I got my a prius in jan 2001. It was $18K and got 45-ish mpg despite that I didn't do anything to try to maximize my mileage. My previous car was a manual Sentr

I got my a prius in jan 2001. It was $18K and got 45-ish mpg despite that I didn't do anything to try to maximize my mileage. My previous car was a manual Sentra SE-R two door. Despite being a smaller car, it got about 24 mpg and was a similar price (time adjusted). But according to you, those things were not why I bought it, it was because I was self righteous. Let's say you are right: nobody really cares about the Prius price or technical specs and bought it to be seen. Now imagine someone buying something other than a Prius, say a BMW, or a Lexus, or even a lower end car like a Corolla who might dither over the color or trim package. How much ire do you have for those people being vain in caring what impression their car makes? If you don't don't care about the non-prius scenario, it means you don't really care about the vanity aspect of car purchasing decision. Inspect what is really driving your resentment.