the items you mentioned I'm actually quite pleased with for a new vehicle that had 4 miles on it when I picked it up.

    First thing I actually did when I got home (after about a couple of hours for cool down) was up the tire pressure from the factory 35/35 to 42/40 as folks have mentioned here.

    I understand what your speaking of with new learnings of driving habits, but while I know I'm not there yet, I usually disciplined myself pretty good when I had my H2. Most were getting from 10-12MPG on average, and with my conservative driving, I was getting 13-14MPG.

    Still, with the kids older now, and no longer having to tow a boat, I felt this the right path to go down now.

    I calculated that with just my commute back and forth to work, I'll be saving over $3500 a year in fuel, at todays prices of about $3.25/gallon.

    I love this car, and as I'm sure you already know, it's really fun to drive and I only have about 150 miles on it so far.
     
    #7 PRIUS007, Jan 10, 2008
  8. orracle

    orracle Whaddaya mean "senior" member?

    Joined:
    May 24, 2007
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    Location:
    Gurnee, IL
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Welcome Mundelein! Tony Schaefer & I both live in Gurnee so if you come to the mall or the Park or the new Key Lime Cove, keep an eye out for our cars!
     
    #8 orracle, Jan 10, 2008
  9. morpheusx

    morpheusx Professor Chaos

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Akron, OH
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I have to deal with the cold weather here in the Cleveland Ohio area and I dropped from summer time usually averaging +55MPG to about 48MPG this winter, and I drive nearly all interstate. Just drive with the flow of traffic and you should easily achieve the new EPA ratings even in the cold, unless all your trips are short trips but 4 gallons a day in the H2 sounds like you normally drive about 40-45 miles a day so you should do very well.
     
    #9 morpheusx, Jan 10, 2008
  10. PRIUS007

    PRIUS007 James Bond -007

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2008
    133
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    Location:
    Mundelein, Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    I tell ya, now that I have this car and have gone almost a week and not even used a 1/4 tank yet, it makes me crazy when I think of all the gas I was using before.
     
    #10 PRIUS007, Jan 11, 2008
  11. jmullin

    jmullin New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2007
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    Been looking for a Prius for some time now and just picked one up this weekend.

    Traded in my Hummer H2 on a 2008 Metallic Gray, Touring Package #6.

    I instantly went from using 4 gallons of gas a day to less than 1 gallon a day. :D

    I'll post pics shortly...

    Congratulations!! I am anxious to see the pics.

    I am in Austin. I'm waiting for a call from my dealer telling me my 2008 Prius is in. Should be today or tomorrow. It seems Austin drivers have really embraced the Prius. I see more and more every day. (Funny, I have been observing the growth in numbers for the past year or so and have NEVER seen one at a gas station. ;)

    I drive about 25,000 miles a year for work - mostly downtown Austin. I drive a 2001 Grand Prix now, (19 mpg) so I should save a bundle.

    Can't wait!!

    J
     
    #11 jmullin, Jan 15, 2008
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