Your first time?

Ah, the first time I saw one for real:

My current car is getting a bit old and I was looking for a reliable replacement. So I started looking at websites of Toyota dealers for a nice (used) Toyota diesel, because I drive over 40k kms per year. On the site there was also mention of the new Toyota Prius, I liked the idea of a hybrid vehicle, but not the looks and road handling of the old one. So I hardly looked at the new one on the website.

Anyway, after browsing through the used car sections, I found a not too old one with the options I wanted, so I went to the dealer and took my girlfriend with me. When we got there and got out of our car, my GF noticed a silver car that looked pretty sleek. We checked it out, darn, that interior looks nice and 'space-shippy'.
"This is the new Prius! A hybrid", I said.
My GF looked at me, "A what?"
So I explained, I got all excited about it. Too bad we weren't allowed to drive it yet, because the car was not officially released and it wasn't insured properly yet.

On the way home I could talk of nothing else and when we arrived home I immediately fired up the computer and started Excel to calculate if it was possible to pay the car. It a bit over our budget, but I suddenly couldn't imagine me not driving one of those sleek geek cars!!

A few weeks later I ordered one (after two long test drives).

 

I remember it well. I had been looking for a Prius "in the wild" for weeks. Someone on the Canadian yahoo group had told me some places in my city where I might be able to spot a salsa and a couple of silver ones. But up to that point, I had seen nothing.

Then, one day, I was waiting for the bus to take me to work. And there it was, gliding silently in the rush-hour traffic. A Seaside! Its licence plate? "Unpluggd". It was shiny and gorgeous and I couldn't take my eyes off it. The other folks waiting at the stop must have thought I was crazy.

Soon after, we took delivery of our silver one, and we have since seen a couple of other silvers during long drives between cities. But my first sighting was definitely the best so far.

 

I have to agree with that. But I have to admit to a bias - the first Prius I ever saw in the flesh (in the metal?) is the one in which I now do all my driving. I'd read a couple of Prius reviews in newspaper articles, but then shelved the idea at the back of my mind for a couple of months. The nagging in the back of my mind every time I drove to or from work became more and more insistent: "wouldn't this be easier and quieter in a hybrid?" No more changing gear, no more diesel engine rumble..."

So I went to ask my dealer for a test drive. They could give me a brochure, but I couldn't touch the real thing until they could get hold of a demo vehicle. Almost immediately after my visit, the petulant Peugeot showed her jealousy by losing its fifth gear (whilst doing the limit on a motorway 400 miles from home and 150 miles short of my destination!). Now I was really keen for a new ride. But I still hadn't even seen the Prius.

Eventually I got the call. No, not "The Call" - this was just the Test-Drive Call. But it was pretty momentous, none the less. I was going to see one for real! And even better, I would drive it!

I was trembling as much cycling to the dealer as I was on the day I took my driving test. And I almost failed that due to nerves, if that helps give you an idea. And when I got there and saw the gleaming, sleek, silver machine on the forecourt I was smitten.

BTW, "Silver Machine" is the nearest I have to a name for my Prius (I'm not a big one for naming vehicles), in honour of the Hawkwind song about a motorbike that's exciting for quite different - conventional - reasons. I think it suits, obviously on the prosaic level, but also the reference, as it's something I love to drive for the pure fun of it.

 

A bit different for us.

I had often told my wife that Electric cars are not "ready for market" due to the distance limitations, and if you live in a block of flats (that is normal here) where the hell do you recharge them. I had thought about having one with a small petrol motor to recharge the batteries, but didnt think it would be very practical. We had an MR2 Roadster (Spyder) at the time and no intentions of changing it.
We went to Paris for the Marathon back in March and went into the Toyota store on the Champs Elyses (sp?) and there was a Prius. I dont know how, but I knew it was a hybrid and I told my wide that it was similar to the Honda Insight we had seen at the London motorshow a few years ago. I sat in it for a moment but that was all. We then went to look at the F1 stuff they had and bought a T shirt.

Later in May I decided I wanted to get rid of our second car, a Hyundai Santa Fe and I looked on the Toyota site to find "something cheap" for winter and carrying things. I saw the Prius and decided to take a look. I booked a test drive and when we returned I traded in the MR2 (!) as a deposit. The SF to be sold when the Prius was available (in 10 months).

Since then the delivery time has reduced to about 4 months so we are now selling the SF. Deliver is due "during september". I checked with the dealer yesterday and ours is in production, so judging by our MR2 order, we should have the car in about 6 weeks.

The first Prius, and only, Prius I have seen in the wild was a Black T4 (?) in England at Hawkstone Park Hotel near Telford, on the weekend of 25 July.

 

I was also a "Hybrids are not ready" guy. Two of my friends had 02's and my daughters best friend had a HCH. When I started seeing reports of cars with more than 100K on them I was ready. Some people have to be beaten over the head to get it. I have made some bad choices in the past. I remember a certain white automatic diesel VW microbus I got during the oil embargo. It's name was Van Won'tgo. Engine blew up (literally parts everywhere, lucky no one was harmed) at 60K. The dealer showed no mercy and I have not gone near a VW dealership since. :x
My local dealer had a 04 to test drive by appointment. I had been looking for 04s but had only seen classics around. I signed up and got to look at a white 04 in detail. We looked at everything. Drove the car. The dealer kept wanting me to punch it and I did going up hill, nice. I was more interested in brakes (which are good). I have to say the look over was better than a lot of new car delivery orientations I have had. There I was flopping on the deck begging to give him money!

 

my first face to face view of a Prius was the day i went to my local dealer and test drove one. it was Nov 19, 2003. i had researched the car in advance and ordered one before test driving it.

i had read about the car in Popular mechanics that past summer and was interested by didnt have the finances to consider the purchase. as soon as my finances cleared up... i immediately decided on the car. (needed a new car badly!!)

you couldnt even begin to imagine my disappointment when i found myself at the end of a 5½ month waiting list!!. i could have ordered the car earlier had i known i didnt need to have the money together till the end of may!!

 

I saw my first Prius at a Toyota dealer across from my favourite restaurant in San Francisco in Nov 2003. I loved it and thought of buying it but was told about the wait list. We had two good cars, rather new and paid off so we decided to wait a bit and perhaps buy the Prius in a year or two, used, for a lot less ,we hoped. Then in June 04 I test drove it as I was passing by after going to the same restaurant and I was hooked. I put a deposit, was told 3-5 months, then 8 and after a week or two, one year. Then I put another deposit with another dealer who promise 6-8 weeks. That was fine with me as I had a fairly new well fuctioning paid off car. Reading on the forums about some people calling around, I calso did so and found a dealer Near Reno who had a silver #7 coming into port the next day!! I could not resist and have lived happily ever after, having gotten one after being on the list for a month. Even though logically and financialy it wasn't the right thing to do( I( didn't have to replace my car for many years and don't drive much), once one drives a Prius one is hooked. I rented one for a couple of days before buying it as well.

 

I took my Avalon for a free oil change. It was October, 2003. I strolled through the showroom instead of watching the TV in the service lounge. One highlight of the showroom is a Corolla from about 1966 in mint condition.

The second highlight that day was a silver Prius. I asked if I could sit in it and had to settle for window shopping and a brochure, as the silver one was sold. Just in case I knew the buyer, I looked at the yellow SOLD tag hanging inside from the rear view mirror. This Prius had been bought by the Argonne National Laboratories a few miles from the dealer.

I later read they were trying still other power sources and fuels using that car. But I wasn't in the market for a third car until 2 things happened:
1. My son was accepted for the college research program he wanted - which required driving to other schools in the area, and
2. My local bus company lowered its $3 fare to $2, but ominously warned that service would stop unless ridership picked up (it did, but the Prius 12-month wait matched the 12-month deadline for ridership).

I ordered in April and there are currently 6 Red orders ahead of me. What clinched it was a test drive in another silver Prius, then getting in my [son's] CR-V and noticing that the view was about the same in the Prius! I went back in and ordered at whatever the 2005 MSRP turns out to be. I should know soon.

 

My barber had a Classic and would brag about it thru each haircut.. I guess being old ...or cheap, my hair doesnt grow fast..I probably get a cut about every 3 months...last Feburary I stopped by the shop and there was a NEW car parked in the Classic's parking space...I didn't pay much attention to it as I passed...'big car', I thought... getting in the chair I asked, "Where's the electric toy"? His answer, there... I asked if he'd traded the Classic.. maybe because it needed gas...knowing he didn't smoke and the ashtray would not be full... only reasons to trade a car... the rest is history...another haircut and I had to have a Prius... my bride was the tough sell... but after showing her posts here and on different Yahoo groups, she started looking..a few buys from eBay, a trip to the barber with her and she was sold as well.. we are now a proud Prius couple...waiting only 57 days, from order to delivery... Bob & Sherry...still grinning after a week of ownership...