Would you guys help me with a school project?

You left out the most important "feature":

Ability to drive at any speed with impunity, vehicle is not subject to any known speed limit

 

You forgot reliability.

For me: #1 Fuel economy. #2 Reliability. Everything else is in the noise.

 

#1 reason I bought a Prius, it saves me time. I am legally permitted to drive alone in the HOV lanes during the rush hours on the Long Island expressway. Only the less capable Honda Civic hybrid qualifys.

#2 Reason I look like genius everytime the gas gouge-a-thon jacks up the gas prices, which is always inevitable.

#3 Reason is the air is cleaner when more of us buy a car with Partial Zerro Emissions, like the Toyota Prius.

#4 Toyota's long history of excellent resale value and quality control. A Prius is at the very pinnacle of resale values, making them cheaper to lease.

#5 No other company has a proven track record of a dozen years making and servicing state of the art hybrid drive vehicles, only Totota.

#6 Reason I bought a Toyota Prius, the car is roomy, capable, practical, and priced well.

#7 I like the way the car handles

#8 The options are outstanding (dynamic Cruise Control, self leveling headlights, lane keep assist)

#9 Top Safety Marks in crash tests

#10 It makes me look smart for having chosen a Prius.

Reason for buying, see #1 above. The other reason is the car will last a very long time, and this is my second Prius, the other a 2007 Touring Model my relative begged me to sell them

The purchase was simple, no hassel, and delivered exactly what I wanted.

My employer liked the frugal image the car portrayed when I use it for work.

I made all the decisions alone. I did the research myself.

Hope this helps.:typing:

 

It's a Spinal Tap poll... it goes to 11. :eyebrows:

 

EDITED TO ADD:
***my rating numbers for the first question are reversed from your instructions (which I guess I didn't completely read and just went with how I would normally number things, 1 being best), aa1 being the MOST important, 2 being LEAST important***


1)
aa1 -I knew I would most likely buy a Toyota or Honda for the reliability. I drove my Toyota pickup for 14.5 years with no major/expensive problems and it was 2 years old when I bought it. I figure I'll have my Prius for at least 10 years unless technology changes enough to warrant me getting a new one, and since it's a Toyota I know it will last that long and much longer.

a1 -Prius was the only car I loved the look of and wanted to buy and it is environmentally friendly. The other vehicle I really liked was the Scion xB, and I like that new Cube too, but since I'm finally starting to feel like the grown up I supposedly am (and have been for a while now ), in the end the Prius was my only choice once I got serious about buying.

1 -Fuel Economy
2 -Cargo Room (have to fit two dogs in back)

I didn't think about much else, I knew I wanted a Prius, so I can't put the rest in any order.

I honestly didn't have to think about it much and didn't compare it to other cars as I had already decided I wanted a Prius before shopping. I didn't have to test drive it to know I wanted it. My test drive was a mere formality. My decision was made based on the fact that it gets the best mpg (apart from completely electric cars and being that I need to be able to drive to Northern CA all electric was not an option for me at this time), that it has clean emissions and it's the only car that I absolutely LOVE the look. I even came around to LOVE the Barcelona Red although when I first decided on a Prius I thought I liked the burgundy of the older models, but no more. The red is GORGEOUS!


2)
Probably covered this in my embellished answer to #1. I'll just add that I am so glad that I was too busy at work to buy a 2009 since I love the looks of the 2010 so much more.

3)
My purchase was very easy. I checked dealer invoice prices online at a couple sites, requested a quote via email, talked to my local dealer on the phone and he gave me the Costco discount and told me exactly how much over dealer invoice I would pay. I test drove the car at a different dealer whose salesman and sales manager didn't have the correct information on the car and wouldn't give me the Costco deal. Went in to Hollywood Toyota and made my deal there and they honored the price given to me over the phone.
Easy peasy, EXTREMELY positive experience. I got exactly what I wanted for a great price.

4)
No one else influenced my decision. Those who know me know better than to try.

5)
Priuschat.com because the people here know everything about the Prius! That was after I decided on one though, I didn't come here to get advice on whether or not to get a Prius.

Good luck with your project. Please come back and tell us what you determine from this study.

 

I purchased mine 24 months ago - if you expand your window, here is my list. Hope you get some good feedback. PC'ers can almost always be counted on!

1.) Acceleration
11.) Fuel Economy
3.) Ride Quality
4.) Steering/Handling/Braking
6.) Quietness
7.) Controls (Instruments)
2.) Details (Trim)
8.) Room/Comfort
9.) Cargo Room
10.) Value within Class
5.) Safety

My ford focus was giving me significant repair troubles and was testing my mechanical ability/wallet. The technology intrigued me from the get go and the price was (barely) affordable for a college student with limited resources.

Purchased from Dan Cava Toyota in Whitehall West Virginia. Experience was no better or worse than any car buying experience. It was more of a game than it needed to be and we weren't happy with how clean the car was when delivered. Not to sound as though we weren't happy with the dealer in general - the over all experience would lead me to recommend them to a friend.

My dad thought it was worht a shot to purchase one. My fiance agreed, but I'm pretty sure I had brainwashed her with all of my Prius banter by the time we purchased the car.

Found PriusChat on a google search and have been coming back for guidance and pleasure reading ever since.

 

So . . . let me get this straight . . . MY reasons for buying the Prius don't really matter, since I didn't get to make the list. So saving my Time, The Planet, Clean Air, Product Reliability, Manufacturers reputation, and how the choice makes me look to others would have no ranking, and implies they aren't important, or even valid concerns at all in making such a choice. That would give others a distorted and highly inaccurate view of why people like me bought a new Prius. That essentially would support a Lie.

Hmmmm, sorry, not interested.

 

I and my family have purchased three, not recently though. The 2010 seemed to have gone a bit more for style and a bit less for function. For example the solar roof and deleting the door sensors for the 2010 Package II.

There are several factors that you won't appreciate until after you've driven one. So as a "long-time" Prius owner, here is how I would rank another Prius purchase.

1) Fuel economy. (The "cheapie.")
2) Smart key. (The "techie." And this is something I never would have appreciated without owning a Prius.)
3) Reliability. (I don't care what they're saying now about Toyota, they are great cars.)
4) Total cost of ownership. (The "cheapie" again, resale value is supposed to be very high.)
5) Won't buy GM again.
6) Quiet. (Another thing I never knew before owning a Prius. Sitting at a light with the engine off is so peaceful.)
7) Styling. (I loved the little Hybrid badge they put on the 2006 and later ones. I guess this would be "Details" in the poll.)
8) Safety. (My wife rated this at #1 or #2, we always have to get a safer car than we had before.)
9) Hatchback and roominess. (I have been able to haul 10ft conduit in the Prius with no problems.)
10) It is possible for it to go all electric. (When I bought, there were very few conversions, now things have changed. Why buy a Volt when you can buy a Prius and convert it?)
11) For the other options listed, in decreasing order: Controls (the MFD screen is helpful), Steering/Handling/Braking (average at best), and Ride Quality (once again, average at best, but not bad either, although the original tires are terrible.)

 

12 [My wife wanted one]
11 Cargo Room [it holds all my stuff]
10 Room/Comfort [I fit through the door]
09 Fuel Economy
08 Safety
07 Quietness
06 Controls (Instruments) [Toys!]
05 Ride Quality
04 Acceleration
03 Steering/Handling/Braking
02 Details (Trim)
01 Value within Class

My wife wanted one, so we looked at one. I fit in the doors, which is often a problem. The salesman told me to drive it home (30 miles) overnight to load up all my stuff. It all fit and we got good gas mileage driving it back the 30 miles to the dealership.

Third office from the right, 649 Hwy. 8 East, Grenada, Mississippi 38901 (why would you want to know that?) Yes, it was a positive experience, we had planned to pay cash, but they were offering 0% interest, so we have invested the purchase price and are having the car payments automatically deducted. We make about $35 a month on that account

My wife wanted one, and she was paying, so she had quite an impact. I had been holding out for a Saturn Vue two mode hybrid, a car that was never produced, from a company now gone.

I read PriusChat, looking for advice from Prius owners about living with their cars. I discovered there were issues with repairs on the HID headlights, so I came with a addendum to my sales contract for free labor on the headlights. They signed it, and sold me a Prius.

 

I'm doing a project for my consumer behavior class. We are doing research about people who recently bought a Toyota Prius (any year or model). If you are able to help, here is what I need:

1. Rank these features in order of most important to least important (make 11 the most important, and 1 the least important):

4. Acceleration
11. Fuel Economy
6. Ride Quality
5. Steering/Handling/Braking
7. Quietness
2. Controls (Instruments)
1. Details (Trim)
8. Room/Comfort
9. Cargo Room
3. Value within Class
10. Safety

. . .

2. Tell me about your decision to purchase a Toyota Prius (a few sentences is fine).

We bought our first Prius in October 2005 when I found a used one at an affordable price via Ebay.

We bought our second Prius in May 2009 to replace an aging, 2001 Echo.

3. Tell me about the actual purchase. Exactly where and how did you purchase the Prius? Was it a positive or negative experience?

Ebay - worked just fine and the car was as expected. Financing was local to buy the car in Fort Worth, Texas, 800 miles away.

Via program - worked just fine and the car was as expected. I just didn't realize that buying in a different region could have saved some money but we did get it from the top quality Toyota dealer in Decatur Alabama. They have almost been pests about service and recall information ... which I don't mind.

4. Who had an influence on your decision to purchase the Prius, and how did they impact your decision?

In October 1995, a bunch of right-wing nuts in Huntsville told me all sorts of hybrid nonsense. I was mulling over the traction battery risk when I realized they were so wrong about everything else, they must be wrong about the Prius traction battery. Also, I would have 50,000 miles of Toyota warranty on the battery. So far, the wing-nuts are batting ... 0 hits, 0 runs, and 0 scores.

In 2009, I had occasion to see the Prius systems that are hidden under the sheet metal and realized it had addressed 90% of the previous model weaknesses (they missed variable, radiator air inlets!) I knew there would be early model problems but the car is a solid piece of quality engineering.

5. Who did you look to for guidance or advice on the Toyota Prius? Why?

Newton, Carnot, Tesla, Maxwell, Deming, Kelly Johnson, and Edison -- the giants of physics and engineering.

Bob Wilson

 

And because the choices were not mine, any results they may indicate would be a lie. Sorry, I stand by my decision. Political Polling does this kind of thing all the time. They get the responses they want because they only list the criteria they choose, not what really exists or matters. How else could we have elected that boob George W. Bush for 8 years ?

Your 'list' of choices leaves out the Number 1 reason most people buy a Toyota vehicle, Reliability. That immediately renders Toyota's to a lower point on the poll results, and making them useless, and unreliable. If you're planning on a political science degree it oughta be a great exercise, but for making car purcahse choices, it would be useless.

 

But you forgot to include the most important factor for us when we decided on a Gen III Prius: Environmental impact.

 

Exactly ! How can anyone NOT think about this when buying the "Greenest" production car on the planet ? :rockon: