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Feb. 5th, 2006
Reasons why the Prius rocks.
Feb. 5th, 2006 11:17 pmA little over two years ago, my grandmother died. With the money I inherited from her, I bought a car. This seemed extravagant -- spending it when I got it -- but my old car was twelve years old, starting to need more and more maintenance, and around 130,000 miles.
Unfortunately it was the first year of the new Prius models with the roomy back end, and clever car dealers were only selling it fully loaded, since it was mostly backordered 6-8 months. I got mine in about a month, because i got lucky, but then had to decide whether to take the fully-loaded one.
If I hadn't this list would be shorter. But still. Things the Prius saved me with.
~ Going 400 miles between fill-ups when gas was over three dollars a gallon.
~ When a friend said, "I...need to get to Burbank in two hours, and I was going to take the train, but I have skis and a large duffle bag," I flipped a back seat down and all her stuff and mine fit just fine.
~ My pavillion, its ten foot poles, and all my camp gear for an event fit easily in the back.
~ Memorizing Homer's Odyssey on long drives, using the fast forward and rewind buttons on the steering wheel, is a cinch.
~ Good sound system for long drives.
~ The car did not take any significant damage from an (admittedly low-speed) rear-end collision earlier this week.
Then we get to geek uses that I wouldn't have gotten if I'd had a choice on car options, since I would not have paid for the optional GPS and bluetooth system.
~ Hands-free phone. Driving back from Pacifica I was able to call the place where my cat was boarded and say, "I'm on the freeway at X exit, I'll be there five minutes just as you close, please start getting my cat ready to go now!" Otherwise she would've had to stay another night.
~ Being able to call and say, "I'm leaving now" as I'm leaving.
~ Searching for local gas stations or the next fast food restaurant (and bathroom).
~ Driving to some place way the heck up in the hills of Santa Barbara, a few hours away, at night, on a windy road where rural street signs are hard to read or missing. I just typed in the address, the car took me there, and I could tell what turns were coming up.
~ The "find detour 5/10/15 miles" option when one gets into a traffic jam.
~ Saved destinations. "Go to Cal's house." Now I don't drive past their house trying to find it.
~ The Car Saved My Paper syndrome. Once I had left my paper on my kitchen counter, discovered it after I got to the hotel two and a half hours away. I uploaded the paper off my laptop to my website, found the nearest 24 hour kinkos, typed the address into the car, and got there around 11:30 PM. Time from discovery of near-disaster until bedtime: 40 minutes.
~ Being able to GET friend to the Burbank airport. Like I know where Burbank is!
And now, tonight, add one new one:
~ In fogwhere one can see brake lights and lane lines but not overhead street signs, the car tells you how soon to the next exit or intersection, and where to turn. There was one terrifying spot where the dashboard map also helped me double-check where my car was relative to the sides of the freeway exit ramp, when a slight change in elevation caused a sudden complete white-out for about 10 feet.
*goes to curl up*
Yipes. Naasssty fog.
Unfortunately it was the first year of the new Prius models with the roomy back end, and clever car dealers were only selling it fully loaded, since it was mostly backordered 6-8 months. I got mine in about a month, because i got lucky, but then had to decide whether to take the fully-loaded one.
If I hadn't this list would be shorter. But still. Things the Prius saved me with.
~ Going 400 miles between fill-ups when gas was over three dollars a gallon.
~ When a friend said, "I...need to get to Burbank in two hours, and I was going to take the train, but I have skis and a large duffle bag," I flipped a back seat down and all her stuff and mine fit just fine.
~ My pavillion, its ten foot poles, and all my camp gear for an event fit easily in the back.
~ Memorizing Homer's Odyssey on long drives, using the fast forward and rewind buttons on the steering wheel, is a cinch.
~ Good sound system for long drives.
~ The car did not take any significant damage from an (admittedly low-speed) rear-end collision earlier this week.
Then we get to geek uses that I wouldn't have gotten if I'd had a choice on car options, since I would not have paid for the optional GPS and bluetooth system.
~ Hands-free phone. Driving back from Pacifica I was able to call the place where my cat was boarded and say, "I'm on the freeway at X exit, I'll be there five minutes just as you close, please start getting my cat ready to go now!" Otherwise she would've had to stay another night.
~ Being able to call and say, "I'm leaving now" as I'm leaving.
~ Searching for local gas stations or the next fast food restaurant (and bathroom).
~ Driving to some place way the heck up in the hills of Santa Barbara, a few hours away, at night, on a windy road where rural street signs are hard to read or missing. I just typed in the address, the car took me there, and I could tell what turns were coming up.
~ The "find detour 5/10/15 miles" option when one gets into a traffic jam.
~ Saved destinations. "Go to Cal's house." Now I don't drive past their house trying to find it.
~ The Car Saved My Paper syndrome. Once I had left my paper on my kitchen counter, discovered it after I got to the hotel two and a half hours away. I uploaded the paper off my laptop to my website, found the nearest 24 hour kinkos, typed the address into the car, and got there around 11:30 PM. Time from discovery of near-disaster until bedtime: 40 minutes.
~ Being able to GET friend to the Burbank airport. Like I know where Burbank is!
And now, tonight, add one new one:
~ In fogwhere one can see brake lights and lane lines but not overhead street signs, the car tells you how soon to the next exit or intersection, and where to turn. There was one terrifying spot where the dashboard map also helped me double-check where my car was relative to the sides of the freeway exit ramp, when a slight change in elevation caused a sudden complete white-out for about 10 feet.
*goes to curl up*
Yipes. Naasssty fog.