The Hybrid's Free Ride

obviously 95% of the people who buy a prius get it for HOV privileges because 95% of us live in california

stupid dealer

 

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I believe you could safely say that the HOV lane never crossed the minds of close to 100% of Prius owners who reside in the Chicago area.

 

I read somewhere that Virginia is second only to California in the number of hybrid vehicles sold. I am not surprised that access to the HOV lanes is a consideration, but I think that 95% is an exageration. Maybe the question posed was "Are you planning on using the HOV lanes?" I would believe that would get an affirmative response from hybrid owners.

Being from Maryland, I did not have an "HOV carrot" dangling in front of me. Maryland doesn't allow solo drivers of hybrids to use the HOV lanes, and Virginia only allows hybrids registered in Virginia to use their lanes. The main reason I bought the Prius was to support the technology, which is elegant in it's simplicity. I was also drawn to the gadgetry (got to love smart entry). My third interest was trying to be more conservative in my fuel usage; why should I use a vehicle that gets 20 mpg, when I can drive an equally comfortable vehicle that gets 50 mpg.

 

I never even knew about the HOV lane privileges when I ordered, waited for, and bought my Prius.

 

hmmm interesting... i have to drive 35 miles to even see an HOV lane... guess im lucky i get good gas mileage eh?

 

For the drivers in Nor. Va, there may be some truth in his statement, although I'd say it's probably exagerated. I know that a guy who works in my building told me that's why he bought it.

 

NPR did a piece this weekend on this and a Virginia dealer and at least one Prius driver stated that the HOV driving was the selling point. Not for me, and not others but as the man said "milage varies".

 

I read (re-read) the article, and it was not referring to the 95% of California buyers buying for the HOV lane. The article was referring to 95% of Virginia buyers buying for the HOV privileges.

Still seems high, to me.

 

We -meaning 'I' - chose the Prius because I felt that I just needed a car that would hold me and my family comfortably (4 of us in all), got good gas mileage and was reliable. I have a very short commute and most of the time there is only me in it. I don't need to be hauling around a lot of heavy metal dragging down my MPG. The Prius best fit all my criteria. It was while we were waiting that the idea of using the HOV lanes started floating around here. That was when my husband informed me that if that passed, HE would be the one to drive it every day. But, since it's on hold, it's alllll mine! And good luck to anyone who tries to take it away.

 

I would have to drive 100 miles north on I-65 to Nashville to get to an HOV lane.

This is the most fun car I have had in years and the technology is just wonderful. I programmed in one of the two garage door bays into the Homelink system this evening and I am going to get a Bluetooth phone to talk to people through the system.

The car is a joy to drive, and the challenge to obtain the best possible fuel economy is a fun task too.

I must admit that one great selling point for me was the incredible lack of noise in city driving. The car muffles outside noise quite well, and the car on battery makes tire road noise only.

The Prius is just such a neat car.