Another reason to get a smart and not a Prius.

[Jordon]

I believe GM had an electric car in the 90's, EV1 anyone. And Toyota, a Japanese company, got money from Japan for development of the Prius. And after a year of working with Toyota I will never buy one, this story sounds about right, they had us lie to customers all the time. We had to tell what was wrong with the vehicle was a little thing or something the customer did wrong when it was obviously a problem from the factory.

[Kermit]

Originally Posted by fpage77

That episode was targeted at the Prius not the Honda hybrid.

That episode was targeted at hybrids and it had plenty of Honda Insights in it though the Prius was the most visible. Of course maybe they were a 2 door with fender skirts version of the Prius that happened to mysteriously resemble an Insight. Watch the episode again and you'll notice them - it was aimed at all hybrids. I've only seen that episode about 12 times. Yes, they even had a baby poop green Insight much like my old car on it too. (proper Honda name of Citrus Yellow Metallic)

[fpage77]

Originally Posted by Bum-bling-B

That episode was targeted at hybrids and it had plenty of Honda Insights in it though the Prius was the most visible. Of course maybe they were a 2 door with fender skirts version of the Prius that happened to mysteriously resemble an Insight. Watch the episode again and you'll notice them - it was aimed at all hybrids. I've only seen that episode about 12 times. Yes, they even had a baby poop green Insight much like my old car on it too. (proper Honda name of Citrus Yellow Metallic)

It's been so long I only remember the Prius shaped ones. I can't believe shows been on for 10 years. I feel old as dirt and mud combined.

[Kermit]

Yeah, they were the 2000-2006 model Insights in that episode. Not the 2009.

[Jordon]

Originally Posted by Bum-bling-B

Yeah, they were the 2000-2006 model Insights in that episode. Not the 2009.

Well, the 2009's look just like the Prius and with the type of animation South Park has you would not be albe to tell the difference. Didn't they give them funny names?

[fpage77]

Originally Posted by Jordon

Well, the 2009's look just like the Prius and with the type of animation South Park has you would not be albe to tell the difference. Didn't they give them funny names?

At least the hybrids in that episode were not of Mr. Garrisons invention.

[forestacademy]

Sure beats what the Airlines do to you

[breadman]

Originally Posted by BigWarpGuy

For me, the downside of the Prius is the battery pack one has to replace, eventually. I believe it could be costly. I think one might get better mpg now but end paying more in the long run.

130,000 plus miles without a hitch on my wife's 2006 Prius. Our dealer reports they have yet to replace a battery on a 2006 or newer Prius. As soon as the payments are done with the Smart she's getting another one.

[Woody14619]

Originally Posted by Bill Marshall

Why the hostility toward Prius owners?

I didn't see it as hostile toward Prius owners. I saw it more as an expose of "Why isn't Toyota addressing this problem." It's apparent from the number of stories, and their similarity, that something's going on. I'd be upset if my smart were randomly accelerating and no breaking. I'd be more upset if the dealership said it was because of floor mats or driver error, when me and dozens of folks here were having the same issue. I don't think this is targeting the owners, but rather a flaw in the car.

Originally Posted by Jordon

I believe GM had an electric car in the 90's, EV1 anyone.

We had a nice talk about this in another thread a while back (search for EV1). GM made 800 of the cars, only leased them in 2 states, and had thousands of people on a waiting list to lease them. But a couple years later (after the funding stopped), they pulled the cars as their lease ended (no option to buy), crushed all but a dozen or so, and sent the remaining ones to Rochester, NY for "cold weather battery testing". I live miles from the GM plant here, where a few of the engineers use the remaining EVs as commuter cars for "testing", and used to go to the Saturn dealership that's the single service point for the remaing EV1s.

In short, GM developed the technology, and completely dropped it a decade ago, mainly because it wasn't as profitable as gas cars. Partially because they couldn't mark them up as much as the gas cars (the manufacture cost was high), and part because they needed almost no maintenance, meaning parts and dealer labor costs couldn't help sustain the dealerships. So, they canned it.

[BigWarpGuy]

Originally Posted by fpage77

At least the hybrids in that episode were not of Mr. Garrisons invention.

It looks like a one wheeled motorcycle.

One Wheeled Motorcycle.