Do Pruis’s bug other drivers?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stumpy_c @ Oct 20 2007, 12:01 AM) [snapback]528062[/snapback]</div>

I agree with this group of prius owners. I likewise used to drive a v6 mercedes and could easily outgun anyone. But over the last month of ownership of this car, I noticed I've been honked at more times than within a year of driving my mercedes. I dont know if its because I'm slower, or I am still learning to use car. Sometimes I find myself playing with the navigation or other features at a red light and that definitely gets me the horn.

 

I don't think this particular yutz was an auto tech, but who knows.
I had in fact just gotten back from a week of evening seminars on
hybrids -- part of which involves touching on the fact that a> the
new vehicles, hybrid and non, are generally more reliable, and b> as
things start going more and more electric, they're going to need less
maintenance overall. What is it, a scene out of WKTEC where a big
pile of oil and filters and gaskets and icky fluids is compared to
the single cooling-air filter that the EV1 would have needed over
30,000 miles? Add to that the fact that the dealers are locking
customers into longer and longer warranty/free-service periods and
actively cutting into the indies' source of revenue. I try to
reassure the guys that all the dealer horror stories here on the
forums are one thing that might help driver customers into their
shops.
.
It's kind of funny -- it's said that there's still a crying need for
good auto techs and diagnosticians, and on the other hand that
there's less and less need as vehicles become more reliable. And
they won't get *really* reliable until the makers become less
year-to-year profit driven, and you can guess when *that's* going
to happen.
.
But I think in my case the tail was just some belligerent kid looking
to mess with someone else's day. What I failed to do was note his
plate, because if I find damage to my own car parked in the area over
the next little while I've got a prime suspect. But there aren't
all that many dark blue Crown Vics running around here, either.
.
_H*

 

I'll have to agree and say yes that other drivers
seemingly have a grudge...regardless of what the
prius driver is doing. In New Mexico at 72 mph others
will scream by me--- ( i am an ex-porsche driver by the way)
i believe it to be a combination of factors--they "think" i
am going slower than them so they speed up.....
however to be fair--i pay way more attention to driving
to the prius's advantages, doing the speed limit,
conservation when possible etc.
I stay out of the left lane and avoid obvious crazed drivers...

The prius is actually a symbol of the world to come and many
of our fellow citizens do not agree with, or like the concept of
smaller, higher quality and responsibility.

just my thoughts
Froley

 

I just want to point out the other factor that may be at play here: our own perceptions. I know that after getting the Prius (and especially since getting my new one less than a month ago) I'm much more conscious of the drivers behind me than I was before. Yes, I paid attention to the folks back there to be safe, but now, every car that pulls up behind me at a traffic light looks like it's about to smash me into next week and every driver traveling behind me looks like he's tailgating. I think this is a combination of the rear window of the Prius (the dividing line across it to be precise) and hatch back configuration making things look a bit closer and a "stay away from my nice new baby!!!" fear factor.

I don't think I've been honked at more than usual on the roads around Boston and I've never (knock on wood) been involved in any crazy road rage incidents like those described here.

 

I haven't noticed any unusual behaviour toward me, when I drive the Prius. Then again, Portland OR has lots of Prius cars, people are used to them.

I do try to be considerate - if someone is behind me, I'll go from zero to my cruising speed a bit more quickly than I will if no-one is behind. I won't pulse and glide in traffic. I don't change my cruising speed just to satisfy the tailgater - but I wouldn't do so in any car.

 

I think it may. Before I got the Prius I was driving an 04 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Nice car, lots of luxuries but the thing was averaging 17 mpg. Was at the pump every week filling up the 20 gal tank.

Anyways, after having the Prius for about two months now, I do drive a little differently. I'm not really racing around anymore and am more conscious of speed. I live in So Cal and I'm respectful of others. Hey if I'm gonna be driving a little slower then I'll move over to the slower lanes. But I do notice that I get tailgated more often. Most of the times I'm cool with it but sometimes when the lane to the left is wide open I'll just "clean my windshield" to get them off. I really don't understand it. If you want to go faster lane change over to the left and go faster! It's common frickin sense.

I have a late model 07 so I can't get the HOV sticker anymore but I wish I could. Not only to travel in that lane whenever I want but to travel in that lane knowing that I'm getting 50+ mpg AND able to travel in that lane. I envy the stickered Prius. But hey filling up at about 8.5 gal and going about 450+ miles per tank I can't complain.

 

Hey guys, this is my first post but figured this would be a good outside perspective since I'm not a Prius owner. In fact, I own 3 other vehicles, 1 gets 16mpg on diesel (dually pickup used to tow my RV), a Jeep with 35" tires that is lucky to get 10mpg, and a Jeep SRT8 which is a very limited production vehicle that tops out at 170mph and gets to 60 in 4.4 seconds....all while getting 12mpg on Premium fuel out of it's 6.1 liter. I also just recently sold my Navigator that got about 11mpg on premium. As you can see, I may be considered the nemesis to the typical Prius owner.

Anyway, my office is about 5 miles from my home (so I'm not currently driving a ton of miles getting to work) and I consider myself a car enthusiast. I drive because I love driving. After work I may drive 30 minutes out of the way just to extend my trip. Driving to me is not a means at getting from point A to point B. I just got back from to California (from Phoenix) and yeah, I could have spent $120 roundtrip on Southwest for the weekend but how as an enthusiast could I have passed up driving 400 miles each way in the SRT8 getting 12mpg on premium? My quick calculation tells me it cost about $220 to make that same trip....and it took 5 times longer than flying. Yeah, to 99% of the population this is nuts.

Anyway, I too am a gadget enthusiast as well. As such, I've always wanted a Prius. I'm moving my office to about 20 miles from the house so now's my excuse to buy a commuter vehicle. After all, commuting in rush hour isn't exactly enthusiast driving so I might as well buy something cleaner and cheaper to operate during these commutes. I decided to test drive a Prius 2 days ago. I put about 15 miles on it so it was a pretty good test drive. I decided not to buy it right away as I wanted to find some forums (like this one) to see what others are paying, etc, before plopping down the cash. I can see how these cars make you a better driver. I really had no desire to drive like my normal mad-man self. I'm really looking forward to the purchase. My calculations tell me I'll be averaging over 20mpg with a combination of my vehicles. Does this make me a better person? I hope so. Anyway, I had 3 of the salesmen and the manager there gawking at my SRT8 since they hadn't seen one before.... I made the joke about it being the Prius' nemesis when I got in it to leave.

I tranformed myself into my mad-man self when I pulled out of there. Pulled up next to a stop light next to a sport bike and raced him up to 120. I guess the Prius will temporarily transform me in to a much more earth friendly person.... at least while I'm in it.

I guess to finally get on topic, I don't have any ill feelings towards the Prius on the road. I actually have a lot of respect for those wanting to get great fuel economy and not support our enemies. I'm all for that as well. I just really like the thrill of horsepower. I do admit I will get on someone's A$$ like you wouldn't believe if they're holding up traffic in the left lane... especially on the freeway. Perhaps some Prius drivers concentrate so much on their fuel mileage gauge that they're not being considerate to other drivers? If you're driving green holding up traffic I'll probably race past you and give you the stink eye myself. This is coming from a future Prius driver. Heck, in my own Prius I'll probably do the same but I guarantee I'll be in the slow lane as much as possible. Another forum member posted in a thread that if he's going the speed limit that he's not going to yield to faster traffic behind him. This is exactly the attitude that makes traffic worse. I always have to smile when I go to Europe and see 3 times as much traffic able to drive down a 2 lane road with less drama than the same amount of vehicles would travel on a 6 lane interstate.... all due to their much more disciplined driving habits.

So in closing, could it be that some of you are holding up traffic while you take 30 seconds to get up to 60mph on the on ramp while you're keeping one eye on the gauge?... and that it's not a Prius "thing", but a driving "thing"? I've read over the last 2 days several instances of where staring at the gauge is "addictive". Could people zipping past you giving you the evil eye be a result of your driving style behind the wheel of a Prius?... much like many will zip by someone talking on the cell phone or texting (also distracted) while driving?

I'm not trying to troll here... just trying to spark some debate.

Mike

 

There is a time and place for performance driving, but it is not on
the public roads with other traffic around. Really. Now, I totally
agree that most people have no clue about the "lane protocol", i.e.
pass left mostly-keep-right, pick the correct lane for the speed
range you're interested in, etc. But in NO way can I agree with
getting on anyone's nice person on highways, for ANY reason. If you've
got a left-lane hog, keep your safe following distance and if you
want to try to send the move-over message, use your lights. It's
much better to try that than threaten anyone with vehicle proximity,
period. You do not have the reflexes to react in time -- nobody
does, despite what they might think. If they just hang there then
figure out a safe way to pass on the right later.
.
Sounds like you have quite a few sensible ideas, but sorry, tailgating
is not one of them.
.
Welcome to Priuchat, by the way, where both the cars and the people
will work their magic on you.
.
_H*

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mingoglia @ Oct 25 2007, 09:33 PM) [snapback]530580[/snapback]</div>

You can still do that in a Prius. The power is sufficient for cruising comfortably at 85mph on the freeway.

That topic has been beaten to death. There are some who believe that as long as they are driving the speed limit that they are entitled to drive in any lane, and there are those that view that behavior as unnecessarily creating a dangerous situation (as well as an impediment to efficient traffic flow). So far I've never seen anyone on either side change their mind based on a persuasive argument from someone with an opposing viewpoint.

By the way, you're on drugs if you think a Jeep SRT8 can hit 170mph. The aerodynamics of a Grand Cherokee won't allow it. You need way more than 425hp. An LS2 C6 Corvette, which has far less frontal area and a lower Cd, hits 186mph with similar hp. 155mph, which is what R&T estimated when they tested a JGC SRT8 is much more realistic (which is 170mph indicated if your speedo is 10% optimistic).

 

I drive at the speed limit all the time, I can't be bothered going slower and I can't afford the fines for going faster. I also try to keep left (in Australia) when ever possible but I won't cut in front of someone into what I believe is their safety buffer space. If someone tailgates me I simply increase my margin of safety by slowing down. Tailgating is a pretty silly thing to do if you want someone to move over, it only makes it harder to make sure no one is coming up the left (in Australia) side of your car that I might be cutting off. Once you back off I will be able to speed up safely or preferably move over when I'm able to get over.

Hey mingoglia, welcome to Prius Chat, looking forward to seeing pictures of your Prius when you move from the dark side of the force.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Oct 25 2007, 10:58 PM) [snapback]530600[/snapback]</div>

It will top out at 168. There are GPS verified threads with pics on cherokeesrt8.com. I've had mine to 155 (speedo indicated) once about 2am on the freeway and it pulled to that quickly and had more in it. I also had it up to 145 on I-8 this past weekend twice. It will pull up to those speeds quickly with no indication that wind drag is starting to equal the power being put to the ground (if that makes sense). I've topped out other vehicles and that last 10-15mph comes up very very slow as your vehicle gets closer and closer to requiring 100% of your available hp to overcome drag. I realize what you're saying. If I remember correctly I read years ago that it takes 8 times the horsepower (of course on average) everytime you double your speed. Part of the Jeep SRT8 being able to hit those speeds is probably gearing (which is one of the reasons it gets so much less mpg than a relatively close in weight Charger SRT8). At 80mph, I'm spinning 3,000 RPM. The lower rear ratio contributes to it's launch off the line but means the engine revs higher. My vehicle is one of few whos top speed is RPM limited. I believe on the Corvette top speed is actually achieved in 5th gear, and not 6th... I'm pretty sure the Viper is the same way.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(snakeman @ Oct 20 2007, 09:36 PM) [snapback]528338[/snapback]</div>

I agree with snakeman. I think I get the same treatment with the Prius as with the Sienna. I just notice it more if somebody screws with me in the Prius. In the Prius I do leave a little more distance in the front, which means people try to zip around me and slam on the brakes and get 1 car ahead, which is where they still are 10 miles down the road. Lots of drivers are jerks, it does not matter what you are driving they are always going to be jerks. Turn up the music, put your head against the headrest, and relax. You'll live longer that way.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mingoglia @ Oct 26 2007, 07:19 AM) [snapback]530681[/snapback]</div>

That's gotta be wind aided. Anyway, a few mph doesn't matter, those JGCs are insanely fast. R&T did a comparison test of all the gas-guzzling, high-performance SUVs like the SRT8, Porsche Cayenne Turbo, Supercharged Range Rover, and the SRT8 spanked all of them in the on-road tests (acceleration, braking, handling), although they did note that when being flogged hard the engine temps went sky high, a problem no other vehicle in the test experienced.

I still have an old JGC ZJ that now permanently resides at our vacation house. I can hit boulders at 50mph that would tear off that air dam on your SRT8 .

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Oct 26 2007, 01:48 PM) [snapback]530863[/snapback]</div>

That's true. It tends to run a bit warm. Some have installed performance computers that among other thing allows the fan to come on sooner. Right now the fan only comes on when it's already a bit warm. In fact I found it runs cooler with the A/C on because the fan is at least on it's slow speed setting the whole time (then kicks to it's high speed when the temp raises).

I hear you on the ZJ. I also have a TJ (which is a bit bigger and has a lot more sheet metal cut off since this pic):

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brentmeister @ Oct 19 2007, 07:18 PM) [snapback]527954[/snapback]</div>

Totally agree; when in the Prius I occasionally get cut off but never in the Buick Rendevous! You can almost read their eyes and my wife is getting good at it. She can pretty much tell when some Nimrod is going to pull out in front of us or not depending on the vehicle we are driving at the time. I have to admit I have not to this point met any driver that has had a "thing" about the Prius.