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Toyota Prius (First Generation)
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Comments
I have no idea about the tax credit issue.
Lets hope the government doesn't distort the market with tax credits. Whenever something is subsidized either directly or indirectly, the result is price increases equal to or in excess of the subsidy. The consumer loses by having higher sales/licensing taxes imposed and even worse if their tax situation diminishes the value of the tax credit.
A recent example of this is the Hope scholarship credit and other deductions worth about $2,500. Double digit tuition increases quickly followed, consuming any value of the credit and leaving those that don't benefit further behind.
I would like to own a Prius or even better a fuel cell vehicle in the future. However the value equation must be right. I currently drive a 2001 Camry 5sp. avg. 33.5MPG 60% hwy miles.
Don Gillespie
Nashville TN
I noticed that a few owners are confused as to the torque characteristics of the Prius. If this vehicle lived up to the combined engine and motor torque ideal numbers, this car would take off like a bat out of hell. Since it does not, there must be other limiting factors. An example will describe what takes place in a battery under varying load conditions.
Take a flashlight battery and place a 10 ohm resistor (load) across its terminals. Since 10 ohms do not present much of a load to 1.5 volts, the terminal voltage will remain near constant. Lower that resistor to three ohms, (increased load) and the terminal voltage will read about 1 volt. The other .5 volts is lost to the battery's own internal resistance. The same thing happens to the car battery under "heavy load" conditions. (high acceleration, hills etc.) Industry would resolve this problem by providing extra voltage (in our case, more batteries) to be called upon only during heavy loading. The voltage would then be considered "regulated", but at a greater expense and complexity. The higher available torque would satisfy the cowboy instinct in us, but would not serve our practical economic interests. I do believe that Toyota has settled on a good compromise between power and economy.
I took possession of my Prius on 1-30-01 and love it just the way it is.
Also, when going through the Prius website to get "authorization", is a potential buyer "locked in" to a particular dealer for ordering? (The reason I ask is that I am not particularly thrilled with the nearest Toyota dealer that is handling the Prius.)
Thanks,
Ron
While greatmilage is a significant reason for owning Prius, I think the long-range value of this technology will be in its lack of environmental impace re: milae and particularly, low emissions.
Note for comment: I cannot understand why we in the U.S. have a problem getting cruise control when it is apparently stadeard on cars delivered to canade. I am one of many (I hope) lobbying Toyota to provide dealers with instructions and permission r/t installing cruise controll
Looking forward to participation in the group.
John
Guess what we bought from the toyota dealer the other day. ding- a Prius Battery Pack!!!
I must say that we were all quite impressed with the packaging and compactness of the unit. Panasonic NiMh...mmm mmm good. We have them in test as we speak.
The Prius is intriguing, but safety is a concern for me. In addition to the Japanese crash tests, side air bags are a consideration. The Prius web site doesn't show them as either standard or optional, but April 2001 Consumer Reports shows Standard/Front. I don't think the TRAC vehicle had them.
The TRAM vehicle was dark green and the salesman said they were selling it for MSRP. It's at Team Toyota (Tallahassee Florida).
I'm onboard as a future Prius purchaser. My partner and I put our deposit down two days ago, estimated delivery July/August. I'm hoping it's in time for a road trip to Arizona in July, but whatever. I'm feeling really good about the car. Not perfect, but practical. Good enough.
I thought the person's idea awhile back about electrical outlets for a hybrid SUV was a good one, voltage wise, that's what transformers are for, you can have any output you want.
I think it would be cool if the Prius came with a rechargeable flashlight that stayed in the car and charged. You know, with the Prius label - seems in keeping with the car and fun and practical.
I'd like to see a commercial with a roadway full of Priuses waiting at a stoplight. All you can hear is the birds because there's no motor noise. The sky is blue 'cause there's no exhaust while they sit there.
Anyway, this whole Town Hall was helpful in the purchase decision. I didn't see anything here that scared me off, and reading other people's experience of things I was curious about soothed me. So thanks.
Is it true that the owner's manual arrives a couple of weeks before the car? That would be cool. What is the "N" position for? When would a normal user ever use it? I was thinking maybe if the car had to be towed?
Paul
I can't believe I did it, but I backed into an electrical box! I was going 6 mph. The very corner of the passenger side of the rear bumper was dented in and part of the tail light was broken. I didn't think the damage was too bad. I checked the lamps and they were complete, but right rear turn signal didn't work.
The next day I went to start the car and all the engine lights were on and the monitor showed the (c) picture of the car. The dealership says I need to get the damage taken care of before they can check out the system. I was not planning on getting the insurance company involved, but now it seems I have no choice. I will have to have it towed just to get estimates.
I am wondering how such a small impact could mess up the hybrid system. Any ideas?
I will tell you that you should get your insurance company involved now though. Parts for this car are extremely expensive and some day, you're going to have to fix it. You might as well get it over with now while you can still file a claim.
In the meantime, do you know where I can get a second opinion on whether to have the hybrid system checked first or have the body work done first? I don't want the body shop messing up the hybrid system accidentally.
Thanks for your help. I'll keep you posted as to the outcome of this ordeal.
As to the 2002, I was told by my distribution office that orders will be taken in "about 2 months". This is the answer I got last week, so look for something in mid to late May. I'll post here if I hear more on that.
I knwo the whereabouts of an aqua ice Prius in Southern Calif near the water, with CD and mats. I can't post here with any other info due to the terms of service, I think they'd have to shoot me or something but if anyone is out there who doesn't want to have to wait 3-4 months for their Prius, email me and I can tell you where to find the car.
Di
dianne@dianne.net
Di
It turn out that this is not a nationwide policy. In Southern CA, if the customer backs out after the car reaches the dealership, they can sell it to anybody. If I sold cars there, I'd push through a bunch of dummy orders to get some of these on my lot.
The moral to this story is, if you live in Southern California, you may be able to trip across one without waiting. In fact, I think Dianne at Carson Toyota has one right now.
Don
Dianne
I am possibly moving with my girlfriend and my commute to work would be about 80 miles each way.
How does this car handle at 75mph, if it will go that fast and how is it in snow, 0 degree days, etc.
Thanks to all that reply.
And are you satisfied with it?
Right now I am driving a 94 Camry with 244000+ miles on it. I was thinking my next move may be toward a Prius.
Does anyone know if this is a fact for 2002 US models?
That would make it the lowest priced car in America with a GPS Navigation system.
The other concern is resale. I don't think may people would want to be the second owner of the Prius when the battery replacement was nearing. That may hurt resale value. (unless gas is $3 per gallon at the time)
Has anyone priced extended warranties on the Prius? It may help you sell the vehicle even if you never needed to use it yourself.
Anyone lease one? What type of lease deals are available?
Our Prius was delivered with underinflated tires at 30 PSI in each tire. The proper pressure is 35 PSI in the front tires and 33 PSI in the back tires.
Even with the underinflation, we were able to get 51 mpg on one tank of gasoline. Not bad.
We've been driving ours for the past week and love it. But the dealer has no recommendation, and prius.com responded "install per manufacturer's recommendation" -- lots of help there!
Ideally, I'd like to install a hitch receiver, but I know Toyota frowns on anything that resembles towing.
Thanks,
George
However, if you look at the Prius crash test results and the Passat crash results, it is clear what makes the difference. The Passat is equipped and tested with side air bags and side head air bags--the Prius is not.
If you look at the forces exerted on the femur, the Passat fares much worse than the Prius does. In the Passat, one of the passenger's femurs takes over 1,000 pounds of force in the impact!
I would venture to guess that if the Prius were equipped with these additional two sets of air bags, its score would surpass that of the Passat. (The driver's head stresses pull down the score for the Prius.)
Side air bags will be available on the 2002 Prius. There is no word about side head air bags. We can only hope that Toyota wises up and makes these additional bags available sooner.
Do you mean Jetta?
-Ret
-Ret