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Any Prius owners?

17K views 162 replies 48 participants last post by  rockerc 
#1 ·
Any recommendations for bike transportation? Considering a trunk rack, and may add a hitch. but probably not going roof rack route.
 
#5 ·
skinny-tire said:
Thanks for the input. I wasn't aware what one drives was dictated by sexual preference.
Your welcome, the prius is just an exception to the rule for SP. Plus I wanted to just inform you of it. My work here is done! :thumbsup:

Now I suggest you get a North shore rack! There is a Scion XA with one of those on and and it looks sweet! Maybe Turtlegirl and chime in! :p
 
#6 ·
We have a 2001 Prius and a trunk rack worked ok - the hooks were hard to fit underneath the spooked since it's so shallow.

Ended up putting a hitch on our Corolla. Got it from UHaul for under $100 and installed it myself in 10 minutes. I think it would mount on the Prius in the same way.

Much happier with the hitch rack overall.
 
#7 ·
Gutter Tech said:
We have a 2001 Prius and a trunk rack worked ok - the hooks were hard to fit underneath the spooked since it's so shallow.

Ended up putting a hitch on our Corolla. Got it from UHaul for under $100 and installed it myself in 10 minutes. I think it would mount on the Prius in the same way.

Much happier with the hitch rack overall.
I might just go that route. We have a hitchmounted rack now, but it's useless after we sold the Xterra (just before me and the Missus turned Ghey).
 
#8 ·
Truck racks eventually screw up your car, scratch the paint, dent/warp the panels/bumper, etc. They are ok as a temp solution, but hitch or roof is a real solution, and hitch racks are way WAY better than they were 10 years ago, no question for a prius IMO, hitch all the way. There's someone down the street from me that has a roof rack (and often a bike) on top of their prius. I laugh every time I see that. Like, why not just get a 4cyl pickup and put it in the bed?
 
#9 ·
#10 ·
If your in a bind....I took the fork, bars and seat post off my frame (20" 29er) and got everything in the under storage unit. Frame and wheels on top in the trunk with plenty of room for bags and supplies for our family of four for weekend away. Also got shoes and helmet in the under storage as well. Took me 15mins at the motel to put it back together but was worth being able to bring my bike.

Ive been looking at the under hitch as well for mine. Looks fairly easy to install.
 
#13 ·
Trunk racks do suck.

Hitch rack's won't kill your gas mileage and the new ones that you don't have to hang the bike from are very nice to use.

Roof rack I think is out of the question. Effectively doubling your cars wind resistance would effectively STOP your environment killing Prius.

Here's how a man saves gas. 40mpg with bikes on the roof. '01 Golf TDi 145 HP 250 TQ, 3" lift, Aluminum Skidplate, M&S Tires. 8" Ground Clearance.



 
#14 ·
pbbreath said:
Trunk racks do suck.

Hitch rack's won't kill your gas mileage and the new ones that you don't have to hang the bike from are very nice to use.

Roof rack I think is out of the question. Effectively doubling your cars wind resistance would effectively STOP your environment killing Prius.

Here's how a man saves gas. 40mpg with bikes on the roof. '01 Golf TDi 145 HP 250 TQ, 3" lift, Aluminum Skidplate, M&S Tires. 8" Ground Clearance.



To be blunt, we may use the Prius 2-3 times a year to transport the bikes. I have a roof rack on my Mazda, and it can hold two bikes.
 
#15 ·
pbbreath said:
Trunk racks do suck.

Hitch rack's won't kill your gas mileage and the new ones that you don't have to hang the bike from are very nice to use.

Roof rack I think is out of the question. Effectively doubling your cars wind resistance would effectively STOP your environment killing Prius.

Here's how a man saves gas. 40mpg with bikes on the roof. '01 Golf TDi 145 HP 250 TQ, 3" lift, Aluminum Skidplate, M&S Tires. 8" Ground Clearance.



ever read the article about how Prius do more environmental damage then hummers mile for mile? Just need some lights! Rally time
 
#19 ·
That article is '07 I'd guess...

With no regard to the environment, here's the low down on why you were stupid to buy a Prius. Yes Stupid.



Side by side Comparison of Toyota Prius vs Toyota Corolla (Don't tell me the Prius is nicer than a Corolla or you're really brainwashed)

Base Model Prius
$23,050

Base Model Corolla
$15,600

Difference: $7450

Prius expected lifespan: 100,000 Miles
(Battery replacement is expected to be 100,000 miles and cost more than the car will be worth at that point)

Corolla Expected Lifespan: 200,000 Miles
(Lets be honest I've seen many Corollas with over 300,000 miles I'm just doing 200,000 miles to be nice)

Prius Combined MPG 45
Corolla Combined MPG 30


Assuming $4.00 per gallon fuel, you have to drive the Prius 55,185 miles to just break even with the cost of the Corolla.
(We'll leave out maintenance costs even though the Prius would be much higher it's hard to find that data)

Purchase Price + Fuel only for the life of a Prius $31,950
Purshase Price + Fuel only for the life of a Corolla $42,600

Sounds good until you consider the Corolla is going 200,000 miles vs 100,000 miles on the Prius.

Cost Per mile in a lifetime

Prius: $0.3195
Corolla: $0.213

Yep you're losing $1 ever 10 miles you drive because you bought the trendy one. Glad your wife talked you into it now?
 
#20 ·
pbbreath said:
That article is '07 I'd guess...

With no regard to the environment, here's the low down on why you were stupid to buy a Prius. Yes Stupid.

Side by side Comparison of Toyota Prius vs Toyota Corolla (Don't tell me the Prius is nicer than a Corolla or you're really brainwashed)

Base Model Prius
$23,050

Base Model Corolla
$15,600

Difference: $7450

Prius expected lifespan: 100,000 Miles
(Battery replacement is expected to be 100,000 miles and cost more than the car will be worth at that point)

Corolla Expected Lifespan: 200,000 Miles
(Lets be honest I've seen many Corollas with over 300,000 miles I'm just doing 200,000 miles to be nice)

Prius Combined MPG 45
Corolla Combined MPG 30

Assuming $4.00 per gallon fuel, you have to drive the Prius 55,185 miles to just break even with the cost of the Corolla.
(We'll leave out maintenance costs even though the Prius would be much higher it's hard to find that data)

Purchase Price + Fuel only for the life of a Prius $31,950
Purshase Price + Fuel only for the life of a Corolla $42,600

Sounds good until you consider the Corolla is going 200,000 miles vs 100,000 miles on the Prius.

Cost Per mile in a lifetime

Prius: $0.3195
Corolla: $0.213

Yep you're losing $1 ever 10 miles you drive because you bought the trendy one. Glad your wife talked you into it now?
Wait a minute, earlier you wrote "ever read the article about how Prius do more environmental damage then hummers mile for mile?"

Now, you say "With no regard to the environment, here's the low down on why you were stupid to buy a Prius. Yes Stupid."

Where is the article showing that the Prius does more damage to the enviroment than a Hummer? And how can you start off this post with "With no regard to the environment." Without any claims to know this for a fact, my assumption is that a large percentage of those who buy Prisus do so for environmental reasons, not money saving reasons.

That said, I'm bored, so I'll comment on this post:

We (well, she, it's her car) bought the car to make a statement, not because we were conned into thinking we'd be saving money. While in the long run, we're more than likely going to spend more per mile. But we're also telling car companies that they need to look at alternative options. I'm not sure what's "stupid" about that.

(BTW, what's the difference at $5 a gallon?)
 
#22 ·
Cycle64 said:
Google "National Center for Policy Analysis." AT first glance, article 2 is using a lot of what is stated in the first article, and I'd venture to say many othese these other articles out there do the same.

Like I said, I'm sure they have an agenda.

P.S. Both those articles are 4 years old.

(I never understood why some are just so damn reluctant to admit that there is a positive to alternative fuel vehicles.)
 
#23 ·
Well I wasn't the one who posted about the Hummer article at all. I mentioned it was from '07 just to state that it's old and I have no interest in it.


You bought a Prius to make a "Statement" you are definitely the target audience!
Do you ride a neon green and pink fixie with no brakes around town in your skinny jeans with a messenger bag too?

It's VERY common knowledge that keeping a car on the road is more environmentally friendly than producing a new one. That's why they put the ax to cash for clunkers so fast as the economic benefits didn't outweigh the environmental detriment.

So how is producing a car every 100,000 miles (Not to mention the Prius battery is Nickel one of the most toxic metals to mine and refine) better than producing a cheaper car every 200,000 miles?

Next time you decide to make a statement pull your head out first.
 
#24 ·
skinny-tire said:
Google "National Center for Policy Analysis." AT first glance, article 2 is using a lot of what is stated in the first article, and I'd venture to say many othese these other articles out there do the same.

Like I said, I'm sure they have an agenda.

P.S. Both those articles are 4 years old.

(I never understood why some are just so damn reluctant to admit that there is a positive to alternative fuel vehicles.)
I have nothing against them at all. Just think they get more hype than they deserve. Just between us, what will happen to the battery packs when they die. How much to neutralize the acid?

Personally I think they can make better cars in general, gas, hybrid & electric.
 
#25 ·
VW Polo TDi
Polo's have been in production since 1975 and are still saving the environment and $$$.
I guess I should give up the tried and true methods of saving tons of money and fuel for the future of alternative vehicle technology.

70-90 MPG City/Hwy



vs you...the SMUG producer.

 
#26 ·
pbbreath said:
Next time you decide to make a statement pull your head out first.
Why should I start now?

I LOVE your comment about the fixie and messenger bag. Pretty obvious you're set in your ways.

Fine, keep being a follower. I guess we can all sit back and let technology stall.

Where did you get your facts that Prius expected lifetime is 100,000 miles?
 
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