Prius Special Story

Thanks Dennis, I enjoy reading anything positive about the Prius which reinforces our decision to select this terrific machine. While Toyota has fast been establishing a fine reputation for quality products they were also pretty gutsy to leap into the hybrid market. Obviously we also owe a great deal to those of you who had the courage to purchase a Prius when they first became available. Sort of like pioneers who lived through the teething periods, reported constructively here and in other forums so that we newcomers could benefit from their knowledge and experiences. It's kinda fun being somewhat on the leading edge of a new auto technology. Here on Vancouver Island Prii are as scarce as hen's teeth so we are enjoying being among the first owners. I get particular enjoyment clarifying the misinformation folks have about the hybrid and find myself speaking like an evangelist for our midsized, four wheel, 2005 Prius, baby, handing out PriusChat "business" cards left, right and centre. 8) :lol: :wink:

 

Dennis,

WELCOME!

Your many contributions on that hostile forum were greatly appreciated. I put up with all that crap over there as long as I could possibly tolerate. Gathering facts from the anti-hybrid folk sure was helpful, but their rude & dishonest attacks made me long for the friendly atmosphere here.

I will admit, though, that their lack of objectivity was rather amusing. It clearly showed how desperate they're becoming, witnessing their greatest fear become a reality: the success of hybrids! The engine-only diesel folk must be especially ticked off now. Some absolutely refused to acknowledge the benefit of a diesel-hybrid, insisting that couldn't possibily be a viable solution. Now the very company they endorsed most has begun to promote diesel-hybrids.

The fact that you-know-who is parting with his hybrid is amusing too. He is directly contridicting his very own arguments... essentially cancelling out just about everything he ever accused me of.

And of course, I feel totally vindicted by the other troublemaker. All along he had been giving me a hard time about my claims of the Prius design, especially emphasizing that the Plantery-CVT couldn't possibly work that well. It turns out, he had a friend that worked for Toyota who was against Prius... because he didn't understand the design. But after taking training classes, his friend changed his tune. And the troublemaker actually admitted that I was right! But after almost 5 years of hybrid research, how could I have overlooked something? In fact, that was a reason for participating on that hostile forum: to gather as much data from diverse sources as possible.

Plain & Simple, it works. Research is complete. We can kick back and enjoy the rewards now.

Have fun. You'll really like the wealth of Prius stuff available here.

 

welcome to the forums Dennis. hope you find what you are looking for here.

a great article it is and shows the commitment that Toyota has towards making the technology work. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Toyota for continuing to push this new technology in the face of tremendous odds. The vision, perserverance, and dedication to cause just validates my purchase all the more.

it is no wonder that Toyota is the fastest growing automobile company in the world. their quality is good and their innovation is great, but their commitment to providing the best possible solution at a reasonable price is 2nd to no one.

 

Thank you Dennis!

I've posted the Adobe Acrobat version of this story over on the PriusChat File Library , for anyone interested.

[PS To Danny: couldn't add an attachment to my File Library posting on Firebird -- "Add an Attachment" kept saying "article is already posted", or something like that. So I did it in IE. ]

 

John, Dennis, to which forum do you refer?

 

Which forum are you guys talking about? Edmunds?

 

Yes... and fortunately, much of the nasty stuff is no longer available. The worst of the topics was taken offline permanently (thankfully) and the recent ones had lots of individual posts deleted.

The interface is awful, just a few horribly long permanent threads which wander off-topic quite a bit. That contributes heavily to the ease of deception. The anti-hybrid people can easily obscure the facts you present. And of course, you aren't allowed to self-promote in any way, shape, or form. So my entire website was off limits. I wasn't allowed to refer to it at all. Those anti-hybrid message posters knew that and took full advantage of the situation.

I'm so glad it is over now.

Prius became too popular and the far more constructive forums, like PRIUSCHAT, helped to end the misconceptions they fed off of. Yeah!

I knew they would be self-destructive. Avoiding detail can only be done so long before the readers catch on. Now they have very few to quarrel with now and very little to material remaining. It was a great experience to witness the fear-of-change firsthand. I got a ton of material for my logs and I believe I became a more tolerant & understanding person in the process... and it will hopefully prevent that crap from ever happening again.

Phew!

It's time to enjoy what we have achieved. I am so looking forward to what that momentum now established will bring in the next few years. Prius will become an even easier sale and the numbers on the road will continue to climb. Yippee!

 

Sounds like a rough situation...

I wonder, though... would you have been able to answer questions with statements like "google for blah blah blah"? Or would that also have been considered self-promoting?

...just curious how these sites work...and how informed debates are possible if nobody is allowed to cite sources...

--Michael Spencer

 

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Debates are always productive. Sometimes they prove a point. Other times they reinforce or reconfirm something already proven.

I personally have no interest in IMA, since it needs to be at least SULEV and cost-competitive with a full hybrid. I also see no need to support a design that does not provide for future enhancement opportunities.

By the way, the host on that other forum got really ticked off when I started a debate of HSD vs. IMA. She said I wasn't giving the Accord-Hybrid a chance. In other words, Prius looked so good she feared I'd impair the discussions. All I did was ask well thought out questions, like where the heck will the electricity come from for the A/C from a passive-charging system? IMA doesn't have that much to spare normally. So how much of a benefit will that feature actually provide? And it is really worth the added cost & complexity?

Debates are in the past for me. That research is complete. I have found that HSD will serve the need quite well. The other designs can fend for themselves. Genuine competition is welcome. If they can match the performance (emissions, efficiency, reliability, etc.) I've seen HSD in Prius demonstrated over the past few years, great! If not, they better not pretend they do... cause I'll squash them simply by pointing out lots of real-world data.

 

I have decided ti quit the Yahoo Prius pages. Recently they have allowed subjects that have nothing to do with Prius, such as sexual stuff.

 

It has been quite interesting watching the various forums age. I was there at the very beginning. We were one unified force at first. Then we watched the audiences divide into several different groups, each taking shape at different rates and in different ways. Now with some reaching maturity, others are dying. No new ones are being created. We are clearly entering the unification phase again.

External factors are finally having an influence nowadays, the market in general growing interested in hybrids. It's not just the enthusiasts anymore. After all, it was inevitable that someday other hybrids would emerge. Now it is actually happening. And with me now in my fifth year of ownership, it shouldn't really surprise anyone that I have developed a preference. More and more you are hearing me endorse "full" hybrids, identifying the other designs as not competitive... yet.

It is an objective approach, so that choice shouldn't upset anyone. I have identified requirements: Emissions must be at least SULEV. Efficiency must be close to 100% improved (compared to the traditional class average for that type of vehicle). HSD achieves that, as well as offering a wide range of configuration options. Ford's design shows a lot of promise. Honda is struggling to find something that will satisfy a wide audience. GM isn't even close.

Hopefully, things will change. It would be great if both emissions & efficiency were given a higher priority. Right now, that's not the case. So I am unwilling to support a technology that isn't working toward the same goal. And there are plenty of people now to rally support of those worthy goals. So... why not? Let's go for it. The time has come for a noble cause. After all, Prius has proven to be a realistic solution.