Head-turning gas-electric outsells Honda's staid version By Greg Schneider The Associated Press Updated: 12:25 a.m. ET Aug. 23, 2004 The Toyota Prius, a gas-electric hybrid, is so popular there's a six-to-eight-month waiting list to get one at Koons Tysons Toyota. Across the street at Rosenthal Honda, the rival Honda Civic Hybrid is in ready supply -- 11 cars sat in the sun on a recent morning. The Prius and Civic have similar new technologies, so it's not just fuel efficiency that's causing drivers to flock to Toyota's hybrid. "The Prius is a fashion statement," said Art Spinella, a consultant with CNW Marketing Research who surveys car-buying trends. "It looks different. Other people know the driver is driving a hybrid vehicle. It clearly makes a bigger statement about the person than does the Civic, which basically looks like a Civic." (To link to the full story, click here.)
Yes it is. I also posted this article last night from the Washington Post. The author called me. He found me through my website. I did speak about other reasons to own a Prius, but his article was about how the Prius was outselling the Civic because it was different. Anyway, it's kind of fun to see my name in the Washington Post. Jeff
Not only in the Washington post, but front page no less! A co-worker brought me in a copy of it to show me the article. -m.
I guess I have to try and find a copy of the Washington Post today. It's not every day you get mentioned on the front page of one of the leading papers in the US. Jeff
That's interesting -- I hadn't realized that the Honda hybrid sales weren't also maxed out (there have been some local Seattle articles recently saying that while there isn't a waiting line, the Civic Hybrids are doing very well.) And I think there's some truth to the claim that people buy a Prius because it looks cool -- or at least, cooler than a Civic. Danny made a point some time back that Honda's mainstream cars tend to look pretty staid -- late 90s "old school". (Obviously, I am excepting the Element from this list.) Surprised they haven't published an article about people like me -- folks who would buy a Prius over a Honda hybrid because I think the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive is much cooler than the "mild hybrid" system for the Hondas. I can just see it on the cover of the Post's Motor section now: [align=center:9a4c5cecf6]Geeks Prefer Prii[/align:9a4c5cecf6]
NPR had a short piece on morning edition that said the same thing. Prius is way cool and makes a statement. All true.
