Good evening all. My wife and I just purchased our first Prius and also our first Toyota. We been long time lurkers, having first become interested in 2007 with the 2nd Gen model. Finally the March Madness of 2010 was too much to resisit, and we made the move into a Blizzard Pearl Prius II. We mucked through the hype and hysteria and made our decision to try the Prius based on common sense. The Toyota bashing made for some great deals. This will be our fourth vehicle in our current fleet. The vehicle sold to make room for the Prius was a wonderful 1985 Mercedes 300 turbo diesel with 320k miles. Hopefully the Prius will have the grit and heart of the mighty Mercedes diesel. I am a gear head DIY'er and die hard car guy. When Toyota starts selling Prius' to guys like me, they know they have something special. Our other vehicles are a V8 SUV, a hot rod Hemi powered pickup and a V8 two seat roadster. Clearly we needed something that got over 15 mpg and was somewhat more socially responsible. The Prius is all that and much more! On the road or around town the Prius has been the vehicle driven. We love it's unique looks and technology. Instead of roaring away from a light listening to Hemi powered headers, I gently push forward trying to keep the gauge in economy! What a hoot. This is a whole new world for me. Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself and meet some other Priusphilles. Bo
Welcome aboard! There are many here just like you! Enjoy the ride! p.s. great choice in color and model.
Hear Hear! Welcome to the boards (after a nice long lurk)! You better be careful though, I think the Prius can be more dangerous than the Hemi hotrods. Seriously, especially as a gearhead, I'm willing to bet that you are cycling through the displays and are often glancing over their way to see what the car is doing, where you are in the powerband, what you battery state of charge is, and how you've done in the last 5 minutes of driving. Sure is fun isn't it? :welcome:
As a gear head, lets start you here: A simulation of Prius's Planetary Gear 28% of the engine's torque goes to the sun gear and MG1 (which may power MG2 electrically and the wheels) 72% of the engine's torque goes to the ring gear, MG2, and the wheels mechanically. Since torque * RPM / 5252 = HP by varying the RPM of MG1, you can direct the HP in any ratio you want.
Congrats! The 2010 Prius is an exceptional car. What else can do what it does and be like fueling up a 500cc motorcycle? mmmm ... nothing else. I have owned 8 motorcycles from 600cc to 1000cc and only one, a YZF600R could do 50 MPG's at the pump. This 2010 Pri rental is indicating 55.x MPG's at 100 miles on this tank.
Beauregard, welcome aboard! Did anyone tell you before you bought your first Toyota that there is no turning back? It's a powerful addiction! Enjoy!
:welcome: and congrats to your new car. I'm sure you'll like it, especially in the city. Wish you many happy miles!
Time to start modding that II. A good start would be a Kenwood DNX6960 with all the goodies. That's where I plan to start with ours when we get it.
The next thing is to get the shop manuals. They are a little pricy but well worth it when you get interested in what is under the metal shell. Start with the second volume since it has more 'how to' stuff. Volume I should be diagnostics and without a good scanner, not very helpful. Bob Wilson
Welcome to PriusChat! I discovered the same irony as you, that contrary to conventional tastes, going slow can actually be fun and addictive. Who would have thought!!!?!?
Welcome, and congratulations. I took my first longer hwy trip (also a II blizzard pearl), and it IS a solid, well handling, no rattles (for me), 50mpg vehicle. I love mine.
Prius + Gear-Head = 2010 ........ I read an on-line car site blog a few weeks back that was critical to Prius on several fronts. A car guy (who had owned 160 vehicles in his life, including a Ferrari) responded saying that the Prius "was the most influential car in advancing technology of the automobile". He currently owned a Prius and knows how its growing use is changing the landscape of the automobile industry. Of note, Prius is Toyota's #1 car in Japan, and often the #1 seller of all vehicles there. When our gas goes back to $4.00 (mine yesterday was $3.13) there will be even more converts. Personally, I really like the idea of sending less of my money to the Middle East and Venezuela. Bart in SoCAL
nice to have you here, bo! i hope you enjoy the technical discussions and can help enlighten us "non techie" types with freat advice and perspective. good luck with your new ride!
Congrats and welcom to the club. Well actually you've been here longer than I have by far. I am a big GAS gassler car guy but I've switched to this. Hmm I am getting a bit restless sometimes. All this driving like a grandad thing is hmm sometimes getting on my nerves. Evertime a turbo charged Audi quttro go pass me I look at it with envy. I still want the speed and hopefully I can get the speed and the MPG too. As for now I will settle with the Prius.
