I love my Prius

one week old.

Ran over to Bay City last night, 18 miles mostly freeway,
52+ mpg
used the recommended "pump and glide" technique, watching the
feedback on the touchscreen.
comfortable, responsive - side curtain airbags = maximum
safety for primary drivers, my wife and daughter.
Don't mind waiting in drive in lines or red lights, since the engine
shuts off and doesn't spew pollution.

Yeah, I know its not perfect, the nickel metal hydride batteries
rely on some pretty damaging mining techniques,
we need to get to the advanced Lithium batteries,
and, yeah, got to get mass transit going, but
this is definitely an advance for me.

:thumbsup:

Not everyone can.

:-(

Maybe 32-38 MPG; also don't have much expendable income - though would love to drive a car that would allow me to conserve gas.

What does a new Prius cost? :shrug:

I'd love one but my Prius-owning friends tell me that Prius don't do well on ice and snow and I hate the idea of going back to the ole snow tire switcheroo every year... It is costly and a real pain.

an electric motor has its most torque at just off of stopped so it stands to reason there would be maximum wheel slippage when traction is low as in ice and snow or just water for that matter. My ford truck has so much low end torque that it is hard to take off from a stop on wet pavement and turn right without spinning the inside rear tire, it took some getting used to but I pretty much have it down pat now

Replace them with either snow tires or good all weather tires.

I changed them out at 20K miles after hydroplaning in a small puddle. I put some good summer Toyos on and it drives like a dream in the rain. I also bought studded snow tires last winter and they worked great for me.

edit: early morning/no coffee typo

the car I traded in for my Prius couldn't make it up my steep driveway (had the winter tire escapade every winter..PAIN-in-the-ass) and my Prius crawls up the driveway with no problem whatsoever. The transmission has a "brake" on the gear handle. I used that when approaching stop lights/signs/slowing traffic and it was a DREAM. What it does is slow the engine down WITHOUT having to hit the foot break, which causes the fishtail and sliding on snow and ice. The engine brake doesn't do that. I liken it to downshifting to first gear in a manual transmission. It also plowed through a ton of snow...probably 12 inches ? deep at my son's school's parking lot last year. I think it's a great car for winter driving. Mine is a 2006.

Invaluable feedback guys! :toast:

Goodyear Integrity... yuck. I swapped mine for a set of Goodyear Assurance Comfortread, and 60k miles later they are still new looking, and no spins in wet or snow (here in Chicago). :)

research ion-lithium batteries. I have no idea what the status is, but it's good to know someone is looking into this as part of an energy approach.

March 31, 2007
Senator Biden Introduces Lithium Ion Battery Bill

Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) is sponsoring legislation to increase investment in research for advanced lithium ion batteries. These batteries are a necessary component of next generation plug-in hybrids.

...Biden's bill would support the development of advanced electric components, systems and vehicles, by providing funds for battery research to national laboratories, small businesses, and institutes of higher learning. The bill will also establish, through a competitive selection process, an Industry Alliance of private, U.S. - based, for-profit firms whose primary business is battery development. The Industry Alliance would be an advisory resource on short and long term battery technology development.

I (sigh) drive a beater, but if I had any money, I'd own a Prius as well.

My son's Prius has a Joe Biden for President bumper sticker on it as well!

and I have to say that it is one of the best cars we have ever owned

after close to a year of driving it, we are averaging about 54 to 56 mpg

I wish Toyota would export their Sienna hybrid minivan to the US

Mainly because it runs on Compressed Natural Gas, which is 90 cents a gallon and is cleaner burning than gasoline. :)

TlalocW

Did you install the conversion yourself?

Depending on conditions, I get between 13 to 20 mpg. I didn't do the conversion... In fact, it wasn't a conversion but came off the lines as a dedicated CNG vehicle, which I bought used.

TlalocW

I also have a blue one with a Thule bike rack on top! Of course, mine doen't say IMPEACH on the side! Ps, this is the best car I've ever owned, even though it gets about 47 mpg with my lead foot!

Originally got it up to 54 mpg- put the rack on
and it went down to 44.

My longboard actually fits in the car-(7'8")
and I'll throw the Allen rack back on
for the mountainbike until we move into
the woods near the trails.

With gas gonna be 100 bucks per barrel before
Thanksgiving- I'd like to get the mileage back up.
Also noticed that it seems to go down a bit in
the cold weather.

Keep the rubber side down-
happy trails

from about 52-53 to the present 47......but WINTER??? Not yet, I'm in Austin,TX. The temps are in the 70's and 80's, LOL!

I love skiing. :)

I'm wondering how the Prius' "carbon footprint" will fare.

"In addition to China’s new automobile policy that encourages the use of hybrid vehicles, the introduction of emission regulations on par with those in Europe and the United States is also moving forward," says Toyota veep Yoshimi Inaba.

The "introduction" is "moving forward," eh? That's reassuring.

Using neither a Hummer or Prius is sustainable. If everyone in China had a Prius, we would all be in a lot of trouble. The solution is to invest resources in public transit and cycling facilities.

With bridges and roads all around America crumbling, we cann't even seem to gather enough resources to repair what we have let alone build more. Rail infrastructure can move a lot more people and it takes up a lot less space.

The age of the automobile is over. Hybrids only serve to prolong the agony.

In my mind there is no difference between the person who lives close to work and drives a Hummer versus somone who lives in the suburbs and drives a Prius. Our biggest problem is that we have built our cities and organized our lives so that a large percentage of the population must have cars. Driving a Prius is just putting a bandaid on a gaping wound.

Having said that, I applaud people who select higher gas mileage cars. Most people have little control over the way our cities are organized. In that context, at least Pruis drivers are minimizing their consumption as much as possible.

more responsible choice than a Hummer. Not even close.

People also need to choose their housing location more carefully, too. Like being close enough to mass transit to use it rather than a car at least some of the time.

We are ALL guilty of making poor choices in the past. Let's ALL work on making better choices in the future, so our children can HAVE a future.

they moved the office out of downtown and 40 miles north. Knowing it was coming I ordered the Prius. Own a house, inlaws are near their first grandchild so can't just pack up and move. I spend about the same on gas as a monthly train ticket (~$100), and telecommute a day a week. Thought I mitigated the situation pretty well. :)

that I'm very happy with my year old Prius too.

It often sits in my driveway as I use my bike whenever possible for errands in town and public transportation for going into the city. But since I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford one and do still need an auto for some things in today's society I thought this would be my best option.

a lot more sustainable and responsible than a Hummer. I applaud anyone for switching to one. Many of us live in cities where the is either no public transportation or very little. We fight to get high speed and light rail in our states, but the repugs funnel every cent of money into their own pork barrel pro-fossil fuel projects. Until there is a major change in leadership people need to do whatever they can to reduce the agony, period.

fact is, most of us drive them, cuz we have no other way to
get where we need to go, work, school, etc.
changing our system to greater mass transit is
a 50 year project, and I needed a car now,
so I chose what I think is a lesser evil, and
the technology that will get us to all electric cars
much sooner.

eventually, my ideal world is much greater mass
transit, that will be so comfortable and attractive that
people will give up their cars, and only rent them
for special occasions, like zip cars.
Those that own cars will be all electric charged by
base load solar and wind generation. The technology is
currently being developed and deployed.

I can still live comfortably and cheaper out in the country rather than have to move in a noisy crime ridden city.

By an SUV driver who didn't notice that traffic in front of her was stopped. She hit a pickup that hit me. Everyone was impressed by how well the Prius took the impact (the truck behind me will probably be totaled). My bumper was split in half and the hatch was crunched, but the overall frame of the car does not seem to be damaged at all. (It'll be 3 weeks before I can get her into the body shop, so we're going on preliminary inspections right now.)

I can't tell you how many times I've bit my tongue not to cuss out SUV drivers ON THE PHONE. Wassup with that, and to answer the next question, I don't mean they are 100% SUV drivers (the clued out chatty phone drivers) but it sure seems to work out like that a lot of the time!

She had the look about her of someone unable to drive and think at the same time.

It had more power than I imagined but one thing that killed it for me was visibility from the rear. That hatch is positioned at such a steep angle that there is a small slit for visibility. I didn't like that at all.

And I finally get to drive it daily! My wife has been driving it for the past couple years. But I finally got rid of my SUV (didn't have a need for it anymore now that I'm not gigging), and she just got the (used) VW Bug she's been wanting since she was 10 years old.

I just love it. TONS of storage space. I don't find the visibility to be a problem at all - it's certainly better than the Rodeo I got rid of.

I was sitting at a stoplight over lunch, with a Prius next to me. It's a sunny, beautiful day here in Denver, so my windows were down, Thom Hartmann blaring. His were closed, probably using A/C :P .

Anyhow, he squirts his window fluid and it shot over to my car, and some of it squirted on me! I said "Hey! Stop that. You're making me wet!" He didn't hear because his cellphone was blocking his view of me.:eyes:

I love the downtown area there. Your city is very beautiful.

We are considering building two test plants for my company at the Hazen Research facility in Golden so I may be back on a frequent basis.

This is where my blue bath took place an hour ago.

It is a nice town, but flaky people. Make plans, and they forget. Must be the altitude.

If you need a Photographer for your site survey, PM me. I'm reasonable, digital(quick), and trying to break into the biz.

I will PM you when we start construction.

off the driver's brain.;)

I despise them.

I'll explain why. But I shouldn't have to. They give us ease and comfort. But they are a curse.

;)

But I see the smiley face. So I assume it's funny.

A Prius is still a car. The difference between an SUV and a Prius is not as great as people would like to think. So when I see people spouting off about their Prius, I have to wonder what they really know. It's an improvement. But that is only a small fraction of the picture.

If we had some new electrics like they had in California in the 90s (I saw them in that movie), that would go a long way further. Alas, the Auto companies don't want to sell us those. And of course, the Natural Gas and Coal power and light companies don't want us to put solar panels on our roofs, so we have laws restricting us from doing that enough to make a difference.

And our rail system is so outdated it's pathetic. I would much rather take a train than fly. Magnetic Levitation is a 15 year old technology, and it would be efficient, 300MPH all electric, quiet, and ultra-cool railway (guideway) system to have. We'd leapfrog over France and Japan with the fastest trains, but we don't have to political will to do that. Instead, let's buy one more Patriot Missile. That's money well spent.:eyes:

Of course I was joking.:hi:

I agree with you. I do think that we have a huge problem in that no matter what we do, for transportation on the individual level, our numbers are too great to sustain it. Even an electric car has a body, glass windows, mechanisms, copper windings, bearings, tires... Six billion is the problem. But, if we're frugal, and if we design a system, we can sustain a fairly comfortable lifestyle. That isn't really valid in many places, though. In Los Angeles to San Francisco, we can find a corridor. But in Humboldt county, or Mendocino, it's all mountainous.

Today I sat at my realtor's office for nearly the entire day. I just bought a fantastic piece of land. Man, I'm totally thrilled. But the cars! The little town of Mendocino is nonstop cars. It's people driving incessantly. Most people don't think, don't consolidate. Drive when bored. I think it's a lack of leadership, and education. We all almost have to be engineers to understand what we're using, and it's effects on the environment.

There is big room for improvement. That Patriot missile you mentioned. The Iraq invasion, which I calculated has used over a billion gallons of fuel in itself. What a shame.

I want to be smart. I'm afraid the time for being smart is closing to an end. The ice caps are melting.

And one more thing. Petroleum is used for much much more than just personal transportation. I'm getting ready to finally build a house. That's going to take manufacturing, and transportation, and construction.

Ok, enough of my blabbering. :)

Because I can use 100% biodiesel in it and be completely oil free. (The oil for the engine is completely synthetic).

A Prius will never be completely oil free.

used to make and transport the diesel fuel?

Very little, someone I know makes it with used vegetable oil from area restaurants. As the technology advances for biodiesel, including using algae, it'll be smaller and smaller for the majority of people that want to use biodiesel.

I can't see the corners of the car and sometimes run into curbs, rocks, small children (not really) and such. The bumpers are not very solid and I have punched a couple holes it the right front.

I also have a bit of trouble with the poor vision through the rear window.

Overall, it's great, my wife drives it the most since she drives into the city more than I do.

Usually 51 or 52 mpg.

Found out the hard way when my wife was in an accident. We didn't even have the license plates yet. :cry:

But there was NO frame damage, and now you can't tell that this ever happened.






Hey, that Styrofoam did its job!

Thanks for the photos. Glad to hear it worked out well.

57% of the people polled says it does.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/surprise_prius.php

got it back in March after six months of debating what I wanted to drive. I had an 05 Cadi STS prior to my prius. Kept wanting to go back into that type of car but everytime I saw a Prius, I just kept picturing myself in one. I did get one with leather seats and a couple of add ons and its dark metallic grey.
We are averaging about 48mpg which is ok with us.....

But it will probably have to wait another year...I'm hoping to have enough to put down when they come out with the new ones for the '09 model year. How's the sound system, I heard the JBL sucks. Can you haul a lot of stuff? Mom was going to take me to IKEA but we never made it there, so we didn't get to test out the hatchback.

BTW that thing about the batteries and the mining is a myth. I saw it debunked on the Prius Chat forums.

with pen on paper, and:

you're running 21.6 km per liter. That's gooood. Apparently next year the Germans will introduce a car that will go 65 km per liter, which would mean 150+ MPG!!!!!

I fill up every 4-6 weeks which means I'll still be spending less than $40.00 a month on gas and when gas is $4.00+, I'll still be spending less than $50.00 a month. NOT BAD! I will NEVER regret buying my Prius.:loveya: BTW, I'm seeing more and more of them on the roads these days! That's a good thing for our environment.

:rofl:

Had to tow a 25 foot camper.

But currently, no one makes one that appeals to me and has worth while mpg. So untill then, I wont be buying one.

Took the hybrid bus to work. Me and 49 other people, thus saving the equivelent of 50 cars.

remember it takes between 20-50 barrels of oil to make one car.

So next time you look out on the road as you are driving by yourself and not in a car pool, pat yourself on the back.