Toyota Prius sales top one million units

Toyota 's Prius started out a decade ago as a risky experiment in green technology.

[great car]

It realistically gets 35 miles per gallon with groceries and kids in the car. Very good pick up and low maintainence too!
The only other really good Car is the Ford Hybrid Escape.

Hooray for Ford Too!

[Dave Y]

Try limiting your acceleration and top speed. You should be able to get 45mpg. The weight of kids and groceries would have a minor impact compared with accelerating at a high rate.

[alli]

When I first got mine, I would only average 43 or 44 mpg. After putting a few thousand miles on it, and "teaching" my foot how to drive to maximize mpg, I get around 48 or more.

It's all in the technique! Of course, the nice thing is that no matter how rough you drive a prius, you can still get over 40 mpg!

[Gas Saver]

alli wrote:

It's all in the technique! Of course, the nice thing is that no matter how rough you drive a prius, you can still get over 40 mpg!

This is true. Hybrids reward you in more ways than just mileage for smoothing out your driving technique, analyzing and predicting traffic better and not using the power-thirsty style that conventional cars encourage. That in itself is probably one of the reasons they tend to do better on a gallon of gas. Smoother driving is also easier on the car, the passengers and those in cars near you.

[Chester DeGrasse]

The people are speaking.. no more gas guzzlers.

[Thomas]

In a couple of years we will all be driving cars like that as gas hits 5 and 6 dollars a gallon. It will be good to get some of the these massive SUVs off the road.

[Trey]

Why is it that the big 3 in Detroit have not been able to compete with the Prius?

[hydeparkLuke]

great car wrote:

It realistically gets 35 miles per gallon with groceries and kids in the car. Very good pick up and low maintainence too!
The only other really good Car is the Ford Hybrid Escape.
Hooray for Ford Too!

you can thank Toyota for the Ford escapes' success! Ford HAD to purchase Toyota Manufacturings' "1st generation" technology to get the hybrid escape into the market. Ford couldnt do it on their own.

[Questions]

How much does the average Prius cost??
How does it handle in the snow??
Do you have to charge it???
Which is better the Prius or the Escape??
I am in the market for a new car and am very interested in my hybrid options.
I drive 70 miles round trip to work in a Frod Explorer (V8, no less) and realize I need to do something about it.
I like many "soccer moms" bought my Explorer becasue I needed the room a car could not provide. Kids have grown up and are off to college so now I can downsize.

[Gentle Taz]

We'll see how much the Prius owners like their hybrids when the battery reaches the end of it's life. Will the car be worth enough money then to justify replacing the battery?

[Whuteva]

Questions wrote:

How much does the average Prius cost??
How does it handle in the snow??
Do you have to charge it???
Which is better the Prius or the Escape??
I am in the market for a new car and am very interested in my hybrid options.
I drive 70 miles round trip to work in a Frod Explorer (V8, no less) and realize I need to do something about it.
I like many "soccer moms" bought my Explorer becasue I needed the room a car could not provide. Kids have grown up and are off to college so now I can downsize.

Priuses start around $22,000 but most are $24,000-$28,000.

It does well in the snow as it has vehicle stability control as well as traction control and weighs more than the average small car because of the hybriod system.

You do not have to charge it.

The Prius does much better fuel economy wise (around 45mpg overall) but size wise the Escape is bigger.

Hybrids are hard to get right now. Might I suggest a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic? Both will average around 30mpg overall (That should about double your current mileage)and cost less than a Hybrid.

[Whuteva]

Gentle Taz wrote:

We'll see how much the Prius owners like their hybrids when the battery reaches the end of it's life. Will the car be worth enough money then to justify replacing the battery?

The batteries are expected to last as long as the car. If by chance they do fail you can replace individual cells within the battery which are not that expensive.

[German cars ONLY]

Screw the prius. You want a secure and fuel efficient car? Buy a GERMAN DIESEL.

They come in station wagon form as well, had 6 airbags and safety features BEFORE any of the other idiot automakers, can swap bi-xenons into them from the same model, add the new RNS-510 touch screen nav system. Engines last well over 500k miles AND get up to 60 mpg. And vehicle stability control as you put it (ESP) is a Mercedes invention. Seeing as the Germans pioneered over half of the auto tech everyone else now copies, why WOULDN'T you just buy a German car.

Now if only the idiot marketers at the Euro automakers would import their AWD models instead of front wheel drive only, along with their new euro only hybrid diesel at over 70 MPG.

Everyone tries to live up to the Euro benchmark, and they fail. Look at honda, trying to copy the passat.

2005 VW Passat diesel
2006 VW Jetta diesel
1978+ Mercedes diesels

[Questions]

Whuteva wrote:

<quoted text>
Priuses start around $22,000 but most are $24,000-$28,000.
It does well in the snow as it has vehicle stability control as well as traction control and weighs more than the average small car because of the hybriod system.
You do not have to charge it.
The Prius does much better fuel economy wise (around 45mpg overall) but size wise the Escape is bigger.
Hybrids are hard to get right now. Might I suggest a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic? Both will average around 30mpg overall (That should about double your current mileage)and cost less than a Hybrid.

Thank you for the information!!!

[William Root]

Trey wrote:

Why is it that the big 3 in Detroit have not been able to compete with the Prius?

Because they have morons who loose nothing when the company fails. Look at the golden parachutes of the CEO's of companies that have lost billions or close to it! The Japanese CEO's resign without compensation when their companies lose money! Even China has made us look bad when you compare their response to the earthquake to Katrina here in America. Corporate America's new God is Greed, plain and simple. But let's blame the unions, the people who had no say in the decisions to keep building gas guzzlers when the Japanese were kicking our rear ends with more fuel efficient cars. It's got to be those union peoples fault, no college educated person is that stupid!

[pjdutchville]

William Root wrote:

<quoted text>
Because they have morons who loose nothing when the company fails. Look at the golden parachutes of the CEO's of companies that have lost billions or close to it! The Japanese CEO's resign without compensation when their companies lose money! Even China has made us look bad when you compare their response to the earthquake to Katrina here in America. Corporate America's new God is Greed, plain and simple. But let's blame the unions, the people who had no say in the decisions to keep building gas guzzlers when the Japanese were kicking our rear ends with more fuel efficient cars. It's got to be those union peoples fault, no college educated person is that stupid!

What does China's response to an earthquake have to do with a Toyta Prius?

I'm surprised anyone has any money these days, to buy a new car in the first place.

[xtralongnips]

I don't question the fact more fuel efficient vehicles are a plus for us all. The thing I question is the safety of these smaller vehicles. After having seen some of these cars after they get hit. Their out there with a dust buster picking up the car. Now, I have read plenty of articles on safety of smaller cars. They have put 15,000 air bags in the car. but after the explosion of air bags where is there room for me left.

[Shinichiro Takizawa]

Let's play chicken race!
You are on Prius, and I Cherokee!

You cannot buy your life with money.
Buy American!

But I agree with the idea that BIG3 would sell "good mileage car" by all means.
Are there any meathdos?
BIG3 maust mean "GM, Ford and Chrysler"!

Sorry, Im stupid.
Im afraid that someday Ill be taken as spam.

[Seenitbefore]

Trey wrote:

Why is it that the big 3 in Detroit have not been able to compete with the Prius?

They compete very well. I didn't get to save the report but it said you'd never realize the savings to price with a Prius while Ford's version, which one is it, the savings paid back in 3 years.

Ford has also met, and in some cases exceeded Toyota's quality.

Just why is we aren't hearing the truth about the real differences between the US manufactures and the foreign manufacturers? Because too many people WANT to hear the foreign manufacturers are superior.

[Seenitbefore]

xtralongnips wrote:

I don't question the fact more fuel efficient vehicles are a plus for us all. The thing I question is the safety of these smaller vehicles. After having seen some of these cars after they get hit. Their out there with a dust buster picking up the car. Now, I have read plenty of articles on safety of smaller cars. They have put 15,000 air bags in the car. but after the explosion of air bags where is there room for me left.

Can't haul the boat back and forth to the lake with one of them either. More savings on gas because I can't use the boat. And less money to the summer industry also.

What a trade off.