Best Excuses to Tell Your Friends Why You Bought A Prius are.....

wow

 

it makes the most sense.. thats my reason.. Price, Size, Gas Savings.. New tech.. All stuff I lvoe about the car..

hooking up my prius on the other hand.. absolutely makes no sense.. but being the car guy I am, ANY car I have will get modified.. I think that PRIUS hate goes to a whole new level when you start to hook it up! I get more "WHY" questions after modifying my car..

 

I've hopscotched around this thread, and it's surprising to me that everyone says the same thing, but personally means something different.

Vitriol aside, the Prius is a clever design compromise that uses less gasoline, ergo less oil. This explanation works for environmentalists, fiscal conservatives, patriots, alt fuel enthusiasts, travelers, families, anyone with a motivation, FOR ANY REASON, to consume less gasoline. I think that should be enough to find common ground in this forum without labelling, name-calling, argument, or judgement.

In my experience, the consistant stereotype of Prius owners is intelligence and critical thought.

That I find the performance of this amazing little car occasionally spirited is inspiring.

 

I think I'm going to finally put my 2 cents in on this one.

For me, it was the gas savings (I drive roughly 25k a year) and even with those cars that claim to get 40 MPG (I had bought an Elantra earlier this year) the combined EPA was roughly 33. Due to my mixed driving I was always closer to 31 (calculated of course!). Car payment for a 48 month term along with gas for me was roughly $900 a month. For the Prius? Roughly the same. A little less most months.

Also, the ride. This is subjective, of course, but I always loved the comfort (and so do most of my passengers).

Despite what everyone says, I also kind of dig the look. I think the Gen III models are much improved aesthetically (but I'm not going to hate on my Gen II brothers and sisters). It feels slightly more aggressive but is still an eco-friendly icon on the roads.

Lastly, I call it my little space ship because of the sounds it makes, and all the technology inside of it. When people ask what I drive or what my car is, I go "what car? I'm in a space ship"

 

1) I love the technology.
2) Learning the techniques to improve mileage and matching them with my driving style.
3) Getting a free ride in Glide or somewhat inexpensive ride in EV. I used to sail, wind driving the boat, no motor.
4) Using less petroleum for all the well known reasons.
5) No cost saving calculations, I could afford the car or the gas, I just love the car.

 

It's not the ride. There are better.
It's not the looks. There are better.
It's not the savings. You'll save more buying something less expensive with good mileage.

The one thing Prius does is use less oil.

 

I don't think this is a fallacious argument. To quote Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers: "The cheapest car is the one you already own."

I could have decided to keep driving the vehicle I had (2002 GMC Somona crew cab baby truck 150K, 15 MPG), but that would mean investing in an increasingly unreliable, aging (albeit paid for) vehicle. I decided instead to pay for the reliability, safety, technology, and efficiency of a Prius. That's my collection of reasons, but it won't save me net money when I factor in the cost of a $26k purchase. The threefold savings in gas consumption OFFSETS the monthly car payment, but my end goal was not to reduce my transportation costs. If I had traded-in an unpaid-for gas guzzler, and drove more, the math would be different.

However, I genuinely enjoy driving the car and find excuses to drive more than I used to. Which is a pleasure that costs me pennies to indulge.

 

it truly depends on the situation. i totaled my car in an accident, so i had to buy a new (used) car anyways... keeping my current car was not an option.

 

You could have got a ICE Yaris for like $10 grand bro. Does insurance let you keep the difference?

 

Absolutely.

 

Yeah, they just gave me a check for the value of my focus. I don't like the Yaris... too small for me. I haul gear around all the time for work and I also got the Prius with a future family (getting married next year) in mind.

 

Unless it is old and maintenance costs are high and safety equipment is dated. And if it uses a lot of oil and pollutes, you may want to buy a Prius or other hybrid, pay the extra $6K and do some good. Granted you'd do yourself more financial good pocking the $6k differential but you can always come up with excuses like "I'm making it up on gas savings" or put right wing stickers on the car like voodoo talismans to ward off the evil spirits driving gas guzzlers with right wing stickers on the car.

 

Not everyone pays for their own car. In that case you get the most efficient car possible in your price range. Also, you can write off your payments depending on your job, so its not a straight $6k difference. And thirdly, many people don't see it as $6k more. They see it as $100-$125 more per month.

You are oversimplifying the hell out of your analysis. Its not that simple.

 

But, like all Prius drivers, they will be doing the one thing Prius does for all Prius drivers, uses less oil and pollutes less. The bottom line reason for owning a Prius. It's why some owners need the excuses because making a decision to use less oil is looked on as "liberal" which is a bad thing to some sectors of society.

 

My family bought Prius's to support the war on terror. Not sure how thats liberal, but Ok

 

"Conservatives" say there is no connection to US oil use and terror, that there's plenty of oil in US if we'd only drill baby drill, that there's no pollution or climate change issues from oil use. That's why Prius is a symbol of being liberal since the only reason someone would pay $6K more for a car that's sole "better" feature is using less oil is they are a "bleeding heart" "tree hugging" "liberal". It's is the point of this thread where the author ponders "excuses" for owning low oil use car. How to hide one's "liberal" actions from one's "conservative" peers.

In some social groups, people need excuses for why they AREN'T driving a Prius.

 

eh, theres a difference between whacko tea party guys and all conservatives, again oversimplifying and assuming 1 group is all the same

 

Following your logic... it would be because they really are a flaming liberal, but try to cover it up by acting like a gun toting, war mongering, SUV driving, Tea Partier?

 

Correct...since owning a Prius is being a tree hugging, bleeding heart liberal...if your peers are war mongering, SUV driving, Tea Partiers you would need to an EXCUSE for owning a Prius. If your peers are gun toting, tree hugging, bleeding heart liberals..you need an EXCUSE for NOT owning a Prius or other hybrid or low oil use vehicle.