29th Dec 2006, 18:13

""The Prius IS built in China. Just type in 'Prius made in China' into google.""

No need. Just looked at the vehicle plate in my friend's Prius. You know, the one where it says "country of manufacture: Japan". Any Prius built in china is NOT for US export as of this writing, and we ARE talking about US cars.

Rest of you arguments are just dances as you switch from one topic to another with no consistency.

Your argument is ethanol guzzling Tahoes are the salvation for America, and they clearly are not. You simply brought up other cars when I blew a hole in it.

29th Dec 2006, 19:29

(1) You never gave any evidence to back up ANY of your claims and (2) Your argument that everybody driving Priuses and Corollas as the salvation to our energy problems is absurd because that's never going to happen. I'm thinking REAL alternatives that people actually want. 80% of Americans don't want to drive a tin can, but since you obviously don't understand that, you'll never figure out why things don't happen how you like.

'The Prius is now being made outside Japan for the first time, with production for the Chinese market starting in Changchun, China in December'

-That's copy+paste from Green Car Congress for June 07, 2006.

30th Dec 2006, 10:31

And this conflicts with my statement that American Priuses are built in Japan how?

As to your claim Americans love full size SUVs, I suggest you look at the current trends in car buying these days. The last car you would want to buy, as far as resale value, is an SUV.

30th Dec 2006, 12:54

When did I say that Americans would only drive full size SUV's? That's you taking my comments out of context. Look at American cars from the past through today, we have always liked BIGGER cars (i.e. pickups, large cars) You keep insisting that the only cure to our problems is everybody driving tin cans and I'm telling you that it's never going to happen! And SUV resale value hasn't really changed that much, although crossovers like the Equinox and Escape seem to becoming more popular.

As far as where the Prius is made, you might be right maybe it is made in Japan, but I really couldn't care less. The car is still sub-par as far as quality/performance is concerned, and I have seen regular economy cars get better gas mileage then the Prius so frankly if you really care that much about getting 42+ MPG, you can do better then a Prius.

30th Dec 2006, 15:18

While standing in line at a recent event I overheard the gentleman in front of me lamenting to his friend about the batteries in his Prius already needing to be replaced, and how he had no idea how he was going to come up with the THOUSANDS of dollars required to replace them. People seem to overlook this "minor" inconvenience, as well as the fact that the batteries are almost as toxic as NUCLEAR WASTE and are a horrible environmental hazard. I'm all for conserving our resources, but I'll stick with conventional engined compacts. A Corolla costs half as much as a Prius, gets only 5 or 6 mpg less, and does not foul the environment and require $3000 battery replacements every two years.

6th Oct 2012, 10:22

To your comment about high mileage and age. I have a 2002 Prius; it's now 10 years old (almost 11) and I have 341,000kms on it (or 213,100 miles). Great little car; the overall MPG is lowered a bit, but still is better than similar sized cars, and I live in Canada. So the battery pack has endured harsh winters here too. Really its only problem is rust right, but it also has been serviced its whole life by the book, and NEVER left me stranded. Anytime, I hop in my Prius and drive anywhere without a care, as I know it will get me anywhere I need to be.

14th Apr 2020, 05:21

£15 road tax vs £400 and a peaceful silent ride vs something sounding like a tin bath full of spanners crashing down a metal staircase is what does it for me. If you like diesels, buy one. Personally I will never own another diesel. Horses for courses.