"Hypermiling Prius" rant

Apparently the 'h' in RX400H stands for hypocrite

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2007/06/30/nosplit/mfprius30.xml

 

When I drive my wife's Camry hybrid, I can't resist trying to keep it in electric mode as long as possible-- sorry, it's part of the fun of driving it (what fun there is, anyway).

So please, do go ahead and blast by me!

 

Maybe but I think there is something off about Prius drivers anyway.
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can you say, SAM?

 

Americans in general don't understand the keep right except to pass principle - and yes, the hybrids seem to be staying in the left lane, at least in my experience, to try and slow down all of traffic.

 

That may be something you notice in Cali. Here, everyone over 60 is a slow left lane creeper. And those people comprise 98% of the pop!

RMX

 

Smug..the perfect storm of self satisfaction approaches:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T_KGHubIGo

 

LMAO!

I have noticed a lot of Prius' do have some sort of crease or dent in their bumpers. Very strange.

I actually love when I get passed by a Prius. I always laugh and say, finally one Prius owner that knows how to drive. LOL.

 

As long as you stay out of the left lane while doing it, more power to you!

 

This frustrates me to the point of going postal. This weekend, as every time out on any given interstate in the States, I continually encountered the left lane (of a three lane highway) clogged and the right lane wide open for up to a mile. WTF is that? I will leave it at that, I'm getting fired up thinking about the sh%t I see on the highways - and I'm only talking about flow and passing etiquette.

 

Usually it's even slower than 10mph.

Last week I past by someone who all the sudden just slowed down (not in the left lane, but a lane over from the far right lane) and I looked down because I felt like I flew by them. I was only doing 60mph!!! That meant they had to be doing 35 or 40 ON THE FREEWAY! And it was a newer Monte Carlo with some stupid 24's on it or something.

 

In our county we have leased [don't know] many Prius' for small, short, in-town [generally < 40MPH ] work: Makes perfect sense especially in Santa Rosa's 'spare the air' days.

It would be nice to see the POstal trucks, and small delivery vehicles, busses, and Taxis do the same....

matter of fact I wish they'd do away with those stupid two-stroke gas blowers etc. ... my weekends are filled with excess noise and the 'operators' with their iPods on haven't a clue what they are doing.

moving on

 

Bizz,

I share your frustration. . . I was just down in FL for the weekend and i seem to have bad luck, or the car has bad luck.. When I was driving my wife's A5 i was given every opportunity to drive at "my routine" pace, which is quicker than the average american driver.
When I took the GT2 out of a few occations, I never had such chances but rather, got surrounded by idiots who drive hybrids (all over Boca Raton btw, whether its a Lexes, or something else..) I think they are biased against "non-economical" vehicles and just switch when one is behind or around them. I almost got into an accident because one hyprid driver (some american hybrid chrysler) decided to brake for a green light.... What i noticed was that the person would slow down for green lights, but speed up or maintain pace, for red ones, which inturn caused him/her to abruptly brake..very irritating.. Then, there was a traffic jam on i95 and to cut a long story short, it was caused by nosey drivers who were busy watching the scene of 5 cops pulling over some Haitian looking man in a pick-up.... (drug related, probably.. but who cares? get on with your business...) Like you said, some of us actually have things to do. . . So the highest speed i reached in the GT2 this past weekend is most likely no more than 85mph... You tell that to a hybrid driver, they will say that is too fast and not economical.

But its not just hybrid drivers... Ingeneral American drivers have the worst judgement and in most cases do stupid things for no apparent reason (or no logical reason.)

 

Isn't the left lane the carpool/LEV lane?

 

I have found bad drivers all over the world, in every clime and place. Some places the offense is driving too slow for conditions, usually it is the opposite. Saying "Ingeneral American drivers have the worst judgement" is as ridiculous as saying "In general, people outside of America stink and need to bathe more often or wear less cologne". If America has any problem with drivers that is worse than the rest of the world, it is most likely comes out of our greatest strength, that being the Melting Pot that brings folks together from across the country and around the world, and deposits their local driving customs and traditions upon a common roadway.

 

Only for that strange lot of you in SoCal.

 

That would be true if you only look at the use eco-cycle however the resources used in manufacture and disposal are part of the bigger eco-cycle and these things are a disgrace - so no they do not make perfect sense

 

This comment:

What a misleading article - it is even sneering socially responsible people too. They are very quiet and reduce noise pollution too, a point which many conveniently forget. Compare to the racket of a diesel engine.

I bought a Prius because it is: literally superb to drive, silent most of the time, seamless in progression with no gear steps as there is no in-line gear shifting, only a power sharing mechanism in parallel between the two motors which is not the same thing as conventional in-line gearboxes, economical to run in fuel, economical to service, no London congestion charge, great longevity (topped the JD Power surveys in the US and the UK) and big inside too. When I get into other cars it is like a flashback in time as they are so outdated inside. The Prius also looks funky too.

Look at the city mpg figures for the Prius. As most are driven in cities
this is where they score highly in mpg and emissions - and they are impressive. Mine returns approx' 50-55 mpg around London.

The Prius is light years ahead of any agricultural like manual transmission diesel car - light years ahead in every respect. And they are getting better as
battery technology improves and a few plug-in/petrol versions may be on the market too.

No contest, Prius collectively wins hands down on all others as it is, and newer models in the next few years will push them further ahead. Some car magazines pander to the manufacturers who advertise in their rags. These makers tend to be behind in hybrid technology and products.

The hybrids are the current benchmark that others have to equal if not better. The best is yet to come and it will be sooner than later.
Posted by Craig on July 4, 2007 10:57 AM



Wow.

 

Agreed, at least up Interstate 70 to the mountians just outside of Denver, I have never had a problem with hybrids (prius or otherwise) clogging the fast lane, that distinction seems to be reserved for the large SUV/Suburu Outback and the minivan crew. If you are getting passed on the right by everyone, you might think about moving over. If they do not get it, then the 8,000 rpm Tubi salute seems like a fair response.

 

I'm not a Ferrari owner, just have always loved them, so I hope you-all don't mind me posting here. I just came across your thread and it made me laugh. I only first heard the word "hypermiling" a week ago, so I guess I'm not up on what it means to be cool and ecofriendly. For some reason every time I see a Prius it makes my skin crawl. Is it just me or do Prius drivers all drive EXTREMELY slow?

 

Is your car equipped with a horn? If the Prius owner wants to test your patience, you can test his.

 

I have my own version of that rant. But, it combines two of my pet peeves: Hybrid cars and CAR POOL LANES.

OK. I drive to work and I'm stuck in traffic on the freeway. The bloody car pool lane is filled with Hybrids going 60 MPH (one after another) while a string of us just creep along. As proof (and I kid you not) a week ago I saw three Prius' involved in the same fender bender in the car pool lane. One Prius hit another which hit a third.

So, while we all sit there or accelerate in first only to stop to go back to first again etc, etc, how much fuel is WASTED by the rest of us stuck because we can't use the excess capacity of that lane? If there are 4 lanes total, that means that 25% of the total capacity of the road is unusable to 98% of the drivers on it. Does that make any sense? So, why do carpool lanes exist? It's simple. It's our government trying to change our lifestyle, whether it makes any sense or not.

Now, when a Prius is going 60 MPH, it's burning fuel at a rate not significantly different than most economy cars (which are stuck in traffic) but STILL only carry one passenger to their destination. And, at highway speeds, it's carrying around a load of batteries as dead weight (not to mention the electric motor, electronics, wiring, etc) that most cars don't have to. So, theoretically, a Hybrid should be worse at highway speeds than another economy car without that load to carry.

I'm not against Hybrid cars or saving fuel in the daily grind. But, the idea that somehow Hybrids HELP out to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and therefore should get special tax breaks or treatment is just an urban myth that needs to be squashed.

I wish I felt better. Can't science and logic win over government beauracracies just once?

 

The cops dont ever issue tickets for going too slow.
I dont think its viable to persue in court. That needs to change.
America was built on productivity, there are actually people out there with things to do and places to go.
My pet pieve is the cops shutting down more lanes than needed to clear an accident. Think of the lost productivity in the traffic stack ups.
Really.