How is the Prius so popular?

[LOCO XP]

Originally Posted by Outbackjack

Dont you know?? If you drive a pius, you are part of the solution, not part of the problem!!

You beat me to it. And don't forget the smug in the atmosphere generated by the owners. Not to mention that the owners eat their own farts

[Fev]

Originally Posted by LOCO XP

You beat me to it. And don't forget the smug in the atmosphere generated by the owners. Not to mention that the owners eat their own farts

thats the episode i linked on the page before if you wanna watch it, free and streaming and every other episode

[aquahead2001]

I read a great article on a US Based Blog Site a while back that explained in very simple terms why the Prius is so popular in the states, particularly in California.

It's not the environmental thing, it's not fossil fuels, it's transit lanes...

If you have a hybrid or non-fossil fuelled powered vehicle, you can drive in the transit lanes that are usually reserved for public transport.

For places like LA, where the commute to work can be a slow and tedious 60 minutes or more stuck in traffic doing 20km/h, the transit lanes can cut that time down by 1/2 or more.

I recently worked for a large company that had a fleet of Priuses (or is that Prioi?), I drove them regularly. Aorund town they were great, out on the open road they were shocking and the fuel economy really suffered. A camry or falcon could easily match their open road 110km/h economy.

The company bought them not for the environmnetal thing but for the marketing spin opportunity they gave.

[Ives]

A good TDCi car would have much better fuel economy than a Prius.

And get this a 4.0L V8 BMW M3 has slightly better fuel economy than the Prius.

[burnz]

Originally Posted by Fev

personally i think those people tubes in futurama would be pretty cool :P

now that would be good, theame park style.

[samftr]

well, gimme an M3... I bet the mileage wont be better then a prius then...
Come to think of it I wouldnt mind a prius for work. would mean me wallet would be a bit fuller at the end of the week!

[Laminge]

Forgive me if I am wrong, but dont the yanks have a electric petrol 4wd energy efficient vehicle as well, not sure of branding

[Aeron]

I hate the Prius, and the people who drive them. I do!
They’ve been sucked-in by Toyotas marketing department.
I once had a Prius owner argue with me that the Prius was better than a 2003 Corvette because the Prius was “more aerodynamic”. After I fell off chair I replied with, “but the Prius is dreadfully ugly, slow, and horrifically overpriced”, or words to that effect.
If I was going to spend $45,000+ on a car that wasn’t going to kill the planet as quick as my SS, I’d buy a Diesel VW Golf. At least it looks good and it has a torquey engine and people wouldn’t point and laugh at you in traffic. They laugh at Prius owners, not just because of the ridiculous styling of the thing, but also because they payed twice as much as they should have, for what is essentially a small car.
Prius. Hahaha!! :

[Noddy]

Originally Posted by Fev

This link is the anwser to allll your questions

http://www.allabout-sp.net/?p=season10/1002

It is a south park episode discussing the Hybrid car "revolution" and who buys them and why.

Note: that website has EVERY single south park episode ever aired in america(which means they get a season ahead of us.) streaming for free, just like youtube. AND there is also a family guy equivalent!!!

I would love a link to the family guy equivalent site if possible??

[Falcon Coupe]

Originally Posted by Grunter

Link showing the above please.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=4hEazWUHXQ4

[blackers10]

has anybody priced up a replacment battery for a prius latly??

$5000 to replace every 5 years.. friend of a friend found this out and quickly sold up (4 year old car)

[msman]

people we are all forgetting the big picture if you drive a prius you'r half way into the pants of a busty blonde tree hugger!

on a more serious note, the prius sells as more of a status symbol than anything else. if we were really serious about climate change and the like we would have latest tech lpg/cng (for australia any way) and well funded programs for alternative fuels etc.

[BionicGT]

Prius is not a good second hand market car as people are a bit unsure how long the batteries last and don't want to buy one and only get 2 yrs out of it before the batteries need replacing.

As for Toyota being environmentally friendly, Sydney City Toyota has a multi story dealership at Waterloo that is lit up like a Xmas tree inside on every floor with high energy floodlights every day until very late in the evening. Talk about wasting energy.

[hypnodoc]

I think they are disgusting things that should not be entitled to be identified as an actual car. One parked next to me once so I laughed loudly and cynically at the pointy head driving it and moved my Phoon.
I was worried it might catch a disease

[Grunter]

Originally Posted by Falcon Coupe

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=4hEazWUHXQ4

Cheers! Although I'm a little hesitant to use a US TV drama as the basis of fact.

Any links from anyone that show that there are "the fossil fuels used in its production more than negate anything saved at the pump, making it a false economy" as stated by Bad Bird?

[Electric]

Here is one site

http://cnwmr.com/nss-folder/automotiveenergy/

...and this is a 3.3MB pdf with all the info...

http://cnwmr.com/nss-folder/automoti...%20VERSION.pdf

And in answer to someone elses question yes you can get a hybrid 4x4...its a Ford Escape, its been out for a few years but apparently they only make a few so the waiting list is over 6mths.

When I was in the states last year I was told Ford only market them as a 'marketing tool' to get people into the dealership then they tell you the waiting lists are huge and try and flog you a converntional Escape or something even bigger.

Originally Posted by Grunter

Link showing the above please.

[Grunter]

Great link thanks Electric.

Some interesting results, however as you'd expect there is another report out debunking the method of the findings from the CNWMR.

"Enter the Pacific Institute, an Oakland-based environmental think-tank, with a counter-report alleging that the CNW report is based on "faulty methods of analysis, untenable assumptions, selective use and presentation of data, and a complete lack of peer review." Among its most flawed assumption: the average H1 Hummer is assumed to last 35 years, and travel 379,000 miles, while the average Prius is assumed to last only 109,000 miles over 12 years.

Change these "assumptions" and you end up with an opposite result -- that the Prius and others like it consume far less "lifetime energy" than monster vehicles such as the Hummer.

The lesson here is to beware of junk science. If you want to do your part to fight global warming, it probably doesn't make sense to trade in your Prius for a Hummer."

It still doesn't show that fossil fuels used in its production outweigh the manufature of a non hybrid.

[troppo]

Originally Posted by schnoods

Owning a prius is like saying "I have a conscience" .

I wont look at buying a hybrid until they have enough grunt to spin the wheels.

More accurately, it's like saying "I am a pretentious who doesn't have the acumen to do the research and arrive at an opinion of my own, BUT I have a conscience and this will make me appear to be doing the green thing, regardless of the facts.

BTW, electric sh!ts all over petrol for power and torque, it's just not easily transportable...

[Grunter]

Originally Posted by troppo

....regardless of the facts....

Unforunately the facts are not as clearly defined either way. The more you dig through the "facts" out there the more info you can find info supporting each side.

The current Hybrid's are not the ultimate "eco" car, and they may just be a marketing gimmick, but no matter what their faults, they are part of the first steps on reducing the reliance on non renewable fuels.

Put it another way, if FPV released a F6/GT Hybrid that handled the same as it's petrol brothers, with the same features and equipment and could do 0-100 in under 4 seconds, 400m in the 12's (when tested by Wheels ;) ) and when driven normally used half the fuel, which one would most people buy?

Most people here wouldn't give a second thought as to what the total energy cost would be or even research it, they would just buy one with the thought that they get something they want with less fuel use.

Can someone tell me what the total energy cost is for the current FG Falcon? And also how many people are looking at those numbers when buying one?

[sleekism]

Originally Posted by Grunter

Unforunately the facts are not as clearly defined either way. The more you dig through the "facts" out there the more info you can find info supporting each side.

The current Hybrid's are not the ultimate "eco" car, and they may just be a marketing gimmick, but no matter what their faults, they are part of the first steps on reducing the reliance on non renewable fuels.

Put it another way, if FPV released a F6/GT Hybrid that handled the same as it's petrol brothers, with the same features and equipment and could do 0-100 in under 4 seconds, 400m in the 12's (when tested by Wheels ;) ) and when driven normally used half the fuel, which one would most people buy?

Most people here wouldn't give a second thought as to what the total energy cost would be or even research it, they would just buy one with the thought that they get something they want with less fuel use.

Can someone tell me what the total energy cost is for the current FG Falcon? And also how many people are looking at those numbers when buying one?

More likely if FPV released a hybrid GT that cost $150,000 did 0-100 in 11 seconds and the quarter mile in 18 seconds and had to have it's engine rebuilt every five years how many people would buy it???

The Prius would be a perfect car if it cost the same as a Hyundai. Scooters are more of a solution than the Prius.

[loltastic]

Originally Posted by Ives

A good TDCi car would have much better fuel economy than a Prius.

And get this a 4.0L V8 BMW M3 has slightly better fuel economy than the Prius.

You're clearly referring to the most recent Top Gear episode in which an E92 M3 was put around the track at the same time as a Prius. The M3 managed better fuel ecnomy around the track because obviously it's much larger engine wasn't working nearly as hard. In the real world, the M3 wouldn't have a chance to equal, or even get remotely near the Prius's fuel economy.

[Fev]

Hybrids all the way imo.. even though the lexus hybrids are freakin expensive id still pick one over a 50k prius.. Mitsubishi needs to bring out that Mivec electric lancer with 202kw's and 440nm's or whatever it was that i saw in a motor mag last year some time - that would sell like hotcakes!

ill find the link to the streaming family guy links for ya and pm you

[scooby]

The Prius is not safe for pedestrians. Have you ever NOT heard one coming when you are about to cross the road?

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by scooby

The Prius is not safe for pedestrians. Have you ever NOT heard one coming when you are about to cross the road?

That's why it's not hear left, hear right and hear left again before crossing the road.

[Dave_au]

Originally Posted by blackers10

has anybody priced up a replacment battery for a prius latly??

$5000 to replace every 5 years.. friend of a friend found this out and quickly sold up (4 year old car)

This is incorrect. First off, Toyota have a warranty on the Prius batteries for 8 years in the US. Second off, its more the km the car travelled rather than the age of the car which will determine battery life. News reports from the states & canada suggest that there are some examples in taxi fleets and the like which have travelled over 200,000 miles without requiring a change of batteries.

[troppo]

Originally Posted by Grunter

Unforunately the facts are not as clearly defined either way. The more you dig through the "facts" out there the more info you can find info supporting each side.

There are facts and then there are statistics. Facts are indisputable, regardless of which side you are on. Statistics are another matter entirely, and are usually manipulated and presented to either support or dubunk a particular notion. I try to ignore the statistics and search for the facts.

[troppo]

Originally Posted by Dave_au

This is incorrect. First off, Toyota have a warranty on the Prius batteries for 8 years in the US. Second off, its more the km the car travelled rather than the age of the car which will determine battery life. News reports from the states & canada suggest that there are some examples in taxi fleets and the like which have travelled over 200,000 miles without requiring a change of batteries.

More accurately, it's the battery cycle which has the most effect on battery life. Fully discharging the battery before recharging gives the best results for longevity.

[samftr]

Honestly I think there is so much negativity about this new technology, little wonder why australia has only recently come out of the dark ages with its engine technology etc. people wont accept change here. sad as it is.

[atec77]

Originally Posted by samftr

Honestly I think there is so much negativity about this new technology, little wonder why australia has only recently come out of the dark ages with its engine technology etc. people wont accept change here. sad as it is.

The pius is an ugly little bucket of shte , the battery can be had for around 1500 landed not the 5 to 6 k toyo want , anyway I prefer my surf , 20 cents a litre to fill it
go bio ( and it's quicker)

[BIGJB]

[SIZE=3]Let me start off buy saying no matter how expensive fuel gets I will always own a fuel guzzler and never a Prius.[/SIZE] However Recently we purchased 1 for my mother. This little coke can on wheels rocks. Even with me driven its off it still gets 850+ klms out of its 45ltr tank. With mum driven it she get around 970 out of the tank. To be honest it drives nice too. Has ample power(for what it is) all the bells and whistles you'd expect from a new car. Handles like it's on rails(as long as 40 psi in the tyres).
Hey it's the start of new tech. Todays equiv of the flat head v8 if you like. It will get there and has great potential.