Tag: Prius

Welcome to the Priushood – Take Four

On By Norbert HauptIn Good Product, SustainabilityLeave a comment

prius-line
[click to enlarge]
A line of Prius taxis, as far as the eye can see, at San Diego airport. Every taxi is a Prius. It lends itself as the perfect car for taxis as well as Uber for the following reasons:

  1. The gas mileage is about 1/2 or 1/3 that of conventional cars. For somebody driving all day long, that will make a huge difference.
  2. The engine is off when the car is standing, at a red light, or in traffic, or in a taxi line. It burns no gas and does not pollute when it stands.
  3. The back seat is roomy and comfortable.
  4. Toyotas just don’t break down. The reliability is phenomenal.

I guess I am part of the Priushood.

Welcome to the Priushood – Take Three

On By Norbert HauptIn SustainabilityLeave a comment

It’s been over a year now that I have driven a Prius, and I am loving it. Being a Toyota, nothing ever goes wrong. It just works. I change the oil every 5000 miles and I put in gas when it needs it. My tank does not hold more than thirty dollar’s worth, and it lasts for almost 500 miles, depending on where I go and how I drive.

It is the most rewarding in traffic jams. Braking charges the battery, and when I stand, the engine is completely off. No emissions, no fuel burns. Stop and go, or in parking lots, the engine never really kicks on, so I just drive on electric. It feels good, not just because it helps protect the environment, but because every second my engine doesn’t run while I don’t need it I am not buying gas.

Welcome to the Priushood – Take Two

On By Norbert HauptIn EconomyLeave a comment

It’s been a couple of months of driving the Prius now and I have come to two conclusions:

1. I love the gas mileage. In my old car, I could drive about 350 miles on a tank of gas, and it took about $65 to $70 to fill it up. In the Prius, I can drive between 450 and 500 miles on a tank, and I cannot squeeze more than $30 into it at the gas station. So my gas mileage is 2.5 times better than it was.

2. I noticed that Priuses are the favorite kind of taxi now. I recently traveled and used taxis, and I noticed that two-thirds of all taxis seem to be Priuses. There were a few lines at airports in California where I looked down the line and saw not a single taxi that was NOT a Prius. When I googled for this, I found that the Prius is not only tough enough to be used as a taxi, each one saves 5,000 gallons of gas a year.

Welcome to the Priushood.

 

Welcome to the Priushood

On By Norbert HauptIn Economy1 Comment

After letting the old van go with 230,000 miles last week, I needed a new car. I decided to be economical and responsible. I bought a 2011 Prius. The tank was full when I got it.

Prius HappyI drove 340 miles since, and today the gas level was approaching a quarter full. I decided to fill up.

This is all I could squeeze into the tank.

I feel like I am back in the 1990s when I could fill up my car for less than thirty dollars.

Then I drove to Los Angeles and back, about 250 miles roundtrip. Here is the result showing I got 57.1 MPG on average for that trip.

MPG

Now I am truly Prius Happy.

Or, as a friend said: Welcome to the Priushood.