Younger Prius Owners

No. It's Princeton.

 

I understand why young people don't think it's performane-oriented....because it's not!

There are so many other 'sexier' and better performing cars out there than the Prius. Mpg is usually not on the minds of young people. That's why, for the money, most young people would opt for a Civic Si, Gti, Wrx...something like that.

It's no mystery.

I personally, own what I consider to be two very functional and responsible vehicles and two that are not. That makes the downfalls of any of them more tolerable for me...there's always light at the end of the tunnel for me and it either comes in the form of performance or efficiency.

 

It's easy to stereotype, but the two most environmentally knowledgable and conscious people I know live in WV.
One of them owns/operates a windmill manufacture and the other is a professor/author.
I went to prep school in WV and the people I know from there are much more Berkleyesque than it seems they are like the picture in your head of shoeless farmers with no teeth.

 

Don't you talk no trash bout my cousin... I mean my wife. Or my momma's second son, who calls me "papa" for good reason. :yuck:

 

I suppose that performance is all relative to a large degree. Compared to, say, your '03 S2000 or my '97 Prelude, the Prius is definitely going to come in second in a drag race or lead-footing it through some twisties, but compared to the car of my youth, a '67 Beetle, well, the Prius is a real hot-rod. Or my '80 diesel Rabbit for that matter. Both of those vehicles had rougly 50hp engines and you were in 3rd gear doing 45mph up any significant hill, right foot and pedal jammed to the firewall. The Prius will take similar hills at 75 with power to spare. No blinding accelleration, but not bad, takes entrance ramps with sufficient quickness.

Speaking only for myself, I'd say it's a damned good thing I only had a 50hp car when I was in my late teens and early 20s. If I'd had something like the Prelude or S2000 or something more muscular at the time, I doubt that I'd have survived to my current antiquity.

 

I'm 36 and I've been driving a Prius since I was 35...not too young, not too old.

Younger people often don't think about MPG, that is correct. I teach high school and one of my students (a senior, so he's 18) was really excited because he bought a Ford Explorer. He said the gas was killing him...I told him to buy a Prius, but he wouldn't listen. Then a city bus crashed into him and he used the insurance money to get a Camaro. Again..."you should have bought a Prius!"

He just found out his girlfriend is pregnant and now he's sold the Camaro and bought a little family car. It didn't take much to get him to change his priorities, but it's still not a Prius!

 

(quote)Hopefully, as gas prices continue to hike their inevitable and inexorable way to $4 per gallon and more, the appeal of Prii and other hybrids will increase among all age-groups. I remember a time in the early 70s when you basically couldn't give away a muscle-car, and suspect that those days are coming again.[/quote]


I am hoping that they will also raise the gas tax. We are 55 and love our prius. I preach to our 5 children, but as stated already the younger generation is not interested in sacrificing for the planet. Then we go to the re-cycling center its always older folk with smallish cars. Never a H2, pickup or hot rice-burner.

 

good points...everything is relative.

my dad had two beetles through college (both orange) and he drove my wife's new turbo beetle and thought it was a rocket!

 

I was 21 when I bought my 2006 Prius. I had gotten a job with a Big 4 Accounting firm which required me to drive anywhere from 80-160+ miles a day. They reimburse 50 cents to the mile (after a certain deduction).

When i did the math, it was more economic to buy a hybrid car, i just got my hands on whatever i could get at that time because i wanted the HOV sticker in California.

For the past two years, I was making an average of $400-800 pure profit each month on top of my paycheck just for "mileage reimbursement". It's kinda nice to have your company pay for your car (so to speak) - even though i put over 20K miles on it a year.

With the extra money bolstered to my paychecks, i did a few things to the car to make it seem a bit suitable for the younger generation - tint the windows, aftermarket halogen lights, aftermarket Navi, LED interior lights, new sound system, wide mirrors, and mud guards. Now my friends have even written a haiku for me

"Pimp in the Prius
Put on your stunna shades because
All the ladies come"

LOL

 

I'm male so I'll never grow up.

 

Not that young here I just turned 31 in Jan. I think of myself as still wet behind my ears, but old enough to know that taking the plunge and just investing in a Prius I would be helping the future generations. I have had my Prius since July 07 and have nothing but great reviews, well maybe one complaint, which is no biggie nor is it a life changing event. I just dont really care about getting anything more then what I get now 48 - 54 mpg. I know that I could probably get more for just using the OEM tires that came on my Prius, but I couldnt take the abuse of roads/terrain or poor quality materials that were used to make sure you got the most MPG from Prius. I kept the original tires on my Prius for about 2k miles and went to Sears and put on my Goodyear Assurance Comforttreds P195/65/R15 which give a wonderful ride like you wouldnt believe! Other then that I would have to say I love everything about my Prius , and as you can see I can go on and on.

 

Used to own 'hot-rods' till I started flying and tried my first vertical loop, and realised that all the talk about cars and Gs they can pull are just a farce. I mean, have you heard of anyone accelerating so fast in their Ferraris that they blacked out??

So I came to realise it is much more challenging to drive smooth and efficient than fast and 'jerky'. Even my grandma has the ankle strength to floor the pedal, but how many hotshots can come to a stop right at the line WITHOUT brakes, or figure out a constant speed to drive up to the red light just before it turns green?

In any case, just got a used '07 Prius (with 1061 mi on it). Had done my homework by renting one from Hertz for a week and took it skiing in the hills and then driving in morning traffic. Loving it so far

 

Welcome, Cuban. That's the kind of attitude that I hope can spread a little, even through the "young" crowd. It's challenging and rewarding to dive a Prius the way it was designed to be driven, and it's much safer.

What do you get for racing around in more "performance" oriented cars? I guess a much higher risk of death... which is pretty cool.

 

I'm 33 and have yet to buy my Prius, but agree that most of the Prius owners are "older". Young people don't care about fuel economy as much and have probably had a "dream car" in their head for a long time that they said they'd buy when they could afford it.

Even a poll on here would make it look like there are more "young" buyers than there really are b/c younger people would be more likely to be online than "older" people.

Personally, I've had all the cars I "wanted" now and I think more frugally and sensically than I had in the past. Looks just aren't that important (and the Prius, to the majority of people, is ugly) to me anymore and the Prius just makes sense all around. I am kind of holding off to see how things will change around the bend with the new body style (most likley in 2009 as a 2010 model). Otherwise I can guarantee you I'd have a Pkg #6, Black Touring model

 

When I was 15 I promised myself the first car I bought would be all-electric. That was at a time when California was making headway, and things seemed to be on track for those of us who didn't live there... well, years later the first car I bought was a Prius; I had to lower my expectations to buy a car that's only half electric.

 

I am 29, and used to drive V8 GS400, Legend.

 

I'm 20, so I guess I qualify as young. -_- At my college campus I've only seen one other Prius, so it definitely is not popular.

Since I started driving I promised myself that the first car I bought would be fuel efficient. Somehow I was able to persuade my credit union to make me the large loan at a good rate, and picked a new one up Tuesday. My old car was a '99 Chrysler Concord, and I only got about 20 MPG. Now I'm getting 50 easy.

At work some of the kids are into illegal street racing, so performance is important for them (Of course, a few don't have licenses or their car is impounded thanks to the local PD...). Those who can afford expensive cars tend toward convertibles or SUVs, and those without the money drive jalopies.

I would be surprised if I met another kids who drove a hybrid, as not many are willing to put up the $$$ for the better mileage.

 

I just turned 23, and I have been in techno-lust with the Prius for years. My first car was a 1990 Chrysler New Yorker, which was a boat. And was great to drive (in terms of storage, and space to bring people along.)

After that I made the young-person mistake of wanting something sportier, which is how I ended up in a 2001 Celica. God, did I regret that purchase. Two doors, less comfortable, random little rattles in the doors. I missed the New Yorker.

Then when I crashed the Celica (hey it did do some things well... like taking twisties at highway speed... and not killing me when I got in an accident) I realized I wanted a four door car again. And that I was now earning enough cash to afford a Prius.

It's a great car, and as someone who cares about the environment, technology, and fuel economy, it couldn't be more perfect.

To be honest, if you put different wheels and tires on it, it looks as sporty as most people could want. I mean, have you seen USBSeaWolf's Prius? Damn.

So throw another whippersnapper's name in the group of Young Prius Owners.

 

"youngish" here - 39 yrs

I drove nothing but trucks for the first 15 yrs I bought vehicles. Then switched to a VW TDI and now a Prius.

If everything was equal, I'd still drive a truck. But alas <sigh>:attention:

I like my Prius...everytime I pass a gas station!!