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Detroit, 6:43 PM
Wed Nov 11
34 posts in the last 24 hours
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09/18/09
09/18/09
Prius
09/19/09
Full disclosure: I own a Camry Hybrid.
09/18/09
If you buy a Camry or Yachtlander Hybrid, welcome to the land of contradictions.
But then, I'd be quite pleased if they shot the Highlander, redesigned the Sienna, and hybridised that - better aerodynamics, and more practical than the Highlander, both as a passenger vehicle and as a hybrid.
09/19/09
The Camry Hybrid is completely outclassed by the Ford Fusion Hybrid, but the Highlander Hybrid is the highest MPG 7-seater AWD going. 27 / 25 mpg for a fat ugly SUV is impressive, and some people need one. FWIW it's CR's top-scoring mid-size SUV.
09/18/09
I find it interesting that Jalopnik has not reported on the Lexry-Camrus that crashed at 120mph because the floor mat got stuck on the gas pedal and the driver didn't know to shift to neutral with a hung throttle.
Why do I have a feeling that had it been a VW/Audi, we'd have already seen 4 articles about it.....
09/18/09
Source?
09/18/09
[www.google.com]
09/18/09
Indeed.
09/18/09
Isn't this the very essence of brand dilution? Once they start slapping Prius badges on everything from the Corolla to the Tundra everybody will not know what the name means.
09/18/09
09/18/09
09/19/09
Slapping the name on a bunch of also-ran Toyotas that aren't the most blah blah is a dubious step.
03/02/09
03/02/09
03/02/09
Japanese garbage, If you're looking to pay less and have a much better looking car buy a upcoming chevrolet cruze
03/02/09
And I thought the Miata was a gay car?
03/02/09
03/02/09
Yup...
Stuff like mini potatoes, Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing, creme brule or strawberries with milk and sugar...
I found that out when I had strawberries with milk and sugar in front of my homophobic father-in-law.
And apparently, Saab was the first company to focus some advertising to the gay community in the US:
[www.gaywheels.com]
But then apparently the Jeep Wrangler, Range Rovers, Jags and Mini Coopers are supposedly popular in the Gay community too.
So I don't think the Prius is any more 'gay' than many other cars like my Saab.
03/02/09
Right? Right?
03/02/09
Driving very carefully, but not so slow that people are blowing horns and waving fists, I can get well over 35mpg out of my truck. That's a carbureted truck, old enough to buy beer if I could fit it through the grocery store's doors. But the Prius demands no skills, it just does it all for you. That's not as good a thing as it should be.
Eking out great mileage numbers is a different kind of performance driving, and I'm glad to say I'm pretty good at it. The new Prius is just another step along the road to curbside carryout, pay-per-view Internet-ready couch potato driving. And I'm not having it.
I'm really glad Toyota is putting the Prius out. Lots of disinterested, dispassionate but well-meaning people will pony up for it and get better mileage, meaning doing more with less. In a planet populated by billions of disinterested, dispassionate people, that means more for everybody. Good.
But I can do nearly as well, and I didn't make anybody open up a new steel mine, or poison half of Canada with heavy metals, to make it happen.
I adjusted the nut behind the wheel. I changed my expectations and changed my habits in order to bring those new expectations to light. Maybe what America - and the rest of the motoring world - needs is to demand less, and give more. Don't demand a sea change of technology, give a little me change: more attention, a little more consideration. Less "me first" and more "you, too."
My name is elhigh, and I'm running for Car Czar.
03/02/09
03/02/09
GUARDS! Find me the person responsible, and bring me their empty skull! I shall drink margaritas from the spot where their brain should have been.
03/02/09
03/02/09
Unless it was A Strolling Player. He's forgiven, just cuz he's so adorable.
03/02/09
03/02/09
My 3.0 L Ranger, 5 spd, only gets 22-23 MPG.
Was hoping that Saturn would make a fuel efficient pickup but for sure, that ain't gonna be happening now!
Guess I'll have to find a VW pickup.
03/02/09
03/02/09
I really liked the *volume is to good music as MPG is to automotive industry by a previous poster
03/02/09
Really, it's silly to begin with. You can buy a Toyota Corolla that has more room and is arguable more fun to drive for $10k less than a Prius. It still gets mid 30s mpg. You know how long it takes to get that $10k back in fuel savings?
03/02/09
At $2/gallon, driving 15000 miles a year, you'd be paying $400 more to fuel the Corolla, $800 more if it goes up to $4/gallon again.
So, if prices stay where they are, it'll take ten years to pay off, and may not be worth it for the General Car-Buying Public, but do you honestly expect to be paying two dollars a gallon for the next ten years? Me neither.
At $4/gallon it'll take five years to pay the difference, which is a reasonably average amount of time to keep a car. The battery warranty is still good for three more years so you can enjoy an extra $2000+, all the while having a bigger, more comfortable, more practical car with more added extras (solar cooling when parked? I bet that's nice to have) than a Corolla that honestly doesn't drive that well in the first place.
Add to that the Corolla has Toyota's worst interior. Like, it's worse than the Yaris. I can't ascertain why, but it's an awful place to be.
03/02/09
03/02/09
I mean - doesn't that sound completely backwards? You're already getting a really fast 0-60 time, why on earth would you go for .5 to 1 second less of 0-60 time for $35,000-$50,000++?? The 0-60 graph is a diminishing return. Improve a car from 5 seconds 0-60 to 4 seconds and you've cut the time by 20%. But since speed limits and traffic are the same, you've hardly changed anything. *SIGH* why are we so stupid as a nation?
03/02/09
@bwilson4web: I whole-heartedly challenge your arguement that old Prii are more valuable than their gas-counterparts. I just looked at used Prii today on Cars.com most sell for $12,000-$14,000 with less than 60,000miles. Meaning? 50% value after 2-4 years. That's HORRIBLE compared to say a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord. Plus, that's not to mention the giant drop in value after their 80,000mile battery warranty expires.
*I have no qualms with the Prius or any hybrid automobile, I just think scrapping a 45mpg vehicle for a 50mpg vehicle SOLELY for the purpose of "5mpg in the upper range" (yes, that needed to be added for you gas-graphing folks) is foolish.
03/02/09
03/02/09
03/02/09
03/02/09
03/02/09
You should have seen that "Americans for Balanced Energy Choices" website before they changed their name and took all the videos of kids speaking the benefits of "future coal"--pure hilarity.
03/02/09
03/02/09
And no urea? Yes, but did you check what is needed to make it a bit cleaner?