Bought one about a year ago, got rid of my lifted jeep and bought this. definitely not a cop magnet, and no one would ever suspect me smoking in it heh and its silent when i drive, fits the snowboard, and surfboard. no wonder it was on "weeds."
I didn't think about it either until I started driving it then it hit me. girls' parents love it too because they think i'm responsible..heh
My dad just got rid of his. Its alright, I hate the way the dash is set up makes the car feel real long. And you're right about it being silent, you can sneak up on people in one of those fuckers!
Related, I drive a '01 Honda Insight and I mostly love it. People try to bash on it then promptly stfu when they get the facts. 1. $20 a month on gas, average 55mpg. 2. Never been pulled over in it EVER 3. 70k miles and never been in the shop for anything but the required. The only bad thing about the car is the acceleration. I'm curious about the Prius, do you have to floor it too when you get on the onramp?
yeah i get a lot of shit about my car but everyone ends up liking it because, as you said, 45/55 mpg is sick. Surprisingly the acceleration isn't too bad...i'd compare it to a civic maybe an 05 or less. I was pretty surprised because I thought it'd be slower...then again my jeep was a slug haha
I'm sorry but the prius is just EWWWW. The battery's are to bulky. The acceleration is poop. It is just really ugly. I think it is just dumb for any hybrid that wants to actually be efficient to have a direct connection from the engine to the drive wheels. Look at the diesel locomotive. Hell look at the Chevy Volt. Engine powers generator powers wheels. Speaking for just the engine, you want it to run at the most efficient RPM for the load it is carrying. (load can be mechanical or electrical.) In a traditional car that would be in top gear at the lowest RPM needed to carry the load. (obviously downhill you could shut your engine off, but that's a very bad idea. DON'T DO IT!) But in an efficient and maybe more powerful hybrid you would have the engine run at the best RPM to produce the most electricity from the least amount of fuel. (just for efficiency) Or you could have it run at the best RPM for highest electrical production, if you are looking for a sporty car. (as I would.) I LOVE my petroleum powered vehicle's. I have a 6000lb truck and a 2400lb car. I love both. (SIDE NOTE: F$&# honda.) BUT I would also like to have a car powered by electricity. It is the heavy battery's, and the lack of efficient and fast charging power source's that is the problem. Attached or not. If you look at history, the first vehicles ran on anything but gasoline or diesel. Alcohol, electricity or steam for the most part. Henry Ford's model T was partially built from and ran on HEMP. Sorry for the rant about anything but the prius. I do believe that the public has to buy the vehicles to help fund the development of even better hybrids or electric vehicles. If you look at F1 they have had an optional hybrid system on their racecars this whole season. it's +80 HP
I'm with dabomb about Priuses. They really aren't worth it when you think about it. Plus all the mining for metals they need in the batteries is bad for the environment. Then there's shipping costs/fuel consumption to get the metals to another country, then those parts are shipped, then those parts are shipped. It takes a lot to make one and it turns out they are no better at saving the world than a common internal combustion engine car.
Don't mean to offend anyone, but i hate priuses. They only get good gas mileage if your not on the expessway. My nissan can get over 30 mpg and its a hell of lot faster than a prius.
I pass people going a steady 80+ down the highway, and I always think. Hah! I get 41 mpg while I'm doing this.
idk bout them..just dont really seem apealing..if i wanted a fuel efficiant car i would probly go for a turbo diesel 5 speed .. also it takes likes 3 times as much energy to make a prius than an H2 hummer cuz shipping the metals and all that shit as someone said..and the waste products from that shit are making a toxic wasteland somewhere internal combustion ftw
Once you've owned a hybrid (and baked in it) you realize that it isn't about going the fastest, but enjoying that smooth silent ride.