Posted by Daniel who wants to know on August 27, 2010, 1:23 am
>> Why is a fuel usage payback period so damned important anyway?
> Because it's an important factor in how much the car costs (not its
> price, its cost).
> And people who are buying fuel-efficient cars are, by and large,
> sensistive to cost.
>> People who
>> throw giant 20 some inch chrome spinners on their car certainly aren't
>> expecting a payback but they shell out the dough anyway.
> What you're saying there is that to buy a Prius (or Insight) is a
> fashion statement, nothing more.
> That's bullshit. While some idiots buy a Prius to say "look at me, I
> bought a Prius!", most are buying it to save money. Using less gas is a
> big part of that. Yes, the car has a higher price tag than a Corolla;
> some can't get past even THAT, and they buy a Corolla. But the Prius is
> bigger and more easily seats five people, and those in back have huge
> amounts of leg room. And in addition to that, the fuel savings over a
> long period of time offset the price difference.
> Cost. Not price.
I wasn't trying to say it is a fashon statement, I was trying to point out
that people buy extra options of all kinds all the time that do nothing to
reduce a vehicle's payback period. I was going to mention factory GPS
navigation as a prime example but I suppose if it helps you make a more
direct route to the destination instead of driving in circles it would save
money.
Anyway most people seem to forget about resale value and pretend that
everyone just drives a car till it dies.
>> but if all you want is pure, cheap
>> FE, go buy a Geo Metro with the 3 cylinder
> You forget the VALUE equation. As I said above, the Prius is a fairly
> large car inside for what it is, and it's going to last much longer than
> the Metro--which makes it a much better value overall.
I didn't forget, the others that bash the Prius forgot, and you can usually
spot them easily because they misspell it "Pruis".
> The Insight should be (yeah, well, Honda, let's see you get out of your
> battery woes) similarly more valuable than the Metro, albeit with a
> slightly different value equation given its lower price and slightly
> lower fuel economy. It's also a much, much safer car than a 20 year old
> Metro, which is part of the VALUE equation.
> You're fooling yourself with all these straw men you're setting up. I
> love my Prius, but I recognize that other cars have value close to it.
> I most certainly do NOT say, "I'll buy a Prius no matter what just like
> that guy buys 20 inch chrome spinners no matter what--like a three year
> old wanting what he wants no matter what".
I want the Prius for its low emissions along with the electronic goodies and
for reasons such as the PriUPS. The fact that it would be roughly double
the FE of our current 97 Lumina is just icing on the cake.
Feel free to browse my Q&A on Y! Answers
http://answers.yahoo.com/my/qa/index?show&202052f3157aa34205927243349051aa
http://www.priups.com
Posted by Elmo P. Shagnasty on August 27, 2010, 1:59 am
> I wasn't trying to say it is a fashon statement, I was trying to point out
> that people buy extra options of all kinds all the time that do nothing to
> reduce a vehicle's payback period.
That's called a "fashion statement".
Note that the choice of Prius vs Insight isn't an "extra option". It's
the core purchase.
Fashion statement. Or political statement. Whatever, you're describing
the conscious act of making a statement.
Posted by Peter Granzeau on August 28, 2010, 1:24 am
On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:54:12 -0400, "Elmo P. Shagnasty"
>> Screw the payback calculations. The fact alone that the Prius is a
>> series-parallel "full" hybrid with 2 motor/generators instead of the Honda
>> IMA "assist" with 1 motor/generator is enough to make me want the Prius.
>>
>> Why is a fuel usage payback period so damned important anyway?
>Because it's an important factor in how much the car costs (not its
>price, its cost).
>And people who are buying fuel-efficient cars are, by and large,
>sensistive to cost.
>> People who
>> throw giant 20 some inch chrome spinners on their car certainly aren't
>> expecting a payback but they shell out the dough anyway.
>What you're saying there is that to buy a Prius (or Insight) is a
>fashion statement, nothing more.
>That's bullshit. While some idiots buy a Prius to say "look at me, I
>bought a Prius!", most are buying it to save money. Using less gas is a
>big part of that. Yes, the car has a higher price tag than a Corolla;
>some can't get past even THAT, and they buy a Corolla. But the Prius is
>bigger and more easily seats five people, and those in back have huge
>amounts of leg room. And in addition to that, the fuel savings over a
>long period of time offset the price difference.
>Cost. Not price.
I bought my Prius not to save money (I was getting adequate mileage in a
Saturn SL2), I bought it because it represented a lot of original
thought and state of the art design. Other designs will eventually pass
it, but it is still state of the art.
Posted by Neo on August 28, 2010, 4:55 pm
> On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:54:12 -0400, "Elmo P. Shagnasty"
> >> Screw the payback calculations. The fact alone that the Prius is a
> >> series-parallel "full" hybrid with 2 motor/generators instead of the Honda
> >> IMA "assist" with 1 motor/generator is enough to make me want the Prius.
> >> Why is a fuel usage payback period so damned important anyway?
> >Because it's an important factor in how much the car costs (not its
> >price, its cost).
> >And people who are buying fuel-efficient cars are, by and large,
> >sensistive to cost.
> >> People who
> >> throw giant 20 some inch chrome spinners on their car certainly aren't
> >> expecting a payback but they shell out the dough anyway.
> >What you're saying there is that to buy a Prius (or Insight) is a
> >fashion statement, nothing more.
> >That's bullshit. While some idiots buy a Prius to say "look at me, I
> >bought a Prius!", most are buying it to save money. Using less gas is a
> >big part of that. Yes, the car has a higher price tag than a Corolla;
> >some can't get past even THAT, and they buy a Corolla. But the Prius is
> >bigger and more easily seats five people, and those in back have huge
> >amounts of leg room. And in addition to that, the fuel savings over a
> >long period of time offset the price difference.
> >Cost. Not price.
> I bought my Prius not to save money (I was getting adequate mileage in a
> Saturn SL2), I bought it because it represented a lot of original
> thought and state of the art design. Other designs will eventually pass
> it, but it is still state of the art.-
I agree. It take alot of moxy to take the lead as Toyota
has done with the Prius. IMHO it's the Apple thinkpad
of hybrids.
One of the reasons, I decided on a Prius
over all other hybrids is that the Prius forums on
the internet made me think of the PC and Apple
user groups in the 1980s and 1990s. The sophistication
level of the user groups was one of the sign
of a successful design/product and its
successful adoption of new technologies.
Posted by Elmo P. Shagnasty on August 28, 2010, 8:25 pm
In article
> > >Cost. Not price.
> >
> > I bought my Prius not to save money (I was getting adequate mileage in a
> > Saturn SL2), I bought it because it represented a lot of original
> > thought and state of the art design. Other designs will eventually pass
> > it, but it is still state of the art.-
>
> I agree. It take alot of moxy to take the lead as Toyota
> has done with the Prius. IMHO it's the Apple thinkpad
> of hybrids.
So, y'all ARE buying it as a fashion statement.
XML site map
> Because it's an important factor in how much the car costs (not its
> price, its cost).
> And people who are buying fuel-efficient cars are, by and large,
> sensistive to cost.
>> People who
>> throw giant 20 some inch chrome spinners on their car certainly aren't
>> expecting a payback but they shell out the dough anyway.
> What you're saying there is that to buy a Prius (or Insight) is a
> fashion statement, nothing more.
> That's bullshit. While some idiots buy a Prius to say "look at me, I
> bought a Prius!", most are buying it to save money. Using less gas is a
> big part of that. Yes, the car has a higher price tag than a Corolla;
> some can't get past even THAT, and they buy a Corolla. But the Prius is
> bigger and more easily seats five people, and those in back have huge
> amounts of leg room. And in addition to that, the fuel savings over a
> long period of time offset the price difference.
> Cost. Not price.