3 ms·

Why does everyone keep saying that it is about image? I want to buy a prius because they get 50 mpg (at least), not because I'm in the business of doing whateve

• sokoloff 18y ago
  Here in Cambridge, MA, I think there are an awful lot of people who want YOU to know that THEY are driving a hybrid. IMO, the Prius hybrid didn't bury the Civic hybrid because it was better (it is for city, not for highway), but rather because the Civic hyrid looks like a normal Civic, which doesn't allow for an ostentatious display of smugness. http://torontoist.com/2007/08/green_plate_par.php http://torontoist.com/2007/08/green_plate_par.php
  • iigs 18y ago
    Same story here (Seattle). The Prius is to the urban liberal the same thing the SUV is to the suburban conservative -- a premium-priced vehicle projecting an image. Most of the time the suburban conservative would be fine in a Civic, and most of the time the urban liberal would be fine on the bus. But in either case it would be a slight trade of practicality and a large trade of social status -- not going to happen.
• ntoshev 18y ago
  If you care only about total cost of ownership and/or ecology, my intuition is you'd be better off buyng any small second hand car. The milage would be worse, but the up front cost would be much smaller. Also you'd be extending the lifetime of an object that has a big environmental cost to produce. The carbon footprint would be worse, but at least there will be no extra toxic batteries to dispose of.