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http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg This has long been my objection to the Prius....Prius is my favorite car in Toyota’s lineup, but I can’t escape the feeling that to most people it is a giant political bumper sticker, and I prefer to keep my political opinions quieter than that. (msnbc.msn.com/id/30604371)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/redneck_prius.jpgDan Carney - MSNBC (msnbc.msn.com) - May 14, 2009

Why the obsession the Prius is a socio-political statement? Is this Toyota's fault? -- Ed.

The angels sang, the clouds parted, and the latest version of the Toyota Prius descended from the heavens to save mankind from its self-destruction. Really, that’s just how it happened. At least that seems to be the view of some fanatics who have mistakenly concluded that Toyota is not bound by the same laws of physics or business as every other car-making entity on the planet.

Alas, the company is bound by those same laws. Fortunately, Toyota’s canny engineers have developed good expertise in bending the laws of physics to their own will, even if the laws of business are currently taking a toll on Toyota’s ledger, just as they are for other automakers.

One engineering trick was to make the enlarged, more powerful 1.8-liter gas engine more efficient than the old 1.5-liter engine while improving the car’s passing power. No, Toyota hasn’t made the Prius a drag racer, though the bigger motor does slash acceleration times from glacial to average, answering a top owner complaint.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30604371/

"Read More" link points to something about bananas in Africa?

I think the Prius is an amazing vehicle, but for many people it's more of a political statement vehicle, because they feel the costs do not justify it and therefor people who purchase them are making a hollow statement and not a real difference.

I don't see what's wrong with this as the same can be said about people who own sports cars and SUVS, at least the Prius is making a positive statement.

For us, the Prius makes no sense financially, but for those whom it does it's an awesome choice and one which is hopefully making a bit of a positive impact.

"Read More" link points to something about bananas in Africa?Link fixed.

Attempted to conjecture what a "redneck Prius" or "GOP Prius" is supposed to look like.

I seriously think the Toyota engineers were just trying to make an efficient car - period, but maybe they need a new package for image-obsessed Americans. I'm thinking of a TopGear Episode with shoepaint on a Prius with stuff like:
Palin 2012
God Bless America!
Real Men drive Prius!
Country/Western stickers all over the bumpers
Bumper sticker with birdie at bin Laden
Maybe an aero gun rack
Have an optional P/A system to play a doolie diesel clatter and fart pipes
Tray for chewing tobacco

I see your gun rack reference now.

Receiver hitch with a manly insert?

I see your gun rack reference now.

Receiver hitch with a manly insert?I forgot the hitch! :D

Semi-seriously, Toyota needs to hire the laid-off Hummer marketing department and pander to Americans so Prius-phobic they would rather go into a room with a person infected with the Swine flu than be caught dead in a Prius.

Tens of millions of Americans have serious hang-ups, so Toyota should educate their marketing department to cater to the deranged mind, like GM did for years until $4 gas.

Hi All:

___Fortunately or not, the Prius makes both a political statement and a very smart statement regarding total cost of ownership. When comparing “Anything” similarly equipped and size, there is nothing that can touch it.

Intellichoice (intellichoice.com)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Support the Tea Party
Drive a Prius. :flag:

Think about it?
Normal car averages 20 mpg and burns 600 gallons of fuel over 12K miles.
At Pa. Fuel tax rates of .51 per gallon that works out to $306 in fuel taxes.

Prius gets 50 mpg and burns 240 gallons of fuel over the same 12K miles.
Same fuel tax rate generates a $122.40 fuel tax bill.

Drive a Prius and save $184 in taxes each year. :D

There's a Prius in my town that's still sporting a McCain/Palin bumper sticker.

I know of three others that have Obama badges.

I think the Prius is an amazing vehicle, but for many people it's more of a political statement vehicle, because they feel the costs do not justify it and therefor people who purchase them are making a hollow statement and not a real difference.



Keep in mind the Prius is cheaper in the US than in Canada, and is usually cheaper than SUV's and pickup trucks, which have been the vehicle of choice here in the US for the last decade or more.

Harry

I forgot the hitch! :D

Semi-seriously, Toyota needs to hire the laid-off Hummer marketing department and pander to Americans so Prius-phobic they would rather go into a room with a person infected with the Swine flu than be caught dead in a Prius.

Tens of millions of Americans have serious hang-ups, so Toyota should educate their marketing department to cater to the deranged mind, like GM did for years until $4 gas.

It could be marketed in one of two ways or both. In the first you attribute the car to male virility and you drape the car in a sexy model the way Detroit has always marketed cars.

In the second you emphasize the car's emissions reductions and appeal to peoples' better nature in protecting children from harmful emissions. For example I drive by a day care center with a fenced in playground that meets right up to the road I drive on. Some location for a day care center, right? Well you could say that the car is cleaner and has reduced emissions of all the bad stuff, the NOX, SOX, particulates, etc.

Anyway just my thoughts.

This tempts me to want to put a couple stickers on my planned Prius -- "I'm NRA and I vote" and "Gun Control means using both hands". But this is likely to cause a few heads to spontaneously explode at the perceived contradiction, and I'll be charged with creating a roadway hazard.

Far too many people seem to think that only their own political party can be a diverse coalition of (some, not all) viewpoints, and that all opposition can be easily pigeonholed into a very few stereotypes.

The only heads that would explode are the tailgaters that read 'em while driving.


Let 'em pop.

I wonder if Toyota might try marketing more in Peoria, Illinois?

The Prius was embraced by Hollywood, so a lot of people evaluated it not on it's own merits, but the kinds of people that used it.