Best Of Both Worlds

One reason many of us purchase a Prius is to endorse the technology.

We all know quite well that Toyota intends to offer a hybrid system in all of their passenger vehicles by 2010. We also know they have a corporate goal of increasing their United States marketshare to 15 percent by that same date.

The issue will no longer be what size or model of vehicle you drive, it will be what type. Purchasing a dirty, gas-guzzling, non-hybrid version of a vehicle then just plain won't make any sense.

 

i stand by my opinion and i dont express it in an effort to get anyone to agree with me. i express it because that is what i think.

and up till now ive sugar coated my opinion. my true opinion is that not only is the H2 the "best of both world"
i think its the worst possible choice for hauling a vehicle period.

and Frank: if you think that means im telling you what to buy so be it. it was never my intention to change anyones mind and it still isnt.

 

To Evan

It certainly seemed that people who expressed some disaproval over the buying of an H2 were being told that they did not have the right to do that. That they did not have the right to make a "critical" comment.

Maybe I misunderstood.

Sorry.

But I'm glad you agree that we have the right to not agree.

But I am confused about your post. You support my right to disagree with someones choice, but I can't suggest to them that they make another choice? Aren't they pretty much the same thing?

 

personally to tow a boat if it was me I'd buy a pretty little bob tail "Pete" with a little Cummins Propane and tow it with that. You know leather and fancy carpeting and cruise etc. Cat Con Verter and all. Best of both worlds. Cheap to run and with the cat, as enviromentally friendly as a H2. Fully loaded probably about 12-15 or more miles to the gallon. And you sit even high than in a H2, and if you loose your job hire your self out for TLT LTL work. have a look
http://www.cumminswestport.com/products/blpgplus.php

 

Come on now, do you all really think that your saving the world by driving a Prius.
Yes, I do really think! As a group of individuals, we Prii owners (future owners too) ARE making a difference. GM, Ford and the rest have taken notice of the sales and waiting lists for the Prii and that is causing them to look at changing their polluting ways (however half-assed and lethargic their initial feeble attempts will be.) Pretty powerful stuff for a small minority of car buyers!

There is so much waste going on that a few thousand Prii don't add up to jack.
I totally agree . . . but a few hundred Hummers do!! Ever wonder why GM doesn’t give you an EPA estimated MPG for the Hummer? (Hint: It’s not because they aren’t required to.)
BECAUSE THEY DO NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW. Ever wonder why they don’t give you numbers on Hummer emissions? Same answer! If Hummers were high MPG and/or low polluting they would be bragging!

I guess that I'll just have to get some slaves to pull my boat, but that won't make make the conservationists happy either.
No it wouldn’t, but backing the Hummer into your three car garage along with the boat and welding the doors shut would. You - having the mentality to be a proud Hummer owner - would no doubt be equally proud to have a bunch of slaves too. Rape and Pillage the earth with a Hummer, Rape and Pillage some slaves . . . look at me people . . . I’m a big man . . . I do what I want! . . . Me, me, me.

Hey you never asked what kind of milage the boat gets, but I guess that doesn't count.
Yes it counts too, but we aren’t sure which one gets the worst milage. So which is it, the boat or the Hummer? Which pollutes more? Oh, that’s right. You are ignorant on the subject.


As more and more of the general car buying population learn of the significant benefits of gas electric hybrid cars . . . they too will come to realize that the concept of a car idling is really stupid, and that poor gas milage and excessively polluting is just plain wrong - and they will demand better.

Thank-You Toyota for giving us a better choice than status quo - and yes, build hybrid Highlanders, Siennas, Camrys, Tundras, etc . . . we want them too.

Ha ha ha . . . you paid for a Hummer and got a Chevy Tahoe chassis instead. What a poser! I bet you even tow the Prius with the Hummer just to show your environmental side.

Do you know what the Army calls H2s?
Squishies!

 

Agree with Evan on this one,

The last post is over the top in the PERSONAL ATTACKS department. I would never have use for (even for show) an H2. The Prius we own took our tiny Toyota pickup (~30 mpg) out of primary service. That pickup has in the past and continues to serve admirably hauling all the stuff we need to build our house with and we have always managed to find a way to deal with the rare loads outside of it's capacity.

The personal attacks,however, are unwarranted and only poison the waters of this forum and I would hope that more would understand Evan's point. No argument made supporting H2's, No argument restricting free speech, just a plea for some civility.

 

Perhaps FDNY37 can glean some useful information from some of the posts regarding 'best'.
Obviously posting a claim that the H2 was 1/2 of "the best of both worlds" in a Prius forum is akin to jumping into a snake pit
Only he knows what features make the H2 "the best" for him but I did a quick search and found that the Expedition (which by all accounts is a BIG machine) costs about 1/2 the H2, has 20 to 30 cu ft more storage, can tow over 8500 pounds (with the 5.4L) compared to an H2 at 6700 ( H1 is only 7500) pounds and gets (without H2 data, hard to calculate) about twice the mileage. Clearly these differences are not the ones considered by H2 buyers, they aren't even close enough to ignore.

Maybe he needs the 20" fording capability or 60% hill capability (I don't know what these are for Expedition). If not, he may make a different decision the next time.

 

The poster (poser) who started this thread is a flame-baiter and as such should expect/is expecting a less than friendly response. I doubt he has taken any offense to what I wrote, just the contrary . . . after all, he is a big macho man with a big truck. This thread should have been posted to Fred’s House Of Pancakes, but that would have confirmed its flame bait status from the beginning and lessened FDNY37's thrills.

 

Because of his M.O. Flame baiters start off with something seemingly innocuous, then fan the flames when they get a bite. Hence his reply . . .

Yes, I was curious to see if he was baiting.

 

i just posted a rather long one on the nuclear fuel question that has also become rather heated.

i believe in discussion and discussions without emotion simply are not as effective especially in a forum situation. this is not the place to sugar coat things. i cannot see your facial expression so i cant read between the lines.

but the only way we grow is by discussion. a discussion that doesnt rub someone the wrong way is nearly a complete waste of time (or the subject is socially absent) NOTHING is acceptable to everyone and i invite dissenting opinions because that is the only way i can grow. on average, i need to read a dozen posts agreeing with me to take away one new idea. but i can usually take away one new idea from just 1-2 dissenting posts.

so in a sense, i truly hope i piss you off. and i really hope i piss you off enough to where you will want to write something here. now im not doing it to get something going over nothing. i feel that my beliefs are shared by a lot of people. there are also a lot of very inteligent people who dont share my opinions and i to be honest with you want to know why. so if you really want to make me happy...

Tell me what i am doing wrong.

for more in a similiar vein check out this

http://priuschat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?...p?p=37929#37929

 

well evan i have to agree with you on that and im sorry about that. i pondered deleting the post because it was done with out much thought and that is part of the reason for damage control but the reason i continued in this thread (since most of the time i just abandon ones that dont seem to go anywhere) is that there was good feedback from members in this forum.

 

ill be honest with ya... i dont own a H2 and have never even been in one, so im not really qualitfied to say that it is good or bad in any sense.

i base my opinions on what i have read and although i've read as many good articles as negative articles, one still must consider the amount of spin put on what is essentially someone elses just as non-scientific opinion as my own.

it is possible that the H2 is the best for FDNY... but other than the fact that he has a boat, he has voiced none of the things he likes. so i am still as much in the dark about his post as the first time i read it.

now i realize that a sense of pride in ownership almost never has a basis in reality to a certain extent. i have no doubt that anyone who doesnt own a Prius will ever begin to understand how highly i think of my Prius. The Prius is not a perfect car (from what ive heard... but no evidence of any shortcomings in my Prius that ive seen... ) but to listen to me talk, one would think that the 2nd coming of Christ pales in comparison to my Prius pulling up in your driveway.

so FDNY im glad you are happy with your H2... but still a bit curious as to why you feel that way.

 

Social change

I realize we live in a free country, and people can buy and drive what they want. But, that isn't the point to me.

We need a social change in this country, and that change must happen if the country is going to survive. The social change we need is for people to no longer be accepting of the current level of wastefullness and inefficiency that is inherent in American society. This doesn't just refer to transportation choices, but they serve as a good and obvious example.

If you go back in time 200 years, it was socially acceptable to own slaves in America. There were those who didn't like the idea, but in general, owning slaves was absolutely fine and legal. Today, not only is it illegal, but it is about as far from socially acceptable as murder. Things can change....

It isn't going to happen overnight, but we need the same type of social change regarding our energy consumption. We need people to start thinking that it isn't OK to pollute the air. It isn't OK to send billions of $ (every day!) to the Middle East where it can and does fall into the hands of terrorists. It isn't OK to have the ridiculous trade imbalance that we currently have in this county, because it is like a money spigot left open just spilling out onto the ground! It isn't OK to threaten the future of the planet by spewing millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every day. It isn't OK to make personal choices that ignore the Nation's economy, security and future.

Our energy use is by far the highest of any country in the world, and it is eventually going to be our downfall if we don't change. One person driving a Prius doesn't accomplish anything, but it is a step in the right direction. It would have been hard for Lincoln to denounce slavery if he was slave owner, and it's hard for me to denounce H2's if I drive a Ford Expedition.

 

we do need a social change and the best way to do that is buy a Prius. it will never come about by telling people what not to do. Prohibition and the war on drugs are two great examples of that.

the best thing is to lead by example. buy a Prius, offer information to anyone that asks, extoll the virtues and advantages of the car and the people will come. realize that you as a Prius owner are among the leaders in a movement that will hopefully gain more steam and become a force to be reckoned with.

as much as i dont want to see oil companies make any more money than they do now, it seems that the best way to create more awareness is to double the price of gas (will still be less than what europe pays)

But the Prius gives us another avenue. it is after all a way to make a statement about waste, energy, environment, etc in no NO COMPROMISE SOLUTION.

now that is is easy and painless to jump on the conservation bandwagon, more people will do it.

that is the only way change will come about. it will only happen when people think that they are doing it under their own free will.

 

And now for something completely different...

fdny37 -- what color is that Prius? A Tideland Pearl? Or a Driftwood?

 

My guess is Driftwood. Fdny37, am I right?