There's a reason I call that car the "Pious"

[wombat_socho]

Eco-weenies choose the Prius over Honda hybrids because the Hondas look like a normal car. Gee, what a surprise. Guess it wasn't about saving the planet after all but flaunting your devotion to Gaia. Me, I think I'm going to get some price quotes on these, since these selfless souls are out there conserving gas so I can burn it. Y'all still going to Hell. (Rachel)

Song unrelated. Trust me on this.

Comments

[nornagest.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I think a large part of the reason Honda didn't do so well in the hybrid market is that its initial offering, the Insight, was just a bad car. Besides its image flaws, it had two seats, an anemic powertrain, and very little cargo space -- and if you want a cramped two-seater that gets 60 MPG, a Kawasaki Ninja will do that and also a hundred and eighty miles per hour. They did the right thing with the Civic and Accord hybrids, but those came after Toyota had already established itself as the premier hybrid brand (with a sedan that actually functioned as such, and, yes, was also fairly distinctive). As such, they're catching up a bit in certain markets now, although I think Toyota's definitely won this round.

Also, while I don't know the details of your own situation, if I was given the choice between a new Explorer and a new Prius as daily drivers in a metropolitan area I'd take the Prius -- and I say this as an Explorer owner. I'd also buy a bumper sticker for said Explorer saying "One Less Hybrid", but that's just my instinct for being reflexively contrarian talking.

[wombat-socho.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty happy with my Kia Sportage, especially now that I've gotten all of my household goods out of it and am only carrying around me, a couple of suitcases, and occasionally P. Next vehicle will likely be the 6-cylinder Sportage - while I do like the Excursion, it's just not practical here.