| Author | Message | ||
     Airbozo |
As soon as she started cussing, I would have started rev'ing the engine until she went away... I have some friends that flip of Hummer drivers while they are in their prius. One guy got offended and drove them off the road, blocked them in and started ranting at them. Gave them a good scare and they pretty much stopped flipping people off. They told that story at a party a couple years ago looking for sympathy from their friends. All of us read them the riot act for being a-holes to other drivers and several people made it their mission to show them the TRUE cost of owning a hybrid and the impact on the planet. Some of the information was true, some turned out to be bogus, but they never brought that incident up again. | ||
| Slaughter |
I love the description of a Bay Area liberal, a person who keeps a Prius in the drivewayand the Hummer in the garage. | ||
| Mnrider |
How can I unsee that person-gross. | ||
| Ninefortheroad |
Since no one has got "political" yet... I bet she voted for BO both times.  | ||
| Uncle |
The issue here is our right to a personal opinion without having us and our family physically confronted with profanity and name calling because someone disagrees with our opinion. What if she had a problem with his clothes, religion, race, political affiliation, number of children, or an organization he belonged to? The funny thing is....I bet if she asked the guy NICELY to move his truck, he probably would have. While I would never initiate anything physical with someone like that, I most certainly would have been between her and my family. | ||
| Uncle |
Just curious Froggy. What do you drive? | ||
| Ninefortheroad |
Another issue her and many others... They think that their opinion is really worth more than it is, just an opinion, and unsolicited at that. They must also force it on others because they are "right" and others that don't concur, are wrong. (Message edited by Ninefortheroad on July 10, 2013) | ||
| Oldog |
Kudos to the guy in the truck, He won as he kept his mouth, and his attitude in check, thus staying in control of the situation The mother of the child ( also is due some kudos ) for the same reason. People like the Prius woman are just miserable, one day she may do that to the wrong person, and at that point it MAY end in tears..... It's a sad state of affairs. I have to wonder if it was staged? | ||
| Froggy |
I should have picked up on that, I knew you were too smart to seriously think that.
Again there is zero evidence here that the driver is or is not really handicapped. Perhaps he lost his legs in a war and has prosthetics, but he has money to burn so he got a Z06 and had it modified to fit him.
The main issue with this video is how it was cut. People don't just spontaneously explode like that, and people don't have their cameras instantly running. Something happened off camera to provoke the lady. Perhaps she asked them nicely to turn off the truck or move or something, then the camera man told her to shove it. While the Prius lady handled it poorly, if the cameraman handled the situation correctly the situation probably never would have occurred.
I agree, it is quite annoying.
If I had that luxury, I would be driving a Volt or Tesla today.
While that is a decent laymen article, there are several issues with it, including how it mentions the batteries are only expected to last 3 years, and cost $8k to replace. I'm trying to find my source again, but I saw the Volt battery at around $3k, and with only an hour needed to replace it. (Warranty replacement). The 3 years thing is bogus too, if that was true nobody would be buying them. To date very few Priuses, dating back to the 90s have had battery replacements. A few years ago, Consumer Reports tested a high mileage 2001 Prius and found acceleration and fuel economy were nearly identical to the one they tested 10 years ago. A second gen Prius battery runs about $2200 new, or you can get a decent used one off a wrecked car for a couple hundred.
It is scary, I wonder how many are just talking the talk and how many will go the distance and ruin their own lives over something so stupid.
While you didn't give me enough information to calculate it (truck model, fuel economy, miles driven), a cheap Cobalt to fart around in will quickly pay for itself with lower running costs if you do any decent amount of driving per year. The fact you state the bike saves you money is funny, given that the Ulysses has a pretty high cost per mile. My XT costs twice as much as my truck to insure, and after 15k miles of driving each, the Uly will need 3 times the amount of oil changes, plus other things my truck doesn't need like primary chain adjustments and fluid changes, oh and two sets of $350 tires. Do the math, don't forget the hidden things like the lower reliability of the Uly requiring more parts, and then riding gear wearing out.
Leave this page up for a few minutes: http://eyebleach.com/
Clearly she is an idiot, so she must have also voted for Bush! (I like that we have a decent non political thread that could easily turn political but isn't. Half the time I'm afraid to comment and disturb the peace)
I really do think something like this happened off camera to set her off.
2012 GMC Canyon pickup with some minor aerodynamic tweaks, soon to be lowered, body kit, lightweight wheels and tires, and if I had fab skills, an aerodynamic cap and wheel well covers. (Will be something like this, but sexier)  | ||
| Glitch |
Thank you Uncle Paul well said | ||
| Froggy |
The ending of this video is great | ||
| Blake |
Well done Froggy. Ken's finely honed but eager killer instinct got the best of him, but you were in rare form. Bravo! | ||
| Prowler |
Never understood the whole Prius thing. My wife was driving a Kia Spectra a while back (Mustang now...) that got 40 MPG with 4 people on board going down the highway at 70mph,and cost $12K new. You could run one into the ground and buy another and still come in with less money spent vs. a Prius. Don't see how anyone can justify a Prius vs. a comparable compact on costs over the life of the car (if you took out a loan to buy the Prius it looks worse)and comparing a Prius with a full size SUV makes no sense at all. Why not compare it with a semi truck, it'd look better. Can you tow a trailer or haul anything bigger than a toaster in a Prius? Not really. They are a huge waste of money to anyone who's done any real research on comparable vehicles. If you actually believe that your Prius is saving you and the trees, good for you. Go for it, but don't waste your time trying to convince me such foolishness. (Message edited by prowler on July 11, 2013) | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
froggy - when you talk about prosthetics etc - was a guy around my parts (probably still around, just havent seen him in about five years) that was without use of his legs - but he bought and owned a Skyline GT-S (think it was a 2.5 turbo, but dont know exactly, but not the 2.6TT rb26 that the gt-r models come with) and had it set up to use hand controls etc just because someone has a HC flag/plate/etc and driving a quick car doesnt mean they are faking it or anything | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
"I would drive to work a small cheap car that gets good gas mileage but it doesn't pencil out. the cost to purchase and insure does not offset the fuel savings. " "While you didn't give me enough information to calculate it (truck model, fuel economy, miles driven), a cheap Cobalt to fart around in will quickly pay for itself with lower running costs if you do any decent amount of driving per year. " Frogster - I was in a similar situation a few years back - had a job where i drove my own car ALL THE TIME. 800-1000mi/wk just for work. Like quoted above - when i did the math, it didnt add up. For me to spend just 3k$ to get the additional 10mpg over my pathfinder (was thinking a focus) it'd have taken SO long for it to pay itself off that I couldnt justify it. Plus there is the added insurance and maintenance over my pathfinder (have to keep it due to hauling race trailer etc). So while i see what youre saying, it just doesnt always pan out to buy a beater to try to save money. BUT your point about bikes costing more per mile - I understand that completely! think of tires alone car/truck - 500 bucks a set (mine were 550 for new goodyears form sears, 60k/mi warranty) bike - 225 a set - but can get front to last for two rears, so lets say I get 9k miles for two rears and one front - looking at 325ish. Plus the oil in the 1125 is more than what i put in my truck, the oil filter is/was more too etc etc And then there is insurance | ||
| Froggy |
The problem with your example is you are comparing the Prius on an all highway situation. The strong point of the Prius is city driving, as below 30mph you can use zero gas. On the highway, the gasoline engine is proving the power, and at that point the only thing the Prius has going for it is the light weight and good aerodynamics. Also, the Prius will do better than 40mpg on the highway, high 50s is typical, with 60s if you milk it, and even better numbers if you are cruising at lower speeds.
It makes perfect sense. What doesn't make any sense is the people that drive gigantic monster trucks but don't use ANY of the capabilities a truck has over a car. All they are doing is pissing away money with significantly higher running costs. I use my truck a lot, but I'm not doing truck things like towing or hauling large loads every day, so I am thinking of getting another smaller vehicle as a daily driver. I would love the Silverado Hybrid, but they are freaking expensive.
Whoops too late!  But at least it ain't foolishness.
I didn't believe you, so I went to fueleconomy.gov, 2002 Focus only gets 29mpg highway with the automatic? WTF! My truck does better than that! I'm looking on Autotrader, near me I can get an 05ish Prius for $7k, 05ish Corollas are only about a grand less. | ||
| Prowler |
I ran the numbers (over and over) long ago and a Prius vs. a car that has the same capabilities with 35-40mpg at HALF THE PRICE....sorry, the Prius loses every time (still loses today). Your chart also doesn't take into account that most folks buying a car get a loan and the cost of a new Prius adds up when these folks are making payments w/interest (although not too bad now that loans are only 3% or so). Have fun with your car. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
"I didn't believe you, " I have zero reason to lie or try to impress anyone here with false claims. | ||
| Sifo |
I didn't believe you, so I went to fueleconomy.gov, 2002 Focus only gets 29mpg highway with the automatic? What I don't understand (or perhaps I do understand) is why you would look up a model that is about 12 years out of date. Looking up the 2012 Focus you get 38 MPG highway with the automatic. EDIT: Which BTW puts the Focus at only 2 MPG less than the GM Volt at nearly twice the price. (Message edited by SIFO on July 11, 2013) | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
sifo - read my post, he was replying to it dont think you can get a new one for 3k... | ||
| Sifo |
Fair enough. I didn't see a year, but I guess the age is implied with the price. | ||
| Xdigitalx |
Is she related to the judge in the Zimmerman case? Looks like they could be sisters.  | ||
| Crackhead |
It does make sence to compare a SUV with a Prius or any mid sized wagon. Next time you go by the park, look at how many SUVs are doing soccer duty and have never seen towing duty. All they ever see is Soccer mom duty. I am still driving my 2000 Ford Taurus wagon and I can fit just as much in it as a Explorer. It has seating for 8, 81.3 cu.ft. cargo space, and after 214k miles I still get 27mpg hwy. For comparison, the 2000 exploder only seats 5, 79.8 cu.ft. cargo space, and 20mpg hwy. Prowler, I have had a Kia Spectra as a rental and you might as well be trying to compare a Ugo to a Prius. That thing was horrible. While I don't like the spaceship feeling the Prius has, it is a quality car. | ||
| Ninefortheroad |
People like SUV's that is why they buy them. Many do not like the Prius, and they sell at a premium price. I hate their commercials. Mass appeal (w/closer initial pricing) for hybrids is a ways off | ||
| Sifo |
The Prius can make sense for many people. It's a proven design that works well in the real world. The premium price makes it a long term proposition to get the advantage. I really don't care for it's styling though. YMMV. I don't see any reason to compare a Prius to a large SUV though. They are a completely different class of vehicle. VERY few people will be tossing between buying a large SUV and a Prius. Even if their true needs can be met with the Prius, their wants are leading them to the SUV. It's kind of like comparing an Ultra Classic Electra Glide and a Blast. | ||
| Crackhead |
Prowler, You need to look at new car financing again. A lot of cars (including the Prius) are 0% for 60 months. | ||
| Kenm123t |
LOl Blake but they have to survive the intrusion into some one else's life In the pounds moved Camry Hybrid versus E 350 with a 7.3 liter its not even close One on my engineers has one and she worked it out. she was surprised I have been a little busy to tweak the Frogster too much lately But I ll get him trained to engineer systems even if he doesn't know he is being trained  What do you think we should do next fan laws or fluid dynamics ? Hmm Frogs lets go with fluids! BLAKE WE NEED A GOAT emoticon lol as is got his goat lol | ||
| Blake |
Those hyper milers live for aerodynamics. | ||
| Aesquire |
Yes we do! Is a Prius a good buy? Depends. Lots of miles and you win. Against a comparable small wagon, depends. Run the numbers and you need 50k+ to over 100k miles to pay back the price difference. Against the very best of the latest cars? same thing. A Prius will do around 50mpg in rational real world driving, balanced against around 36mpg for a competitive wagon. Gas at 4+ a gallon. Not a fast payoff. But it's not JUST practical economy. It's image, it's bragging rights, it's social points in certain groups. There's also a political side, based on those social points and no one is immune to the side effects. I often have a friendly word when I run into guys that drive "my" car. We all seem to like it, we all accept the quirks, ( or they trade the car & I don't know they had one ) and all seem to enjoy the bragging rights part, in moderation. My car also comes with a premium, about $1000, and is about $1000 cheaper than the Prius. So taking 3 cars, VW Sportwagon 2.5L SE, $25,190 24/31mpg VW Sportwagon 2.0L TDI $26,590 30/42mpg Prius 5 Two 1.8L hyb $27,445 44/40mpg How long to pay off the TDI? The Prius? Yes, it's apples and Oranges. The Prius isn't close to the road car the VW is, but has a bit more room. ( not a lot ) The big thing for mileage geeks is the pleasure of not tossing $100 bills in the tank a few times a week. ( like my old '99 Ford van ) Yes, including maintenance costs and payments, I may not be saving much, or quickly, but the short term is gratifying. The scary political aspects, though..... that's not just Prius problems. | ||
| Prowler |
Drive a newer Kia (2009 or newer) and you'd probably have a better idea of the quality and performance vs. a Prius. How can you compare a Prius (seats 5? tightly) to a minivan that seats seven when you're on soccer duty. Drive the Prius and make two trips or do one trip in a minivan. No brainer.....doy, and regardless of the financing, the Prius cost a crapload more than a comparable standard car. Takes a long, long time to recover your funds on a Prius (if ever). Hope you're happy with your car, I am with mine. |
