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Toyota Prius: Major threat?

Can't say I have seen then her. I've seen every type of vehicle be a moving road block in the left lane. Was on the interstate a hole group passing others had to shut down real fast because a pickup with trailer loaded with house hold items was going just over the minimum speed limit in the left lane. Was coming back a few hours later and close to the same area were I pass this truck there was all over the center medium was house hold item. Never heard but I think this truck got rearended.
 
In the vast prairies of the great plains and the wooded hills and corn fields just to their east the rolling roadblocks and other strange driving behaviors are not observed in Prius cars so much. They are predominantly observed in Ford Crown Victoria cars, usually white. Slow in the fast lane, fast in the slow lane, slow in the only lane, etc. Often they seem to like the same speed. 52 in a 65, then 52 in the 45 entering town, then 52 in the 35 all the way to the Walmart parking lot.

However, I shall never forget the elderly gentleman who pulled out in front of me and headed out of town somewhere in the northern Ozarks a couple of years ago. "Oh no, I'll never get around him in these twisties" was my thought. But he took off and it was absolutely everything I could do to keep up with him, let alone get close enough to pass.

As he slowed entering the next town about 15 miles down the road I rode up behind him and was quite chagrined to see his license plate frame which proudly announced "Pearl Harbor Survivor". That old boy knew that road and he knew how to drive it!!
 
As an aside but to the point, Voni's 16 year old Saturn SC1 gets 40 mpg with a normal internal combustion engine, and will do it even if you drive it like a normal person instead of like a hydroelectricalmechanical housewife engineer.

But rest assured and be happy - they are now working frantically on cars that drive themselves. Bumper cars with sensors!! Yippee!!
 
I do notice that the Prius drivers don't seem to "enjoy the ride" the way someone in say, a Porsche or a Jeep do.

Huh?

You are imagining things. I guess it does something like this, "A Prius gets 50+ mpg, therefore there has to be something about it to cancel out that goodness. Yeah, it must be frightfully boring and even painful to drive."

A Porsche probably is more fun to drive than a Prius, except the part about making payments on a $100K car or whatever they cost. A Jeep more fun than a Prius? When I see a Jeep of any sort on the highway, I feel sorry for the person who is using 2 or 3 times as much gasoline to do exactly what I am doing, going from Point A to Point B.

When I want to have fun, I ride my motorcycle.

Harry
 
As an aside but to the point, Voni's 16 year old Saturn SC1 gets 40 mpg with a normal internal combustion engine, and will do it even if you drive it like a normal person instead of like a hydroelectricalmechanical housewife engineer.

But rest assured and be happy - they are now working frantically on cars that drive themselves. Bumper cars with sensors!! Yippee!!

Voni's SC1 has either a 85 or 100-hp engine which propels a 2400~2500-lb compact car. My wife's Gen 3 Prius has a 98-hp 4-cyl engine and a 36-hp electric motor for a combined output of 134-hp to propel a 3000-lb mid-size car.

Bigger car, more power and higher fuel mileage.......... even a hydroelectricalmechanical engineer can understand that.
 
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Huh?

You are imagining things.

Harry

When he said Jeep...............everything just went in the ditch. I mean, Jeeps are vehicles for people that can't afford homes on paved roads and have no need to ever carry anything with them. Otherwise, they would have a 4x4 truck.

The Porsche part, I think I understand, but have never experienced. I'm too practical for that style of car.
 
I'll bet BMW's entry into the market will be able to keep up with traffic however...........

Ken

The Prius can too. Some drivers are the issue. I ran solo Cleveland to Denver in my 2008 Prius in 24 hours including a 3 hour nap. That is an average of around 65 MPH including gas stops and an hour lost when the girl ahead of me rolled her car on I-80. (not including sleep time) included in that is a brief period of triple digit speeds. Most of the time I just set the cruise at limit + 9. I certainly passed more people than passed me. The only time the car got annoying was in the mountains where I'd quickly drain the battery climbing and spend the rest of the ascent sounding like a snowmobile. On long descents, the battery would charge fully on regenerative braking and then let the car start freewheeling. A shift into braking mode would introduce engine braking, but it caught me off guard the first time. Regardless, they are fine little cars and even handle small jumps without complaint. The traction control is overzealous so they need good winter tire to get out of their own way in the snow.


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That said, they are reliable but boring. If an M3 is akin to an S1000, the Prius is a Silverwing scooter. There is no soul stirring sound, no phenomenal acceleration or handling, but they are reliable and fuel efficient. The are also light on maintenance requirements. I changed the first set of front brake pads at 110,000 miles; regenerative braking doe have advantages.


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Voni's SC1 has either a 85 or 100-hp engine which propels a 2400~2500-lb compact car. My wife's Gen 3 Prius has a 98-hp 4-cyl engine and a 36-hp electric motor for a combined output of 134-hp to propel a 3000-lb mid-size car.

Bigger car, more power and higher fuel mileage.......... even a hydroelectricalmechanical engineer can understand that.

All true, but then you have to drive a honking big Prius. :)
 
All true, but then you have to drive a honking big Prius. :)

They make smaller and larger models. Something exactly right for Poppa, Mama or Baby Bear................

Seriously, our Prius has more passenger room than my 2003 330i, but it's not as fun to drive. But, for the mundane trips to the grocery store or driving in urban areas, it offers the same thrill.
 
Seriously, our Prius has more passenger room than my 2003 330i, but it's not as fun to drive. But, for the mundane trips to the grocery store or driving in urban areas, it offers the same thrill.

What are these things, "urban areas" about which you speak? :)
 
They make smaller and larger models. Something exactly right for Poppa, Mama or Baby Bear................

Seriously, our Prius has more passenger room than my 2003 330i, but it's not as fun to drive. But, for the mundane trips to the grocery store or driving in urban areas, it offers the same thrill.

We have a little Prius C. The gas tank holds about as much as my GSA, but it gets better mileage so 8.6 gallons will last me two and a half weeks. It's a surprisingly peppy little car for what it is. The way some Prius owners drive I expected it to be a real slug! Another surprise was how well it handles in snow. My neighbor is a cross country ski resort and we see a bit of the white stuff. The car (with Nokian snow tires) is extremely sure-footed and handles winter well unless the town plow left a ridge of hard snow across our driveway.
 
The car (with Nokian snow tires) is extremely sure-footed and handles winter well unless the town plow left a ridge of hard snow across our driveway.

What car isn't sure footed with Nokians? Deciding to blast through the heavy deep stuff (such as gifts from the plow) left mine with cracks in the front plastics.


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It's a surprisingly peppy little car for what it is. The way some Prius owners drive I expected it to be a real slug! Another surprise was how well it handles in snow.

Most people assume a Prius is slow. It is quite peppy because it has two motors, with full torque available from the electric motor the instant you floor it. I have no trouble passing cars at all. Mine isn't great in snow with conventional tires, but I live in a small town and normally don't have to deal with hills. If I did, I would get those good snow tires.

Harry
 
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