Posted by Bill on November 18, 2004, 5:07 pm
>>
>>> You are one confused fool...
>>and nothing else deserved consideration.
>>
> Thanks Bill. You are right. He has no interest in the Prius, just
> wants to show off his knowledge of an arcane subject. How do you
> suppose he landed on the Prius newsgroup? Do you suppose he Googles
> newsgroups looking for people who abuse units? Chief of the Units
> Police maybe? Anyway, I just put him in the kill-filter box and closed
> the lid.
> Rod, the happily confused fool.
I didn't read beyond the insult (never do) but having spent a lifetime in
engineering, the topic boors me to distraction anyway.
I ordered a Prius on June 25th and was 9th on the waiting list. I'm now 3rd
on that list and will be 2nd by the end of the month. Mine will be black
with the 2005 level 6 package. Is it worth it? From the standpoint of
putting my money where my mouth is, yes. It is my environmental statement.
Posted by Michelle Steiner on November 17, 2004, 4:21 am
nobody@home.net wrote:
> I know this is a bit long and that it does not answer the many
> questions that can be raised, but it helped clarify my thinking and
> maybe it will help some others. Personally, I'm going to hold off on
> buying a hybrid for a while. Maybe a long while. Economic analysis
> on the cost difference of the hybrid versus the non-hybrid when
> compared to gasoline savings using current prices just doesn't
> justify purchasing the hybrid. Come to think of it, one can almost
> never justify purchasing any new car on an economic basis :-)
True. I bought the Prius primarily because it saves gas, thus extending
the petroleum supply, and (more importantly) it reduces emissions, thus
contributing less to air pollution than a conventional car. By
themselves, that wouldn't have been enough for me to buy one when I did
(my former car was in great shape and was paid off, so I would have
waited until I needed to replace it), but the additional gee gaws in
package 9 (which is the same as package 6 in the 2005 model) tipped the
scales.
--
Stop Mad Cowboy Disease: Impeach the son of a Bush.
Posted by nobody on November 17, 2004, 1:56 pm
On Tue, 16 Nov 2004 21:21:40 -0700, Michelle Steiner
>snip
>True. I bought the Prius primarily because it saves gas, thus extending
>the petroleum supply, and (more importantly) it reduces emissions, thus
>contributing less to air pollution than a conventional car. By
>themselves, that wouldn't have been enough for me to buy one when I did
>(my former car was in great shape and was paid off, so I would have
>waited until I needed to replace it), but the additional gee gaws in
>package 9 (which is the same as package 6 in the 2005 model) tipped the
>scales.
Thanks for the response, Michelle. Your motivations are partly what
sparked my interest in the hybrids too, along with a concern not so
much for the price of fuel in the future, but its availability. In the
early 1970's I was in my lower 40's with a wife and children, working
for a major oil company in Texas in oil production research. I
remember the oil embargo well, and I know how oil reserves are
calculated. Done that. Don't put too much faith in those numbers.
The input data are (is for you moderns) too uncertain. And as we know
now, the numbers are sometimes deliberately falsified.
I know what you mean by the "additional gee gaws". Geez, they grabbed
me too, and I came close to buying a Prius because of its cutting
edge engineering. However, I'm retired and don't drive much anymore,
and it won't be long before I'll be going to my Great Reward. I
wouldn't get much use out of any new car.
I keep cars a long time, too. Drove a '63 volkswagon for 23 years. I
drive a 10-year old Grand Caravan and my wife drives a 20-year old
Toyota Cressida. They'll make a few more years.
I did the rough calculations primarily from a curiosity about the
kinetic energy recovery. It's a lot smaller than I expected.
Rod
Posted by Michelle Steiner on November 17, 2004, 3:15 pm
nobody@home.net wrote:
> I know what you mean by the "additional gee gaws". Geez, they grabbed
> me too, and I came close to buying a Prius because of its cutting
> edge engineering. However, I'm retired and don't drive much anymore,
> and it won't be long before I'll be going to my Great Reward. I
> wouldn't get much use out of any new car.
I'm retired too, but about a decade younger than you apparently are. I
still put quite a bit mileage on the car, though; nothing other than one
supermarket is close around here.
Still, why not enjoy retirement by getting the "stuff" we like, even if
our remaining years are few? My daughter and my SO are quite accepting
of my plan to leave just enough in my estate to cover funeral costs.
--
Stop Mad Cowboy Disease: Impeach the son of a Bush.
Posted by John J. DeGrazia on November 21, 2004, 4:26 am
No Way!
For some reason I thought you were a young, sexy, environmentalist.
no-bra-wearin' hotty. That happened to monitor a NG about her car of choice.
I guess first impressions can be deceiving!
Just kidding of course. But I still wanted to flirt!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Life is too short to post at the bottom!
John (remove .remove to reply) DeGrazia
> I'm retired too, but about a decade younger than you apparently are. I
> still put quite a bit mileage on the car, though; nothing other than one
> supermarket is close around here.
> Still, why not enjoy retirement by getting the "stuff" we like, even if
> our remaining years are few? My daughter and my SO are quite accepting
> of my plan to leave just enough in my estate to cover funeral costs.
> --
> Stop Mad Cowboy Disease: Impeach the son of a Bush.
>>> You are one confused fool...
>>and nothing else deserved consideration.
>>
> Thanks Bill. You are right. He has no interest in the Prius, just
> wants to show off his knowledge of an arcane subject. How do you
> suppose he landed on the Prius newsgroup? Do you suppose he Googles
> newsgroups looking for people who abuse units? Chief of the Units
> Police maybe? Anyway, I just put him in the kill-filter box and closed
> the lid.
> Rod, the happily confused fool.