\For that matter, some of them just like the styling,\
That’s just so damned difficult for me to believe, in the case of the Prius. I look and look, and can find absolutely nothing to like, apart from the gas mileage.
If I have another small business, I’ll look more closely at fuel mileage, though overall cost of use is what matters most to me. I believe that the numbers favor other vehicles, currently.
As it stands, we moved a few miles from work, not 50+ miles like certain hybrid drivers I know… So we don’t have to waste our money on new cars frequently, or on the latest butt-ugly-but-high-mileage car marketed at us. I have a Jeep, because in terms of overall cost, the lousy gas mileage hardly matters, if one doesn’t have a business (legitimate reason) or choose to live in some far-flung suburb. I actually LIKE the Jeep, so it probably does reflect something of my personality (I’ve also carried and used a Victorinox daily since I was a teen). However, if I ever bought a Prius, it would reflect one thing: I have another business that requires a lot of driving. And I’d do my best to keep the Jeep around.
Our other car is an old Subaru AWD wagon, set up to carry the dogs and various other stuff. It’s comfortable and goes anywhere, including in the sand at the beach. It reflects – if indirectly – a lot of my wife’s personality, though I suspect she’d want her 2-seater back — in addition to a wagon — if we move out of the city and having multiple vehicles becomes more convenient.
This much I will say: if I ever do get something as god-awful as a Prius, because I need it for practical reasons, I might just cover the butt end with stickers like the smarmy liberals who drive the things around where I live. They’ll just say different things (e.g., Save a Deer, Shoot an Anti-Hunter; Nuke the Gay Unborn Whales for Jesus; Guns Kill People like Spoons Made Rosie O’Donnell Fat). The only problem is this: the “progressives” where I live are the sort of scum who will vandalize cars. I would never worry about the local conservatives doing that, no matter what they thought of my politics.
