Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Corey C. Jordan on February 4, 2013 at 1:40am

I'd love to know what is "practical" about a Prius? A Honda Fit is a vastly better car, for much less money. Unless you're almost exclusively an urban driver, the Fit is a far more practical and fun car.

I'm not shocked that there would be a club for B210 owners... No one else will talk to them about the car, except auto wreckers quoting scrap value.

Finally, I drive a mildly modded Jeep Wrangler JK. My third Jeep, preceded by a 1992 Wrangler YJ (moderately modded) and a 1963 Willys CJ5, very much built for extreme off road adventures. I've had passers-by comment on my JK many times, with things like, "nice Jeep", and the like. I've never heard anyone say, "nice Prius". 

The Prius is engineered for fuel efficiency. Everything about the design, from its drag coefficient to it's low rolling resistance tires are specifically aimed at that quest. As a result, the Prius sucks at just about everything else. Underpowered, long braking distances, body roll like a boat, really lousy suspension damping and limited interior space. It really is a dull, boring vehicle. Reliable, and fugal on gas, for sure. If you are happy driving an appliance, then enjoy it.

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Permalink Reply by Chuck Knight on February 4, 2013 at 3:13am

The Prius is engineered for fuel efficiency.

 

Actually, no.  The Prius is designed with a bias towards low emissions.  A really good way to achieve that is high fuel efficiency.  But the design bias is towards low emissions, if you really want to be specific.  Especially in the Generation 2 and Gen 2.5, which you showed in your photo.

 

Appliance.  That's the word I use when praising it.  My priority is not excitement.  I don't have to live vicariously through my car.  I go from point A to point B, efficiently, and then enjoy my destination.  And, by the way, have you ever driven a Prius?  They're huge inside, and have plenty of pep, but most people drive them like golf carts to maximize their mpg's.  Unless you're comparing it to a Maserati limousine, your description is quite incorrect.

 

I've never heard anyone say, "nice Prius". 

 

Really!  You need to find better quality friends!  I have people stop me on the street and ask me about it, how it drives, how it handles, what gas mileage I get, etc.  Perhaps it's a difference in local cultures.

  

As I said earlier, we're all entitled to make our own decisions.  And, so long as they're informed decisions, they're manly.  Your manly decision and my manly decision obviously take us in different directions.

 

Variety can be the spice of a manly life.

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Permalink Reply by Vytautas on February 4, 2013 at 6:58am

This turned out to be a much more interesting discussion than I thought it would be!

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Permalink Reply by Corey C. Jordan on February 4, 2013 at 1:11pm

 

 

I’ve driven a Prius, a 2012. Dynamically, it’s awful. The transmission has all of the typical faults of CVT. The brakes are limited by the low-grip tires, which induces the anti-lock system to do its thing at anything approaching hard breaking. It’s pathetically slow accelerating. I felt like I needed to make an appointment to get on to the interstate without getting run over. My Wrangler, with added armor and 33” tires, accelerates to 60 mph much quicker. The 2012 and 2013 Pentastar powered JKs are positively fast (0-60 in 6.5 seconds).

 

You said, “excitement is not my priority”. No kidding…. ;) You meet my description of the typical Toyota car driver. I say Toyota cars, because Toyota builds great trucks, that are fun to own and drive. Any sales manager will tell you that Toyota car and trucks draw two vastly different demographic groups. My local dealer has the trucks in a separate showroom, referred to by the dealer’s employees as the “men’s department”.

 

You also state that, “ I don't have to live vicariously through my car”.

 

Well, you actually do. In a less obvious manner, perhaps. Your statement is “I’m practical, green minded and (alas), boring. I only drive to go somewhere, and I take little joy in the actual journey. I want to make the experience as unexciting as possible.”

 

I’m just the opposite. I believe that the adventure is often in just getting to a destination. Driving up into the mountains in a snow storm. I can do that in my JK, breaking trail in 24” of fresh powder before the plows get out. I don’t drive to the beach parking lot and hike out to the beach, dragging a ton of gear, I drive out on the beach. When the road ends, the ride doesn’t have to. I can choose between my soft top or a three piece hardtop. It’s a far more visceral experience with the top down. You can hear, see and smell nature.

 

Jeeps are unique in that unlike most vehicles, they transcend all demographics. You can find a Wrangler in a poor neighborhood, and parked in driveways along Dune Rd., in the Hamptons. You can find them out in the high desert, or being valet parked at the opera house. As one magazine stated, it’s the universal “cool ride”.

 

Wranglers, unlike almost any other vehicle, are rarely retained in stock configuration. No other vehicle has a greater aftermarket. It allows for far more individual expression.

 

Variety is a valid point. Men have differing likes and dislikes. Be what you are, regardless of popular expectations. In that root honesty, can be found genuine manliness.

 

Enjoy you Prius, but stay the hell out of my left lane!

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Permalink Reply by LShieldes on February 4, 2013 at 1:28pm

The day I rate my "manliness" on what some other guy think I should or should not drive is the day I will start wearing my wife's tampons.

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Permalink Reply by Corey C. Jordan on February 4, 2013 at 3:21pm

I'm just curious as to where you would wear them.....

 

What oriface did you have in mind?

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Permalink Reply by Cisco Carson on February 4, 2013 at 5:08pm

oh no she didan't!!

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Permalink Reply by Cisco Carson on February 4, 2013 at 5:21pm

See my avatar as the appropriate response here.

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Permalink Reply by Brian Splash on February 4, 2013 at 12:25am

The only thing I move from old car to new is a box of tissues and an umbrella , doesn't matter what knifes guns or survival gear you have in the trunk you just can't get any more man cred from your " girlfriend , wife " than having a tissue when they need one or escorting them from the car to wherever in the rain .

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Permalink Reply by Caleb Herring on February 4, 2013 at 12:37am

http://artofmanliness.com/2009/12/17/13-things-a-man-should-keep-in...

This might also help :P

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Permalink Reply by Jordan P on April 6, 2013 at 10:25am

I have the same "emergency" collection you have for various trouble I run into on the road. During the winter months I do keep a pair of pants, my boots, and a coat in the car just in case.

As for the rear view mirror I dried out some geese feet and have them hung on a string.

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Permalink Reply by Michael D. Denny on April 6, 2013 at 11:32am

The skull of a defeated enemy mounted on the dashboard with red LED lights in the eye sockets. 

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