My behavior around the Toyota Prius

[Hans Batra]

i like driving by a Prius with my flat six at max noise. is something wrong with me? is this considered immature, anti-social, anti-PC behavior? i'll ask my therapist and see what he has to say.

regards,
hans
83 911 SC

[oldE]

So what IS politically correct about a 911? Opposite end of the scale from a Prius. Sort of like the high school jock making snide remarks about the nerdy guy in the hall. The world needs nerdy guys, but the jock can't help being what he is. Don't waste therapy time on this one. Buy a couple of tanks of gas for the Porsche, instead.
(I like 6000 rpm in 3 rd , myself.)
Les

[EarlyPorsche]

I don't know about you guys but I love Prius'. I think I am going to purchase. That thing uses NO FUEL! I had one as a loaner and I was TRYING HARD to not burn gas...got it up to 80MPG!

Whats weird about them, that most people don't know, is that they have I belive it is 350 FT/LBS of torque...FROM IDLE! Its because electric motors make torque in a complete flat line. I floored it a couple times before zeroing the gas mileage computer and you can feel all that Torque. Strangely enough, its got the power of a normal car. Nothing amazing but more than enough. I can see why you wouldn't like it though, I would suggest just driving it.

[1967 R50/2]

Originally posted by Hans Batra
i like driving by a Prius with my flat six at max noise. is something wrong with me? is this considered immature, anti-social, anti-PC behavior? i'll ask my therapist and see what he has to say.

regards,
hans
83 911 SC

Yeah...that's pretty squidly.

[mschuep]

350 ft-lbs of torque?

[Big Ed]

Those skinny little tires would not stay connected to the road it it had that kind of torque.

[RallyJon]

I hear they produce huge clouds of smug.

[widebody911]

Originally posted by Big Ed
Those skinny little tires would not stay connected to the road it it had that kind of torque.

They wouldn't stay connected to the car with that torque...

I like doing the same thing,but it's not just Prius' - I also like teasing the rice kids, too...

[Z-man]

Word on the street is that folks are starting to realize that the hybrid cars aren't a financially sound purchase, nor are they really that environmentally friendly.

It would take roughly 15 years of ownership in order to 'break even' on the gas savings vs. buying a comprable gas-powered car.

And if you guy a hybrid because you feel you are protecting the environment, then tell me, how do you plan on getting rid of the spent battery cells without killing the native habitat of the tiki-tiki bird?

-Z.

[mschuep]

Yes, I like teasing the ricers, if I'm lucky they try to race, I let them blow by and follow them so they get ticket

[legion]

Originally posted by RallyJon
I hear they produce huge clouds of smug.

ROFL!!!

[bdonally]

I've got one of each.
The Prius is a nice offset to my less politically correct ride, and yes, it does generate a fairly good sized cloud of smug.

Along the lines of the cloud of smug hovering over my 911 when around a bunch of (likely faster) Japanese tuner cars.

The technology content of the Prius is an order of magnitude higher than in either of my German cars - appeals to my eng side.
As far as the advertised torque - it is pretty theroetical. The acceleration is OK, that all, and no where what you would expect from 350 lb-ft of torque. A bunch of parts would break or go up in smoke if the electronics allowed the stall torque to actually be available.
OTOH, the 911 at 6500 rpm makes a way nicer noise and puts many more smiles on my face.

[Dantilla]

Originally posted by oldE
So what IS politically correct about a 911? Opposite end of the scale from a Prius.

I disagree.

A Porsche still is a lightweight, relatively fuel efficient car.
May I suggest that the Hummer is the likely opposite?

[david.avery]

Two Funny things on the Prius... I was recently passed by one in my STI doing 90 mph... wonder how much fuel savings there is at that speed

The other, my in-laws bought one, and quickly brought it back. The thing would shift into electric mode and it was very unnerving; the car would seem to "stall". They had issues all the time with the changeover, the car died and would not revert between modes. It stranded them three times, and then they returned it and bought a camry

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally posted by Z-man
It would take roughly 15 years of ownership in order to 'break even' on the gas savings vs. buying a comprable gas-powered car.

At *current* gas prices, yes. However there's a clear trend here.

And if you guy a hybrid because you feel you are protecting the environment, then tell me, how do you plan on getting rid of the spent battery cells without killing the native habitat of the tiki-tiki bird? [/B]

What did the tiki-tiki bird ever do for us? Huh? Answer me that one!

[Don Plumley]

Originally posted by RallyJon
I hear they produce huge clouds of smug.

It's especially bad when Prius smug combines with Clooney smug. |-)

[kjb]

Originally posted by david.avery
I was recently passed by one in my STI doing 90 mph... wonder how much fuel savings there is at that speed

An acquantaince of mine who has absolutely no regard for speed limits commutes from San Francisco to Sunnyvale in a 2005 Prius and barely gets 30 miles per gallon.

/ J

[Jims5543]

Drove from Kansas City to Florida in my 911 and got on 30+ MPG with it doing 80+ MPH the whole way.

One tank netted me 34 MPG.

[mschuep]

FWIW, I get 30 mpg going 80 in my 90 corolla

[randywebb]

agree wtih Dantilla re opposites

test drive ahybrid sometime - they have surprising passing power; standing start tip in is usually reduced to save fuel tho

the break even point is anywhere from 3 years to 8 depending on what if any tax incentives apply - no idea where the guy abov is getting 15 from

if gas prices go up, as is highly likely, people who use a lot of gas could be in a world of hurt. expected price increases are on theing, but if Al Queda can take out the single big Saudi crude facility, you could see gas prices go to triple digits - that's per gallon - for a while. the time to repair the facility could be several months