Even Butt Ugly Goes For Way Above List Price
People are going nuts for the Prius, which, unlike my darling, Tom Swiftian hybrid Honda Insight, is shaped like a tin can somebody stepped on, but does carry four passengers. My car, the perfect transportation for a misanthrope, only carries one (and weighs in at an exceptionally svelte 1,900 pounds -- slightly more than a gold-hubcapped tire on a gas-sucking SUV). Here's a report on Prius sales from CNN/Money Magazine:
Demand for the gas-electric hybrid Prius is so great that some used Priuses are selling for more than the list price for a new one, according to a published report.USA Today reported Monday that buyers who want to avoid the typical two-month waiting period for the hot Toyota model are willing to pay the premium. Waits at some dealerships can be considerably longer. The market for the used Prius is so strong that some owners are trying to sell them for more than they paid for them.
The paper said that record gasoline prices is one reason for the strong demand. The Prius, which uses an electric motor in addition to a gasoline engine, gets an average of 51 miles per gallon on the highway and 60 mpg in the city, reversing the mileage of the typical gasoline-only vehicle that gets better mileage on the highway.
The paper said that 2005 Prius also has the highest owner satisfaction of any 2005 model, according to an owner survey by Consumer Reports magazine, meaning that relatively few of the cars are available on the market.
The buyers of new Priuses are also paying above the list price for the cars, which is helping to support the price of the used cars. The new car lists for $20,975 to $26,640, Toyota says.
My car is a SULEV -- a Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle -- and the highest mileage (commercially available) car on the road. My other car is a pair of running shoes. (Seriously, I run errands while running.) What's yours?
>>My other car is a pair of running shoes. ... What's yours?
Mine, as you know, is a Prius. It's white, and in perfect condition apart from those little marks on the wing mirror where i occasionally clout the jamb of the garage door. So I loved the CNN page. My "other car" is the Coaster[1], which my SO rides to work and back every day.
Stu "El Inglés" Harris at April 11, 2005 8:53 AM
I'm sure I've said it before, but I'd be in the downtown library all the time if I could take a train there. And I'd take a train whenever I had to go to Hollywood -- if such a train existed.
Amy Alkon at April 11, 2005 9:54 AM
I always wondered if toyota had cut some sort of deal with gas companies to the tune of "We'll have this high gas-mileage car so we can brag about it, but we'll make sure it looks like utter junk so you guys don't lose too much money."
I can't think of any other reason to make the Prius look how it does.
Little ted at April 11, 2005 10:34 AM
The engineers were drunk and sat on the model before they sent it off to be rendered?
Amy Alkon at April 11, 2005 11:02 AM
Unable to afford I hybrid, I purchased the next best thing. My 2003 Ford Focus is a P-ZEV (Practical Zero Emission Vehicle). I have always wanted a truck (big, monster truck - with a license plate that reads "PNIS NV"), but being a single woman with no 2x4s to lug around, I couldn't justify the emissions, the poor gas mileage, or the parking space one of those things took up.
However, I must confess that I have not been happy with my Focus. The brakes are substandard - I had to replace them at 17,000 miles and they are already squealing again at 32,000. And after being stranded three times by my ignition simply *not working*, they finally replaced my entire ingnition system, including new keys. I need a reliable car, and this car is a piece of crap. So for my next car, I hope to find an affordable and *reliable* P-ZEV that actually looks good.
Wish me luck!
Goddyss at April 11, 2005 11:06 AM
What do you drive on the thrice-annual trips to Paris? Didja ever scratch out on the back of an envelope the fluorocarbon output of a globe-trotting coastal advice columnist compared to that of, say, a family of four with a nine-year-old, four-cylinder Toyota pickup living in Oklahoma?
Cridland at April 11, 2005 11:20 AM
But I have no other alternative at the moment for trips to Paris. I'm not saying anybody should crawl to the grocery store, but there are alternatives available. Moreover, I use reusable bags at the grocery store, rather than getting plastic or paper every time. Cost me $50. They were available, so I bought them. When somebody invents a hybrid plane, I'll be Passager Numero Un.
Amy Alkon at April 11, 2005 11:54 AM
You people rock. I love the dialogue.
PS: My other car is a cute red bicycle.
Lena-doodle-doo at April 11, 2005 1:02 PM
Pop Quiz: You are thinking of trading your gas guzzling 15 mpg SUV for a vehicle that gets better mileage. You can get one that averages 30 mpg or one that averages 45 mpg. The 45 mpg vehicle costs thousands more, has a 3 month waiting list, is smaller than a shoebox and looks uglier than an Art Deco Hope Chest. Still, with the price of gas upwards of 3 bucks a gallon in Malibu, you're tempted toward the higher mileage bizarro vehicle because:
A) Since 30 mpg is 15 mpg higher than your SUV, you know that an additional 15 mpg will double your savings.
B) A quick mental math check deduces that you will cut your annual gas costs in half going from 15 to 30 mpg, or save 75% by going to 45 mpg.
C) You wonder if you can cram the wife and 2 kids into the 60 mpg two seat Honda Insight because you know that you would have to double a 30 mpg average to achieve the same dollar amount of savings as you get doubling the mileage of your gas hog SUV.
D) None of the above. The first 3 choices are all false and you take a deep breath and avoid the knee-jerk hysteria surrounding most hybrid purchases and decide to buy a sharp looking sedan that averages 30 to 35 mpg.
Few people realize that fuel cost savings fall off geometrically as gas mileage increases. Given the current low averages for US vehicles (about 20 mpg for pickups/SUVs/minivans, 28 mpg for cars, and 24 mpg overall US average), the real push should be for averages of 30-35 mpg or better for ALL vehicles.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the nifty little hybrids that get 50-60 mpg. But the real reason for these vehicles was not their high mileage, but rather to meet California’s requirements for increased numbers of low emission vehicles from each manufacturer. (Actually, the requirements were for a certain number of zero emission vehicles, but when electric cars proved impractical, the rules were softened to allow for low emission vehicles instead) The hybrids were a direct result of trying to meet these requirements.
The ability to get high gas mile has been around for a lot longer. I owned a Jetta sedan diesel in the early 80’s that got 50 mpg, and it looked sharp to boot. All US passenger vehicles, including SUV’s and pickups, could average 30-35 mpg if they were lightened up and used diesel or hybrid technology. Europeans already get this. Over 50% of all new vehicles sold in Europe are diesels. Many smaller passenger cars already average 30-35 mpg, and midsize and larger sedans could do it on gasoline with only modest, already available, technological improvements, or go even higher with diesel of hybrid technology.
Sure, the higher the gas mileage, the greater the savings. But the bulk of the savings comes in the initial 10-15 mpg improvement in fuel economy. It’s great to look for alternative fuel sources and develop super high mileage cars, but this country could literally cut our oil consumption in half by using current technologies to achieve modestly higher average fuel economy for all classes of passenger
Jeff R at April 11, 2005 1:19 PM
Move to strike as nonresponsive. You don't NEED an alternative to flying to Paris, any more than your neighbor NEEDS an SUV. Stay home!
Cridland at April 11, 2005 1:35 PM
Jeff R has a big fat honkin' point about gas mileage regulations, not that anyone in the federal gov't will actually do anything about it.
I desperately wanted a hybrid, but they were unavailable except via a 6-month wait and/or a 50% premium over list price. Also, the Toyota sales philsophy drove me up a wall, until I couldn't bring myself to set foot on another Toyota dealership. I bought a 2001 Honda Civic. It's listed mileage is 20/41, but in more practical terms, I fill the tank once a month. My other car is a 1986 Miyata 10 speed bicycle.
harrietwrath at April 11, 2005 6:51 PM
Say - price a new battery for your Insight. One of the reasons the Prius is in demand is that Toshiba and others can't produce their batteries fast enough.
When your Insight gets old, you might have to scrap it, or have a shop modify it to run without the battery. Hope not, but it's possible.
By the way, I've been to California. It's funny to hear people there say anything about the environment when their mere occupation of the land has exterminated so much of the ecology. Don't hide from your role. You can minimize your impact, but not eliminate it.
Radwaste at April 11, 2005 6:53 PM
I'm not worried. My car is warranteed for four years. It is, so far, a joy to drive. I only add gas every couple of months. Plus, I don't really go very far -- so there isn't a whole lot of wear and tear on it. In two years, I might reach the 5,000 mile mark. Maybe. If everybody (who could, financially, etc) made an effort to minimize the impact of their existence on the planet, think of all the little kids who wouldn't have asthma in Southern California, and how nice the air would be to breathe, among other things. Just the act of squashing a cigarette on the sidewalk and kicking it into the gutter (duh, the storm drains go to the oceans!) makes an impact. As I say to people who do that, "The world is not your ashtray, buttwad." (I generally do this while running very fast past them, so as to minimize the impact of their fists on me.)
Amy Alkon at April 11, 2005 8:46 PM
>Move to strike as nonresponsive. You don't NEED an alternative to flying to Paris, any more than your neighbor NEEDS an SUV. Stay home!
Not a good metaphor. The neighbor can drive all the kiddies around in a more reasonably efficient vehicle of equal cost, but chooses not to. If Amy goes to france, her only alternatives to flying would be to spend days and weeks on a boat or dig.
>As I say to people who do that, "The world is not your ashtray, buttwad."
Then why did nature give us beaches?
Little ted at April 12, 2005 10:09 AM
> If Amy goes to France...
Bzzt! Why can't people see the cheat in that premise? Presumably you think it would be wrong to deny her the right to buy and burn the fuel she needs to get there (and you'd be right). Why can't others buy and burn the fuel for THEIR travel without mockery? And why should they let Amy specify the context of their mobility --compact vinyl squats in a Geo Metro, instead of heated leather recliners in a Ford Expedition-- when she won't return the courtesy?
Aha! I hereby dibs enough fuel to haul a family of ten back and forth to Mars every year for the next two decades... I'll let the little people fight over any gas that's left, OK? I hope they remember to use gasahol, and don't use the air conditioner too much.
Crid at April 12, 2005 11:29 AM
Silly conversation anyway. That plane's flying to France whether Amy's on it or not, and that family's going to drive a Ford truck even if Maury gives them a fleet of Priuses with Playstations in the headrests as consolation for not finding the father.
Little ted at April 12, 2005 12:18 PM
> ...that plane's flying to France whether
> Amy's on it or not...
Quite the opposite, airline routes are ferociously market-responsive. A little political correctness would be all it takes to shame every redheaded advice columnist on the coast from burning a forest's worth of biomass to cross the globe for a plate of foie gras and a pair of strappy shoes.
Cridland at April 12, 2005 2:59 PM
Ted, I was wrong to describe fossil fuels as biomass; also, you were right about the beaches
Cridland at April 12, 2005 3:35 PM
The reson the toyota prius is shaped like it is, is to get the best posible gas mileage. When they left the back higher, and kept the hood and windshield at the same angle, they increased the fuel savings tremedously. And I really don't see what you mean by it looking like utter junk because I think it's one of the most stylish and futuristic cars in the world. I guess you need your eyes checked.
big ben at July 27, 2005 12:06 PM
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