I've long wondered why we find Honda advocates posting in the Prius forum. At first, I thought, maybe there is a Prius advocate going over the Honda forum and raising a ruckus but after scanning the postings in four busy Honda threads, I couldn't find one Prius advocate. Yet when I checked four recent Prius threads, I found a Honda advocate in thee of them. Then I noticed something unique about one of the forum descriptions:

• "The American SUVs."
• "The powerful hybrid sedan w/ a 255 horsepower net output and a V6 engine."
• "Hybrid version of the best-selling Honda. Arch rival of the Prius."
• "The very first hybrid automobile; built for insanely high mileage."
• "The best-selling car in America."
• "Full hybrid SUVs."
• "Award-winning full hybrid sedan."
• "A rear wheel drive luxury sedan."

Is it the description "Arch rival of the Prius" that leads to this curious, asymetrical cross-posting behavior? Of course there are many alternate explanations so perhaps a poll can puzzle out the answer.

Bob Wilson

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Prius Envy.

Greenhybrid is neither a Honda nor a Toyota (or, since you specified, Prius) forum. But merely, a hybrid forum. No need to divide ourselves. We're one people!

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I think honda people post in the prius forums becase honda owners are more enthusiastic about any hybrid technology. Look at the number of prius cars registered in the database vs hondas and then look at the two forums. See an imballance?

My hydroponics experiment

You ever notice how hard it is to lip read cartoon characters?
"Crazy is what the sane call Delta Flyer"

...which is really odd because the Prius has so many more on the road.

I would have thought it was HCH owners teasing the Prius owners for driving such a funny-looking car. Just kidding folks, just kidding.

*** Retired after 65,000 outstanding miles ***

But to me it seems 92% of them are driven by people well over the age of 60. I don't understand why all of the "cooler" toyotas seem to draw those with silver hair.

A while back I was thinking about getting a matrix, for the next 2 weeks all I saw were people who looked like octogenarians driving the Matrix. I didn't want one after that. :p

"Speed doesn't have anything to do with mileage. My truck has an overdrive gear for a reason." - Credited to an unnamed Freeper reguarding changing the speed limit back to 55MPH.

My last car was a Honda Insight, and my next will be a Toyota Camry Hybrid. Honda? Toyota? Traitor? Who am I???

Steve Villatoro
www.stevenvillatoro.com
“An enlightened guide to small business mastery.”

I don't think of the HCH as an "arch rival" of the Prius. I am very happy that both Toyota and Honda took big financial risks to develop lines of vehicles that are 2-3x more efficient than most cars on the road.

That being said, I was *very* undecided when I was first shopping for my hybrid. The the things that tipped me 51% in favor of the HCH were:
-- I liked the instrument cluster better (very subjective)
-- It was $2,000 cheaper than the Prius (very objective).
-- I drove it off the lot that day; there was a 3 month wait for a Prius (objective).
-- In July 2002, the Prius still looked like an Echo (again, subjective).

But if things were just a *little* different, I'd have been driving a Prius and still have been just as happy.

I've noticed this too, I always make eye contact with Prius owners, I guess hoping for some acknowledgement of being a fellow hybrid owner. Most of the time the drivers are 65+ and oblivious to the Civic Hybrid's existance.

More to the point, I do sometimes surf the Prius forum because I am interested in all hybrid technology and our next car could be a Toyota..... although will likely drive the Civic into the ground.

I'm wondering how regional this may be. I haven't seen a single Prius owner over say 50 years old. All the ones I know are in their 30's or 40's. What I do notice is the definite lack of "brotherhood" as a fellow hybrid owner. I get the same thing you do when I drive - little acknowledgement from Prius owners. I know seveal folks with an HCH and we'll talk hybrid all day. I get "thumbs up" from other HCH owners on the road. All the Prius owners I know don't seem all that interested - they're generally less enthusiastic about the whole "hybrid" thing. I know there are lots of Prius enthusiasts here, but I have yet to meet one where I live.

*** Retired after 65,000 outstanding miles ***