Aloha Prius Chat....

My understanding is that it is a gross misunderstanding of the term Aloha to say it means both Hello and Goodbye. It evidently is a term meant to convey an entire lifestyle as opposed to the simple duality of simultaneous greeting in both welcoming and departure. But for my purposes? I'll just say Aloha, as both Hello and Goodbye.

Let me say this first. I don't intend to stop participating within Prius Chat.
This is NOT meant as a release the doves, declaration of melodramatic self imposed exile. This is not where I admit to no longer owning a Prius and thus self flagellate myself by taking a vow of continual silence.

Even though I traded in my Prius today, I'm still a huge fan and supporter of the vehicle.
I enjoyed the past 3 years of Prius Ownership.
I'm going to miss communing with the angels of greater efficiency in the silence of an ICE turned off as I creep through the drive through.
I'm going to miss the fossil fuel saving flat line of the non-firing pistons at stops.
I'm going to miss the sometimes jaw dropping mpg and economic frugality created by long highway road trips.
I'm going to miss being in a traffic jam, and creeping along, in a peaceful confidence knowing you are one of the few people in the entire frozen automotive river of congestion that actually ISN'T burning gasoline or creating emissions.

I've long felt, even in the years I participated in Prius Chat BEFORE owning my Prius, that Prius Chat was often MORE than just Chatting about Prius.
I have found this to be an great forum for gaining perspective, conversation and debate on a wide variety of issues. Discussion born out of events within the entire automotive industry. Wide ranging from Unintended Acceleration to Tesla, to Leaf, to automotive recalls and industry scandal.

To threads within this very forum, that may have nothing to do with Toyota or vehicles at all.

No you won't get rid of me that easily.

However, some respect to the undeniable truth that I no longer own a Prius should be paid.
Will my participation lessen?
I think so. How could it not?
A vast majority of specific Prius threads? Well nobody likes the guy who owns a Donkey, telling you how you should saddle your horse.
And there are enough Prius Veterans in here, that on issues specific to Prius? Even if I ignore a greater majority of those posts and queries, I feel the forum is in great hands.

I mean how many of us does it take to post "Check Your 12 Volt Battery." ?

Toyota themselves has referred to Hybrids as being a "bridge" technology.
The question for me is did I cross it? Or did I jump off? The truth is, I'm no longer "on it".

But even with this truth. You should expect to see me occasionally.

 

Well, I just kind of wanted to say "Aloha" without attaching any comparisons to what I am driving now. I didn't want this to be a "I've left "Prius" and now I'm driving this "wonderful" vehicle thread.

But for those that are curious, I went back to Honda Fit.

I still get a "standard" degree of efficiency, and it's a vehicle that I both like the way it drives and it's clever utility.
To be honest, I enjoy smaller vehicles, and while The Prius is no mammoth it ( believe it or not ) always felt a little large to me.

But as I said, I think I will always be a fan of Prius, even if not driving one. I think whatever happens in my life, I look forward to that time in the nursing home when I babble on endlessly about the time I owned a Prius.

I'm not one that feels they need to move on, while simultaneously touting their NEXT evolution or trashing their previous vehicle.

I'm happy with my new vehicle. I like The Honda Fit. But that doesn't in any way mean I did not very much enjoy my time as a Prius Owner. As I said above, I know there are a lot of HSD and Prius advantages I'm going to miss.

LOL! Seriously...I have friends that own huge trucks. And I will admit that I think they would be fun to drive. But that's NOT going to happen on my watch.
I still respect efficiency and having the "right tool for the job".
So it really comes down to, I don't need to be 6ft in the air, and burning gas at a rapid rate, and I don't need the torque and horsepower of a truck capable of towing a grain silo and load of old growth timber over a mountain pass.

I'm still happy to be in the "efficient" range of 30 mpg.....even if with a Prius....that LOW a MPG would indicate something is wrong.