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Eric Wilner here, in Sunnyvale, California.

Bought my aqua 2002 Prius off the lot on Feb. 9 -- and have already put rather a lot of miles on it, between the daily commute and weekend excursions. I'd actually gone to the dealer for a first look at the current Corolla, but, finding a Prius right there waiting to be bought, I just couldn't resist.

On Saturday, I loaded it up with people (four adults) and drove it over the mountains (Hwy. 17) to the coast -- no trouble.

I haven't started trying to hack it yet, but the day will come... I really want to get my hands on the source code for that multi-function display (for reasons both reasonable and frivolous).

For those places the Prius won't go, and the occasional big/dirty load, I'm having my '89 Cherokee massively overhauled. Meanwhile, the Prius is fine for routine transportation -- and burns way less gas.

 

[Guest]

Steve Ward, in Portland, Oregon

2002 Brilliant Blue, fully loaded car that was the demo at the Portland International Auto Show. Obviously meant to be, pure happenstance brought us together.

So far averaging about 46MPG in daily mixed driving. We are going to take it on a road trip this weekend.

I was attracted initially to the fuel economy, I needed a four-seater, and the technology of the drivetrain seemed more ambitious to me than the Civic hybrid (which was still vaporware at the time). Have been very impressed with the car thus far. I like the idea of the SULEV rating as well. My previous daily driver (2000 Volvo Cross Country) was reasonably clean for a conventional car, but for a commute vehicle it didn't make sense. In town fuel economy in the Volvo is disappointing at best. We'll keep it for longer trips and larger loads.

 

[Guest]

I've signed in for the first time. This site looks very promising. Good work!

I've had my 2002 Silver Strata, Tinkerbell, since mid December 2001; and I appreciate it more every day. During the more than five-months wait for it, I had almost convinced myself to hold out for the hybrid Civic. However, now that more details are out about the Civic, I see that it won't offer a NAV system so I don't expect to be suffering any buyer's remorse!

Tinkerbell has run like a top during her first 2600 miles. I "just drive it", and find I average 45 MPG in bitterly cold weather with a high percentage of short trips. In the few warm (50s to low 60s) spells we've had, Tinkerbell gets 50-52 MPG. (I haven't calculated lifetime MPG yet.) I look forward to seeing what summer does for her MPG. Meanwhile, I find I have put more miles on her in a 2-month period of routine driving than I put on previous cars in a similar period because she's so much fun to drive.

Billie
Tinkerbell - Kansas: GR8 MPG

 

[Guest]

Hi, this is Graham.
This is much nicer than Yahoo! for messages, but what about files, photos, polls, etc. I wonder? I will have to figure out whether I should stay with the Yahoo! groups or switch over here as I don't have time for both. The response time here is so much better, it was the slow response more than the ads themselves that were getting to me on Yahoo!. The message threading, font and layout are all better here. I like the bold and italics too, although why they have to be different from HTML I don't know. Let me try my Web site's URL ... <http://www.channel1.com/users/graham>. And how about this - I can use pictures when discussing battery icons! Here they are:

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[Guest]

I don't know what to tell you about the choice between here and the groups site other than we would like to see you here. There are two reasons that I don't have this set for using plain html for images etc. The first one is that that is the defult setting for the software that I am using and it is eaiser for me, the second is that by using this I can not allow html tags that I don't want used

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[Guest]

This looks like a better alternative to the yahoo group. Very efficient. Thanks Jeff!!

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[Guest]

Very nice work Jeff. This is going to be a fun place to watch grow. It looks as if the site is already being well accepted. I played around with screen sizes and watched how you have the text and body wrap; very neat!

I took a look at Dynamo computers. I look forward to what you have to offer there also.

Thanks for building a nice clean alternative; I bet its going to work!

Wayne Brown (still waiting - Pittsburg, TX)

 

[Guest]

Hi everyone. We got ours in December. After 1300 miles, lifetime mileage is about 36 mpg. My wife drives to about six miles to and from work in heavy traffic so I guess we can't expect too much better than that in the Winter. Mileage might go up when she learns to take her foot off the gas more than ten feet from a stop. ;-) One question from other owners. How do you pronounce Prius?

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D&D,
Welcome to the forum! Prius is pronounced pree us (sort of like free us). Sorry to hear your mileage is on the low side, but at least your contribution to air pollution is minimal. Does your Prius ever run on electric only or does the gas engine run all the time?

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[Guest]

Very nice site. Much better than Yahoo. Small ad's are ok but Pop-up are the worst!

My Prius has 22K on it and running great. I have Harry's cd hack, Costal's cruise. I'm into Ham radio so the Prius also has a 2meter, 440Mhz Kenwood mounted in the trunk with remote head on the dash.

After driving a Jeep to work at about $50 a week in gas, I now spend less than $10. And less smog production. Green is better and can be fun too!

Check the family web site if you like, <http://www.larry-steiner.net>
I run a solar array and converter that you may find interesting.

Take care.
Larry

 

[Guest]

My wife and I will get our new Blue 2002 next week, when it arrives at the dealership. The car will be used mainly by my wife. My back hurt some after the test drive. I am used to a low, almost semi-recumbent driving position (and I use a LazyBoy at home). The Prius forces you to sit up fairly straight, and the contouring, especial around the lumbar area, is pronounced -- maybe too much so for my back. Did anyone else feel slightly uncomfortable at first? Did the feeling pass? Actually, sitting in the Prius may improve my posture, but I don't want to have to take pain pills after riding in or driving it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Bradford Scharlott

By the way, I am in Northern Kentucky. My wife is an eco-passionate person and really, really wanted the Prius. So I am glad to put up with some discomfort to help her help the Earth.

 

[Guest]

I really like the Prius seats. I like the upright position it made my back feel better. The only thing I did was turn the head rest around so that it slanted back instead of foward. Good luck.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Mitch.

After it warms up I can get it to run a lot without the ICE. My wife, who was more interested in getting the car than I was, isn't ready to change her driving habits to optimize the advantages of the car. We were driving, and still have, a 1995 Plymouth Voyager 3.0 liter that averages 19 mpg. Getting 30+ seems to satisfy her. You're right about the ecological aspets but I've never been much of a tree hugger. When they had the car show here in Chicago, an executive from Toyota said in an interview that, on an average day in LA, that the exaust of the Prius is cleaner than the ambient air. Sounds like a hard car to commit suicide in. ;-)

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I am here. I own a 2002 green Prius. Bought it from a lot in Columbus, GA on Dec. 17, 2001. So far, this car exceeds my expectations.

Alton in Auburn, AL

 

[Guest]

Ed,
I had some questions about Boise and the Toyota dealers there.
Could you e-mail me off-list so I could do this properly?

Thanks,
Don Gillespie
Nashville TN

 

[Guest]

Couldn't resist joining the Prius fan club...I picked up my version (silver) in June of last year (01) from a dealership in Toronto after a measley two week wait and I have been wildly enthusiatic about the vehicle ever since. I've owned two Camrys since '88 so I knew how reliable Toyota can be - and so far my Prius has lived up to and surpassed my expectations. I have driven it to the east coast twice now - once in August (astonishing mileage!) and once at Christmas (mileage less astonishing but still great). It was wonderful in snow - just like a little tank (but then again I have good snow tires on it) - still it felt very solid. There's never a hesitation about starting in below zero temperatures. I haven't yet driven it with the two sea kayaks and all the camping gear loaded in - that might take away some of the gas economy! I find it sad that there are so few of these cars on the road. I've only spotted two or three in this city so far. It's as if folks are scared of the 'newness' of it all and it makes me a little crazy... As a result I've become almost evangelical in my ravings to anyone who will listen!
BTW can I assume that cold weather, short city trips and snow tires would all play a part in dragging down fuel efficiency? I am currently getting 6.0 litres/ 100 km and in the summer I got between 5 and 5.3 l/100 km.
Thanks for the community!

 

[Guest]

Hi Lynne, welcome to the group!

I agree it's sad that there's so few Prius and other hybrids/SULEVs/EVs around. But I don't think it's due to fear of "newness". Toyota only makes 1500 Prius per month for the US. Almost every one is sold long before it arrives here. Some arrive unsold because they were allocated to be demo cars for dealers. Any others that arrive unsold do so because the original people who ordered them got tired of waiting (old car gave up too soon, etc.). Once they arrive they quickly get sold.

So it appears to me that it's the manufacturers, not the public, that fears the newness. Once the dealers and technicians get used to the concept, I think production will increase to meet demand.

Not only that, but the technology should improve rapidly as manufacturers gain interest in this newly discovered market.

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[Guest]

Pudwuzzy is here too. The vital statistics: Super White 2002, cruise, SAB, 6CD, floor mats, cargo net. Plus seat covers, remote trunk release, and 5" arm rest.
Took 5 months and 10 days to take delivery two days before Thanksgiving. Looking forward to sharing time and thoughts with everyone on Jeff's great new website.

Waste not, want not, Pud in Indiana.

 

[Guest]

Well, I thought I had the oldest Prius here until I saw Larry Steiner's post. He has double my milege, although our Prius is 14 months old (got it in Jan, 01). This car is wonderful. Our first NEW car, which may account for some of our awe. I agree with others - great seats, it's quiet, and ecological.
I am disturbed by comments from some about extra measures taken to "preserve" batteries and all the additional electric gizmo stuff. The main selling point for us was the Toyota took mostly all the worry out of owning the new technology. Long warranties on the new technologies, ESPECIALLY the batteries, made the concept of owning it easy. I say run it like a regular car, let Toyota download your performance features when you get it serviced, and let them worry about the life-span of the car. Drive it! Race it! Treat it like a Corolla!! Let's push the limits on this technology and not baby these cars. How else can the engineers in Japan learn to make it better?
BTW, I think hybrids will only have a run of 15 years. They will then be replaced by the fuel cell.

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[Guest]

I'd love to believe that it is just availability that holds folks back about buying Prius but I really think there's more to it. For some reason I think we got more of these smart cars here in Canada (certainly per capita). If I had wanted a dark blue one I could have driven off the lot the moment I made up my mind to purchase it! I find that as I drive around and get quizzed by people there seems to be a big information gap - they've never heard of it or the things they've heard are way off base (ie the battery under the backseat presents some danger to the passengers! or thinking that they have to plug it in somehow) - even the Service Department at the downtown Toyota dealership was uninformed. We all love this car but how do we get the word out to the hordes??