There's a problem with our Prius, but not with its performance. It gives us just what we expected in that department: great gas mileage, good fit and finish, Toyota reliability.
The problem is what people think of you if you drive one. Everyone assumes you're a pious, self-righteous eco-puritan Democrat, which I am not (even though Al Gore can kiss my carbon footprint). We bought our Prius more for foreign policy reasons than environmental ones.
It didn't help when one of Sam's mischievous school friends painted Democrat and Feminist on the back window. Filling up at the Wal-Mart gas pump that day was a little uncomfortable.
But anyhow, I think we've solved the problem. (Note: the problem-solver is a little hard to read, so I enlarged it and inset it in the lower left corner).
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Solving the Prius Problem
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27 comments:
I'm so glad you support the right to arm bears. It's terrible that people go out in the woods and shoot poor little animals. It's only fair that bears have a fighting chance.
Oh, and you shouldn't be ashamed to have a Prius. A lot of people where I work have them.
I just bought a Prius and am having the same problem. Maybe we need a larger and more specific bumper sticker, which someone on the 'net will be sure to sell us. Something like "Not a Democrat, not an environmentalist" or "Give your money to the Japanese, not the Arabs" or "Don't give money to people who hate us." Or maybe we should just go ahead and bare our arms.
You completely misunderstand the 2nd Ammedment. It's the right to bear arms. Those are those winter coats with the furry arms. They go great with the furry boots. You have the right to wear them even if they make you lookk uncool.
Now just take it to the next level and sign on with these folks. You'll not only be supporting the 2nd Amendment in a tangible way but you'll also get yourself a manly decal to slap alongside that one. :-)
Life Member
I saw someone driving a prius, parking at a Whole Foods, and sporting a W sticker recently. That blows a few stereotypes right there.
I looked at the Prius but ended up buying the Honda Civic hybrid because it has a back seat that you can stuff a deer carcass into.
That must be a regional thing. In northern Virginia people assume you bought a Prius so you can drive in the HOV lanes.
The other day, I got behind a fellow who thought his Prius didn't make him look smug and self-righteous enough. His license plate: "UWSTGAS" ("You Waste Gas.")
I was going to flip him off, but I would have passed the train station exit
This is the bumper sticker your looking for:
Bin Laden Hates This Car
from Set America Free.
Car and Driver magazine's Patrick Bedard, no eco-nut, has driven the Prius extensively - and loves it.
I've got that problem too. Used to drive by the smelly hippies protesting in front of the WAR memorial building in my little electric GEM car and they thought I was one of them collectivists. But the BUSH 04, NRA and PEACE THROUGH SUPERIOR FIREPOWER stickers usually set them straight. Going to have to get a NO OIL FOR HIPPIES sticker too. As for Prius', we in the e-car world look on them as the wannabe-mobiles, especially if they're thinking they are oh so eco and carbon-friendly. I'll route my exhaust into my passenger compartment, they can route their's in their compartment, then let's see who is REALLY more carbon-footie-politically correct.
I drive a Highlander, my husband a Camery, both hybrids. The "W" bumber stickers usually do the job.
Actually, it's pronounced "Pious".
If you could only find a way to mount a gun rack in the back window.
I've heard it said that Priuses (Prii?) emit their very own form of pollution: they leave behind themselves little clouds of smug...
I'm gonna get me one of them Penises to drive!
Look at the demographics of Prius buyers. About half "early adopter" gadget freaks-who are largely Republican. Subarus Audis and BMWs are the liberal cars of choice.
I blame trial lawyers for the seemingly counter-intuitive BMW placement. Volvo is trending right as the cost goes up and up.
I was driving my Suburban in the mountains of Vermont a couple weeks back. I had a couple of snowmobiles in tow of course. I came up on a speed bumb on the interstate. It had a bumber sticker that said "Stope Global Warming, Drive 55" This was in a 65 zone. Didn't hear any screams, but there was an awful bump when the trailer hit the obstruction.
Just doing my part to eliminate smug emissions.
Bumper sticker:
Seriously, I bought this so I could go to Wa Mart!
Just seems like it might kill a few birds.
Redefining Green
A bumper sticker with "AL GORE CAN EAT MY TAILPIPE EMISIONS" should do it
Suggestion for bumper sticker: Not Green, just cheap.
Go Dave!
Why do you care what people think about what kind of car you drive?
Because I'm vain and shallow.
I was looking for a MPG spreadsheet and ran across this guy's website (http://john1701a.com/index.html). This is you within 12 months.
p.s. - You could get a bumper sticker that says, "I'm not a Democrat, but my car is."
We seem to be getting 45-49 mpg consistently this spring, which is about what we expected.
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