sometimes you just need to vent

Come on. Let's put this in perspective. We are not defending the honor of a Deity. It is not worth it to get into a huff over what someone thinks of another hybrid.

 

there was one bit of information in the article that caught my attention and it was about the A/C compressor being both engine driven and electric driven, where by it cycles between, depending on the ICE, if it's running it's engine driven and if in the stopped mode it's electric motor driven. Why use electric power when the ICE is running? that makes sense to me.

 

What getsme are statments like "The Prius is a different-looking product,". Well it maybe so in the US, I dont know, but in Europe, its not "different looking" at all.

Ive only noticed 2 people look at the car asIve driven past. Thats how normal it is.

 

Have you thought of contacting him and giving him a "one year on" report and asking why he was so negative in the other article?

 

How about this line:

>With its 255 ponies, it hits 60 mph in less than 7 seconds, and can go 600 miles on a tank of gas.

So, if the Accord is supposed to get at best 37hwy, that means it must have close to a 17 gallon tank. I can go 600 miles on a tank in my Hummer b/c it gets 1 mile per gallon and I have a 600 gallon tank in the trunk. How innovative.

 

he's not writing the article to be objective, he's writing it to keep his pay cheque coming in.

 

Oh my, 10132003, you must remember that the Prius is not just "another hybrid". The deity will probably dump your precious amp collection in the middle of your next commute for such heretical comments. :roll:

 

While your words ring true about the honor of a Deity, I think you should cut john1701a some slack. Literally, there are I'm sure tens of people on this board that wouldn't own a Prius without all the info he's provided. As noted in the post, he just wanted to vent a little about misinformed idiot Americans, as there seem to be more than ever today. Everyone wants to jump on the hybrid bandwagon, as visible by the silly Silverado with 0mpg improvement. And you know what will happen when their sales are non-existant with it? They'll do what they did with diesel in the late 70s and say it's not worth it, and kill it.

I wouldn't own my car today if it wasn't for john1701a and his website. I think at the very least, a good deal of people here would be in the same situation, if not very very misinformed before buying and possibly sold on other hybrids that aren't similar at all (aka the civic). I say cut him some slack and let him vent because he deserves it after 3 years of the free info he's given us all.

-m.

 

You have a valid point. john1701a provides a valuable source of information about the Prius. I made the decision to buy the car well before I discovered John's site or even this one. I am extremely satisfied with my decision and I encourage everyone who shows interest in the car to consider purchasing one.

I do, however, fail to understand the religious fervor with which some of the posters here respond to any perceived criticism of the car. After all, it is an item of material possession, not our loved ones, our country or our faith.

I may have erred in posting my reaction in response to this particular message by John, but my feelings about sanctification of the Prius have been brewing for some time.

Peace.

 

I can understand the feeling of 'it's just a car' - I know exactly what you are saying, and I do agree with that to quite an extent. In the end, it is only a material possession.

But, to defend it a little - it is the second largest material possession one purchases next to a house - which in all fairness, is usually *more* than a material possession to most people. The same goes for some people with cars.

For me, for example, I don't own a house, and won't even consider buying one in the local market because of many factors. So, for right now, this car is the largest purchase of my life, and since it does consume so much of my money (which can be seen as time working), I want it to mean something to me. And this car, specifically the Prius, is the car I would be driving if money were no object to me. It's truly my dream car - sure I'd have a porsche perhaps in the garage (or if I could get a Volta maybe!) for an occasional joyride, but with money being no object this would still be the car I would drive regularly.

And, in defense of the Prius, it is a statement - the lowest emissions from a four-door, the neatest technology, some excellent mileage, and so on.

I wasn't really interested in cars before the Prius, either. I wanted them to have nice features, and get me from point a to b, and that's it. I was lucky to get my oil changes on time, and forget checking the tires, or anything else with my Neon. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the Prius is one of those cars that lets you become more vested in taking good care of the car - because the more you do, the (albeit small) better your mileage can be, and you see it directly.

Sorry for going on and on, I do understand where you're coming from - this is a car, not a family member or a belief. But I do think with all the attempts by other large automakers to destroy hard evidence in what a car should achieve in a mass market by using hearsay and negative campaigns should be brought attention to. I'd have no problem not defending this car if so many people didn't get asked about the high voltage worries or plugging it in.

While we're only driving and buying a car, this car has many great qualities that will hopefully be emulated by other car manufacturers.

-m.

 

Venting is good. 8) Just the thing to keep the head on straight. And it is just a car but so was the model T just a car. Both the Prius and the T are important cars though. I think that the Toyota technology is the better step to the future. I did my home work and made my decision, the next 10 years will tell. I do see this writer as having on foot firmly in the past but his great toe on the other foot is starting to edge into the future. The article is c**p but it may push a few into better choices. All the Honda's and the Ford do help reduce emissions and gas usage and are a good step. The GM Silverado is what I would call a Psudo hybrid and even that is better than nothing as long as we don't pretend it is any where near being in the same group. It may well be that this writer will be driving a true hybrid in the near future weather he is a believer or not, what excites me is what the Prius will be by then.