Toyota Prius: Major threat?

[36654]

I shared my Jeep love with the Germans. In 1976 I took a CJ5 with me when I deployed to Germany. It was a piece of dog doo doo, but it was that way when it came off the assembly line. The Germans loved it. The local Mercedes dealer in Heidelburg bought it for his personal use. He paid far more than it was worth. The day after the sale I went back to the dealership and they had it on the lift and it was nearly completely stripped. I'd see it running around the streets of Heidelburg fixed up to look like it was ready for the Paris - Dakar race. When we lived in Kansas in the 90s I bought a couple 70s era CJs. Paid less than a $1000. Put some big tires on them, add some JC Whitney cheap parts and some labor and sold them to high school kids for $2500. I sometimes wonder if those kids survived the ecperience.

Those 1970's vintage CJ's were great for tip overs. When the tippy Suzuki micro-jeeps came out, we couldn't understand all the fuss........They were just like a Jeep????????

[royce]

Greetings all. I commute around 120 miles a day, on Hwy 101 and 1 here in Central Coastal California
I have noticed a trend over the last 5 years and have been wondering if it's just me or is something up? It appears like 80% of the time, if there is a car holding up the smooth flow of traffic it will be a Toyota Prius. The most common scene being traffic will be flowing smooth around 75mph in the fast lane and "whammo" there is a Prius doing a steadfast 64MPH even though there plenty of room for slower travel in the right lane. This forces everyone else to use the right lane to get around with subsequent snarl and resultant danger. The scene of travel at 64mph in the right lane when traffic is flowing 65-70 in that lane and 75-80 in the fast lane seems to occur pretty often as well. I've been calling it "Prius Syndrome". Am I alone in this observation? What could be wrong with these folks? I postulate these folks are intent on watching the fuel economy gauge which drops dramatically over 65mph or during acceleration and not watching the road. Check it out next time your out in commuterland.

I think the ACTIVITY (hyper-mileing) you've noticed is indeed an issue for most of us. But you've incorrectly focused on a small element of that activity--a specific vehicle you are upset with. The Prius isn't the problem, the driver and his/her mindset is the problem. The Prius is only one of the vehicles associated with this issue. Perhaps the most common vehicle--there do seem to be a lot of the darned little things on the road, aren't there?--but lots of late model high gas mileage vehicles have a gauge that encourages driving like you've noticed. We used to call them simply "vacuum gauges" but now they have a new high-tech digital user interface that glows green when the driver is "in the eco zone" and the goal of some drivers seems to be to keep the car in that zone regardless of the conditions around them.

As for me, some other poster (Paul maybe?) has described the driver that bothers me much more than the eco-zone driver: and that is the blue hair driver in a Yank tank. They are oblivious to what is going on around them, they are in a vehicle too large for them to safely control, and they are hell-bent on getting in my way. If they only drove a Prius instead of a previous-decade Buick LeSabre, Mercury Marquis or Chrysler New Yorker, we would all be better off and safer.

[36654]

If they only drove a Prius instead of a previous-decade Buick LeSabre, Mercury Marquis or Chrysler New Yorker, we would all be better off and safer.

As long as it was one of the models with a back-up camera or a rear window without spoiler.

While I and my wife really like her Prius, my wife can't wait to get a newer model with a functional rear window or back-up camera.

[glenfiddich]

What car isn't sure footed with Nokians?

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I've driven several front wheel drive cars: Honda Civic and Fit, Toyota Corolla, Mini Cooper. All wore Nokians. Only the Mini Cooper was as good in snow as the Prius. I think what those two cars had going for them was nearly equal weight distribution fore and aft.

[rxcrider]

...While I and my wife really like her Prius, my wife can't wait to get a newer model with a functional rear window or back-up camera.

You must have an older one. My base model '08 had a back up camera.


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[36654]

You must have an older one. My base model '08 had a back up camera.


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2010 base model, here

[AKsuited]

2010 base model, here

My '07 Prius is one level up from the base level, and has the back-up camera.

Harry

[ducster]

We have to deal with the same crap here in Pa. IMHO they should not even be on the road

Funny, but I have heard the same thing said about motorcycles. It was not ever stated by the OP as to what the actual speed limit was on the particular road of the offending Prius. While I agree that the courteous driver should be in the slower traffic lane, if that person was driving at the speed limit, perhaps he or she felt it was ok to be in that lane. The late George Carlin once said something about how that anyone driving slower than you was an idiot, and anyone going faster is a maniac. That seems to be the reasoning of many folks I encounter on the road these days.

[henzilla]

Funny, but I have heard the same thing said about motorcycles. It was not ever stated by the OP as to what the actual speed limit was on the particular road of the offending Prius. While I agree that the courteous driver should be in the slower traffic lane, if that person was driving at the speed limit, perhaps he or she felt it was ok to be in that lane. The late George Carlin once said something about how that anyone driving slower than you was an idiot, and anyone going faster is a maniac. That seems to be the reasoning of many folks I encounter on the road these days.

Post #22 covers the lane police attitude of leftlaners...just move over if that scenario is playing out

[rxcrider]

Maybe mine had a package of some sort that added the camera. I know it was the lowest priced one I could find at the time. I figured that since they used the same display for most of the controls and the economy gauges that the camera was standard.


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[rxcrider]

... anyone going faster is a maniac.

Cue maniacal laughter



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[tubaguy]

That's not my experience at all. I have noticed the opposite. I have been consistently surprised to see multiple times a Prius going very fast, very frequently, not blocking the fast lane. And no I don't own a Prius. But it's interesting to see different patterns in different places.

[Omega Man]

That's not my experience at all. I have noticed the opposite. I have been consistently surprised to see multiple times a Prius going very fast, very frequently, not blocking the fast lane. And no I don't own a Prius. But it's interesting to see different patterns in different places.

Was the driver drinking after a tough day of being teased cuz of his car?
OM

[36654]

Was the driver drinking after a tough day of being teased cuz of his car?
OM

Never been teased at the pump..........

[rxcrider]

I only ever got teased by friends, but mine did get bumped, dented and keyed more than any other car I've owned and in less time. I did have a few uncomfortable conversations with other Prius owners who felt very self-righteous. They generally left me alone when I didn't share their viewpoint. I'm sure they were the same ones hyper-miling down the freeway in the left lane.


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