The Holy Prius of Orange County

[desmoquattro]

<RANT>
I'm out on a 3-day business trip...Salt Lake City, Denver, and Orange County (CA, not Choppers). I landed here in the OC tonight, spent forever looking for my rental car company's desk, only to be told that I have to walk to the other end of the airport, down two flights of steps with my bags, to get to my car. I get to the desk, and the woman tells me to just pick any car I want. OK, that's a start. And sitting there in the fourth stall is my nemesis, the Toyota Prius 

For those of you who know me, you know how much I hate this car. Well, not really this car, but many of the people who drive them...notably the ones who immediately move to the leftmost lane of the freeway, then park it at 55mph. It's funny: I'm a progressive-minded Green Party leftist who generally despises the overly rich...but put some pseudo-liberal self-righteous ex-hippie in a Prius in my way and I quickly devolve back to my gun-totin' impatient redneck roots. I guess I'm a progressive who believes in enforced courtesy 

Anyway, I decided to suck it up and walk a mile in someone else's shoes. I jumped in the Prius, grabbed the......wait, this damn thing doesn't have a key. There's just the alarm fob.

No key? What kind of pinko, communist hippie car...OK, serenity now Joe. Maybe this thing's electronic.

Turns out the Prius indeed has no traditional key. Using my powers of deduction and intuition, I found the slot where you insert the fob.

Kind of looks like like the people who drive this thing...a pu....wait Joe....wait.....don't judge.

OK, key fob inserted, there's the power button. Got the GPS set up, and now it's time to shift this thing into gear and go! Now where's the drive mode selector? That piddling little thing on the dash couldn't possibly be it:


Yes, it is! This car has a small....wait, stop judging...use the force, Joe.

Next I spent 10 minutes trying to find a cigarette lighter...er, sorry...power port for the GPS. I began to think that the Prius doesn't have one, since hippies like to light their joints with all natural matches recycled from the wormwood they use to make absinthe. But after I dropped something and looked down to find it, there it was...a power port well-hidden under the dash. Everything on this car seems to be in an odd place. It's like you're being reeducated on automobile controls...or maybe they're put there so people can be smug about their car and how it makes them different 

Off we go, poking around the garage and into Orange County traffic. I immediately notice that the sensation of speed in the Prius is much greater than in a regular vehicle. I was doing 55 in a 60 zone, but it felt like 80. Maybe it's the heavily angled windshield, maybe it's the almost non-existent suspension, but you really feel like you're going fast in this thing...even when you're dogging it. There's my explanation! Sure, some of these Prius drivers do need corporal punishment for driving inconsiderately, but maybe a good percentage of them actually think they're tearing it up!

Another observation: the hatchback model offers a really odd view out the rearview mirror. The glass is split back there, and it's a little odd to look back at traffic. I guess you could get used to that. And at these slow speeds, you're not in much danger anyway 

Oh, and I definitely found myself constantly watching the omnipresent fuel economy indicator on the dash display...sort of like a digital indicator of your self worth, clicking lower and lower as you hit the accelerator from a stoplight:

The all-seeing Holy Prius: it knows when you're dogging it, it knows when you're lead-footed.

The fit & finish on some things is a little cheap, but overall it's not a bad little car. And my company will be very happy when they see my expense report with a $5 fillup instead of $15. Even at an occasional 60mpg, it's not going to solve the energy crisis. But it may cut down on your gas bill a bit.

Finally, I got to my dinner destination: a brew pub in a mall. You know it's Orange County when the restaurant has their outdoor heaters on when it's 70 degrees outside. How did I know the temp? The Prius told me...

<RANT>

[ptam]

So you getting one now?   

[x136]

But it may cut down on your gas bill a bit.

Or it would have, if you didn't spend all of those savings on a thousand dollar system to replace a simple, $1.99 key, enough computer power to double as air traffic control for a major airport, and enough batteries to function as a UPS for same. And it's still slow, and doesn't get much better mileage than a Honda from the 80s.

In any case, it's good to hear about this car from someone who doesn't start the journey already smitten. Thanks for taking one for the team.

[duckwrench13]

I have but only one thing to say.....


 

[somegirl]

Funny, I had the total opposite experience yesterday.

Went down to San Diego for the day, reserved a car for the customer visit.

Usually I get pretty crap rental cars, things like an HHR or PT Cruiser. Usually I'm out on my own too, but this time I had two colleagues with me.

So this time, they hand me the keys, I got to the spot, and what did I get?

A Pontiac Solstice.  Of all times to get a cute sporty two-seater, it had to be the time I had a gigantic guy and a pregnant woman with me.

So I go back in to get something different.  They only had a very limited selection.

What did I end up with?

A Hummer...

My colleagues couldn't stop cracking up over the expression on my face.

Oh, and we totally missed the 5.4 SoCal earthquake cause we were busy parking the beast.  Actually, I think I may have caused it.

[Speeddog]

You guys have some really odd rental car karma going on.

The farthest out I ever got with rentals was a ragtop Mustang and a Miata. 

[johnc]

dude ... you forgot to close your rant tag ... now all the following messages in this tread are rants, until now </RANT>

all better now 

<RANT>
I'm out on a 3-day business trip...Salt Lake City, Denver, and Orange County (CA, not Choppers). I landed here in the OC tonight, spent forever looking for my rental car company's desk, only to be told that I have to walk to the other end of the airport, down two flights of steps with my bags, to get to my car. I get to the desk, and the woman tells me to just pick any car I want. OK, that's a start. And sitting there in the fourth stall is my nemesis, the Toyota Prius 

For those of you who know me, you know how much I hate this car. Well, not really this car, but many of the people who drive them...notably the ones who immediately move to the leftmost lane of the freeway, then park it at 55mph. It's funny: I'm a progressive-minded Green Party leftist who generally despises the overly rich...but put some pseudo-liberal self-righteous ex-hippie in a Prius in my way and I quickly devolve back to my gun-totin' impatient redneck roots. I guess I'm a progressive who believes in enforced courtesy 

Anyway, I decided to suck it up and walk a mile in someone else's shoes. I jumped in the Prius, grabbed the......wait, this damn thing doesn't have a key. There's just the alarm fob.

No key? What kind of pinko, communist hippie car...OK, serenity now Joe. Maybe this thing's electronic.

Turns out the Prius indeed has no traditional key. Using my powers of deduction and intuition, I found the slot where you insert the fob.

Kind of looks like like the people who drive this thing...a pu....wait Joe....wait.....don't judge.

OK, key fob inserted, there's the power button. Got the GPS set up, and now it's time to shift this thing into gear and go! Now where's the drive mode selector? That piddling little thing on the dash couldn't possibly be it:


Yes, it is! This car has a small....wait, stop judging...use the force, Joe.

Next I spent 10 minutes trying to find a cigarette lighter...er, sorry...power port for the GPS. I began to think that the Prius doesn't have one, since hippies like to light their joints with all natural matches recycled from the wormwood they use to make absinthe. But after I dropped something and looked down to find it, there it was...a power port well-hidden under the dash. Everything on this car seems to be in an odd place. It's like you're being reeducated on automobile controls...or maybe they're put there so people can be smug about their car and how it makes them different 

Off we go, poking around the garage and into Orange County traffic. I immediately notice that the sensation of speed in the Prius is much greater than in a regular vehicle. I was doing 55 in a 60 zone, but it felt like 80. Maybe it's the heavily angled windshield, maybe it's the almost non-existent suspension, but you really feel like you're going fast in this thing...even when you're dogging it. There's my explanation! Sure, some of these Prius drivers do need corporal punishment for driving inconsiderately, but maybe a good percentage of them actually think they're tearing it up!

Another observation: the hatchback model offers a really odd view out the rearview mirror. The glass is split back there, and it's a little odd to look back at traffic. I guess you could get used to that. And at these slow speeds, you're not in much danger anyway 

Oh, and I definitely found myself constantly watching the omnipresent fuel economy indicator on the dash display...sort of like a digital indicator of your self worth, clicking lower and lower as you hit the accelerator from a stoplight:

The all-seeing Holy Prius: it knows when you're dogging it, it knows when you're lead-footed.

The fit & finish on some things is a little cheap, but overall it's not a bad little car. And my company will be very happy when they see my expense report with a $5 fillup instead of $15. Even at an occasional 60mpg, it's not going to solve the energy crisis. But it may cut down on your gas bill a bit.

Finally, I got to my dinner destination: a brew pub in a mall. You know it's Orange County when the restaurant has their outdoor heaters on when it's 70 degrees outside. How did I know the temp? The Prius told me...

<RANT>

[Meltz]

I guess I'm a progressive who believes in enforced courtesy

+1

Turns out the Prius indeed has no traditional key. Using my powers of deduction and intuition, I found the slot where you insert the fob.

You didn't have to actually insert it.  It's kinda optional.  The car will know if you have the fob in your pocket (or anywhere inside the vehicle) and you're good to go. 

Oh, and I definitely found myself constantly watching the omnipresent fuel economy indicator on the dash display...sort of like a digital indicator of your self worth, clicking lower and lower as you hit the accelerator from a stoplight:

And now you've found one of the real reasons for these dipshits parking it in the leftmost lane at 55.  They can't take their f***ing eyes off that thing and they don't notice the 10 cars piled up behind them.  They never should have included that feature. 

[Michael Moore]

Ya, I rented one in Oregon, mostly 'cuz Kimpton gives a 50% discount on parking if you have a hybrid.

Fortunately for me the rental co. sent somebody out to go over how the thing worked, or I would never have gotten it out of the lot. Once I got used to it, meh, it was OK. But that huge display of moving lines and spinning wheels is definitely distracting - and pointless.

Best car rental ever for me was a black Crown Vic. Everybody moves over for you when you're in one of those. 

[meano_lover]

the best part about the prius is the battery life. it's no longer than a normal auto battery (4-6years). so- when the time comes to replace your battery, have fun forking out 2k dollars. on top of the rediculous price you already paid for the thing. things to keep in mind.

[datv]

Classic Joe!  I hate them wedge o' cheese cars.  I thought they were only prevalent in the Bay Area.  I counted 27 of them on my way from Noe Valley to a Korean restaurant on Geary last week.  WTF??

[x136]

A Pontiac Solstice.  Of all times to get a cute sporty two-seater, it had to be the time I had a gigantic guy and a pregnant woman with me.

So I go back in to get something different.  They only had a very limited selection.

What did I end up with?

A Hummer...

You must've done something recently that severely angered the automobile gods to be treated with such unbelievable cruelty.

[duckwrench13]

Classic Joe!  I hate them wedge o' cheese cars.  I thought they were only prevalent in the Bay Area.  I counted 27 of them on my way from Noe Valley to a Korean restaurant on Geary last week.  WTF??

They're like mechanical roaches.... They're F*CKING EVERYWHERE!!!!!

[DanTheMan]

whats the "B" on the stick for?

[johnc]

whats the "B" on the stick for?

bastardo mode