[jhill]

We're working on a story for ABC News regarding high gas prices and the popularity of hybrid vehicles like the Prius.

If you own or are on a waiting list for the Prius MAINLY because of high gas prices and the potential savings; then please contact me.

I am a producer with ABC Network News based in Chicago.

Email or call
Jim Hill
312-899-4281.

Thanks.

 

[richard schumacher]

Hmm, I wonder how many people (like me) bought/want a Prius to use less petroleum and create less pollution?

 

[Brian]

I got my Prius to both get the great gas mileage and to reduce emissions. A big reason in the great gas mileage is to only use a little bit of gas. Thus, saving money while the prices are at 2-3 dollars a gallon.

 

[BIF]

This sounds exactly like the mainstream press to me, and it's really got me cheezed off! :x Starting off your story with a pre-determined conclusion (and a mighty superficial one at that!), and then doing whatever you can to make the story fit inside that neat and cozy little box you've created.

It's why I never watch ABC news or Nightline, or any of your same-old same-old competitors. You all bore the cr%p out of me and continue to treat me like an idiot, and I'm very angry and insulted about that. And it's also why you're losing your viewership and listenership. When I hear about something happening in the world, and I want to learn more about it, I do not go to ABC News. Nor does the rest of the world "get its news from ABC News." :evil: [spitting-mad-mode]

With all due respect, have you ever considered that maybe the dollar cost increase of gasoline has factored very little into most folks' decisions to buy a hybrid?

Even if gasoline were to breach the $3.00 per gallon mark, it will take me many many years to recoup the "extra" money I spent on my Prius. I've done the math, haven't you? Or were you hoping to catch me (or one of my friends here) in a big boner of a math mistake, and make a public idiot of me (or them)?

I'm very very suspicious of the press. Maybe even moreso than I am of Hollywood! :evil: [/spitting-mad-mode off]

I am lucky and blessed enough to be able to drive pretty much whatever I want to (within reason...no Lamborginis or Ferraris). I chose a hybrid. I have several better reasons for buying and driving a hybrid than something so superficial as the cost of a gallon of gas:

1) I want to burn less gasoline, regardless of the cost of a gallon
2) I love the technology
3) I love the cars
4) Lots of storage space for my many material possessions
5) Lots of room for my many friends
6) This is fun and interesting stuff
7) Toyota's reputation for quality puts me at ease

Personally, I believe that we are using oil faster than Mother Earth can make it. Simple math tells us that when you take away something faster than it is replenished, then it will eventually be gone. All gone. Even little children learn about this with marbles and gumballs.

Why can't the American auto manufacturers see the light? I believe it's because they're too big, arrogant, and lumberingly slow...like the extinct dinosaurs.

Why can't the mainstream press give its viewership/readership/listenership a little bit more credit? Heh, maybe for the same reasons that the American auto manufacturers haven't caught on yet. <insert Brontosaur joke here>

Okay, I'm done. And thoroughly steamed! Grrrrr!! :x

<I ask that my friends here please don't hold this opinion against me...I'm going to do my meditiation and "oooohhhhhmmmmsss" now....>

 

[john1701a]

During interviews I've discovered that some reporters are just fishing for certain types of info, completely ignoring things you deem important.

Not even allowing you to express yourself isn't good reporting, especially since they have the luxury of cutting out what they weren't interested in later anyway.

 

[alex04p]

Mainstreem Reporting = Advertising = $ its the world we live in.

 

[Daniel]

Here's the email I sent him:

It sounds to me as though you are just looking for people who will tell you how disappointed they are by the unrealistic EPA mileage estimates.

How about interviewing people who bought a Prius because of its SULEV (super-ultra-low-emissions vehicle) rating! Or because it is a revolutionary new technology that they want to support and be a part of! Or because it is so cool that it can drive on the electric motor alone (under the right circumstances). Or how about interviewing people who bought the car just because when you look at the quality and the features, it is a great value!

You do a disservice to your viewers when you pre-select interviewees based on the one feature that does not seem to live up to the hype.

I bought mine because my old car was 15 years old and I wanted a car with air bags. Honda and Toyota are the only car makers with reliable enough quality for me. The "liftback" body style is almost as useful as a station wagon style. The Prius is SULEV, the technology is cool, and finally, it gets great mileage. Diesels are filthy and the Insight is too small for me.

The only car on the road that gets better mileage than the Prius is the two-seater Insight, but the only thing we read in the press is that it does not get the EPA estimates. I wish you'd talk about what a great car this is, rather than how inflated the EPA estimates are. (Although under the right conditions, it really does seem to achieve those EPA estimates: ambient temperatures warm but not hot, trip times around half an hour or more, and moderate driving speeds.)

 

[Daniel]

It's why I never watch ABC news or Nightline, or any of your same-old same-old competitors. You all bore the cr%p out of me and continue to treat me like an idiot, and I'm very angry and insulted about that.

It's why I don't even have a television set in my house!

 

[BIF]

In 1981, gas prices were higher than ever before or after. When adjusted to today's dollars, gasoline was $2.37 or $2.85, depending on which source you choose to believe.

A gallon of nearly anything else costs more than a gallon of gas. Here are a couple of examples:

Beer - $12 to $15 per gallon
Wine - more or less than beer, depending.
Milk - I don't buy milk. Anybody else know the answer to this one?
Orange juice - I don't buy this either. Anybody?

Bottled water - anywhere from $1.75 to upwards of $3.50 or more at the grocery store, depending on brand and packaging. It's $3.00 for a 16-ounce bottle at the movie theatre. That's $24.00 per gallon!

 

[Saruman]

Personally, I believe that we are using oil faster than Mother Earth can make it. Simple math tells us that when you take away something faster than it is replenished, then it will eventually be gone. All gone. Even little children learn about this with marbles and gumballs.

Why can't the American auto manufacturers see the light? I believe it's because they're too big, arrogant, and lumberingly slow...like the extinct dinosaurs.

No more petroleum is being made. the geologic conditions that created it no longer exist.

Our current economy is based on what can sell right now, for the most money, to the most people.

Oil companies KNOW FULL WELL THAT OIL SUPPLIES WILL DWINDLE. For this reason they are gearing to produce and provide petro-based products that will become increasingly expensive per unit (higher profit and less bulk) while simultaneously de-railing competitive technologies that might interfere with this process. In order to be successful and maintain hegemony, they must control oil-producing sources- hence the Iraqi quagmire. They must also control the government- hence Bush 1 and 2. Mark my words... when China becomes a net energy importer our economy, if not radically shifted away from petroleum dependence, will fall off the map.

Americans yell about high priced gas and wonder why the world does not lower the price for them. Doesn't anyone see how selfish and ridiculous this is? Somehow in the last 20 years we have become ENTITLED to cheap fuel and have grown fat and lazy because of this. Any candidate for president who calls for conservation (smaller homes, shorter commutes, less reliance on high bulk disposable products, smaller cars, etc) will be attacked by the petro-controlled incumbency.

I read somewhere that if everybody in China achieved the American dream (home and car) we would need 16 more planets to feed them.

Makes ya think.

 

[hedwigtheprius]

I'm sorry, I don't want to play the idiot here, but where in his message did he say that he wanted to rip Toyota or the EPA a new one for making up mileage estimates? When I read his post, I thought, "great, more press for the Prius! Now more people will want a hybrid and what a wonderful world it will be!" Who cares what someone's reason is for buying a hybrid, as long as they do it? Did anyone at least consider the possibility, even though it's the media, that they might be interested in doing a positive story? Honestly, this is one of the most jaded forum groups I've ever seen.

 

[BIF]

I'm sorry, I don't want to play the idiot here, but where in his message did he say that he wanted to rip Toyota or the EPA a new one for making up mileage estimates?

He didn't have to say it. He's from ABC news, so some of us just assumed it, for better or for worse. He's reaping what (the press) has sowed.

When I read his post, I thought, "great, more press for the Prius!"

Yeah, it would be great, if I thought that the story might be fair. But again....that reaping and sowing thing, y'know....

Now more people will want a hybrid and what a wonderful world it will be!" Who cares what someone's reason is for buying a hybrid, as long as they do it?

They will want hybrids anyway. They're smart enough to figure it out for themselves, without being force-fed by the the mainstream press.

Did anyone at least consider the possibility, even though it's the media, that they might be interested in doing a positive story?

Hee hee, that's funny. It's good to have a sense of humor!
er...you were joking, weren't you? :?

Honestly, this is one of the most jaded forum groups I've ever seen.

Show me your evidence of this, please. I'm only jaded in the mainstream press. Hey....you don't work for CNN, do you?

<just kidding, Hedgewig...I really do think you're allright>

 

[Daniel]

A gallon of nearly anything else costs more than a gallon of gas.

True, but irrelevant. Say a typical person drives 12,000 miles a year in a 25 mpg car. That's 480 gallons a year. Say they buy a gallon of orange juice a week. That's 52 gallons a year. We consume different products in different quantities, so we are affecteed differently by their unit prices.

BTW, I pay $1 per gallon for purified bottled water (reverse osmosis) delivered to my door in 3-gallon jugs.

I'd like to see a $5 per gallon tax on gasoline, with the money put into sustainable energy.

 

[BIF]

I'd like to see a $5 per gallon tax on gasoline, with the money put into sustainable energy.

Daniel, I like and respect you. But I really have to take issue with what you said above. I think there may be a few things wrong with it. Okay, a lot of things.

I urge you to reconsider. Think about the impact.

A tax increase of $5.00 per gallon would be economically disasterous, logistically and legally unworkable, unsustainable, morally wrong, and just plain mean. Please allow me to clarify:

Economically disasterous: The price of gasoline is part of the cost of every service and product we buy. Raise it, and you crush those who can least afford to buy things anyway. You'll cause more outsourcing (because it'll now be even cheaper to make things overseas in countries where the tax doesn't exist), company bankruptcies, layoffs, factory closings, and more. If it's bad enough, maybe people will consider leaving the US just so they can find work and feed their children.

Which is your real intent, mass exodus? Or increased dependence on government?

Logistically unworkable: Mass transit doesn't go anywhere and everywhere. Not everybody lives in Manhattan. What are you proposing, that we all start walking or riding bicycles at all hours, even in places that are potentially dangerous?

Legally Unworkable: Okay, maybe we could pass a law, and maybe it would even stand up in the courts. But look at how badly the government already spends our woefully overtaxed dollars! Did you know that less than 30-cents (out of each dollar collected in taxes) actually goes to the person, group or agency that is supposed to benefit from it? Your plea for more government is really just asking for more taxes and more waste.

Unsustainable: We'll have a tax revolt, for sure. And it won't just be tea in the harbour, either. Hmmmm, on second thought, maybe we're due for a tax revolt.

Morally wrong: Because your proposed new tax would probably have lots of loopholes, giving special treatment to certain segments of the population. Invariably, there will be the "special class" that is exempted from the tax. Who will it be this time? Goodies for sale! All we want is your vote! People who simply must drive their kids to day care? People who are obese (who couldn't possibly be expected to walk)? I know...maybe we'll give a tax break to people who can't afford a car newer than a 1975 model...we'll let them continue to guzzle and pollute, because that's where the voters are this cycle!

I'm tired of our government constantly pitting one economic class against another, and always making allowances for one "special" group of people or another. That's why I say it's morally wrong to elevate one group to a status of "more important" than everybody else. Honestly, if everybody doesn't share in the pain, then it's morally wrong, period.

Just plain mean: Come on, do I really need to explain this one? Five dollars a gallon? Eventually, I believe this will happen on its own, just because of the various market forces (dwindling supply, increased demand) at work. But to artificially implement such a tax, and to funnel the money into yet another wasteful public works program, knowing full well that it probably won't change anything...well, that's pretty mean. And all it does is make us all even more dependent on the government.

Somebody please stop this mad merry-go-round! I'm sooo friggin' overtaxed and overregulated, I'm getting dizzy! I want to get off!

 

[dbuker]

Press inquiry

My purchase of two Prius cars is my economic vote for change. Its not much, but it reflects my deep seated frustration with Detroit, Haliburton, et al. Prius represents hope. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[dbuker]

Reply to BIF

Gasoline should be seriously taxed. It will not lead to mass revolt. Rather, the great masses will realign provided leadership exists in Washington. Something we currently sorely miss.

 

[BIF]

Gasoline is already seriously taxed.

 

[kachunk]

gas tax

i suppose everything is relative, but compared to europe and i suspect many other places, US gas is barely taxed. I too would support a fat tax increase on gas to encourage more thoughtful & conservative use of it. woah, thoughtful & conservative in the same sentence!
(cheesy - i apologize)
naturally we all know that would be extremely unpopular and politically unthinkable, however.

--Alan

 

[frenchie]

i suppose everything is relative, but compared to europe and i suspect many other places, US gas is barely taxed.

Gasoline is currently around 1.2 euro / liter in France. Make your own conversion to grasp what we're facing...

 

[rainman]

The fuel cost savings is a added benefit, however, making a statement for change, and reduced environmental impact were primary reasons for buying a Prius.
ABC should move the story away from the price of fuel, that's a short term problem, and concentrate on conservation of oil for long term use (lubrication), and the politics of oil ( the real reason for the invation, assination of leadership, and occupation of Iraq by the US Government ). The purchase of a Prius is long term, and has little to do with short term fuel prices. Let's see some real journalism (with balls) for a change from ABC.