Comments on: Speed bumps with wheels

By: Lisa Paul

Lisa Paul — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:05:45 +0000

It only looks that way when I don’t wear makeup.

By: fillyjonk

fillyjonk — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:06:41 +0000

Ah, so, Lisa, you’re actually a tiny, 85-year-old man?

By: Lisa Paul

Lisa Paul — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:59:19 +0000

Maybe I better get off the main roads. Fillyjonk spotted me in my other car: a vintage 1949 Ford pickup truck. Yup, if you think this nation is going nowhere fast, blame me. I’m blocking the lanes.

By: Jeffro

Jeffro — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:32:09 +0000

Io you an apology, then.

By: CGHill

CGHill — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:29:39 +0000

Someone always Mars the thread.

By: Jeffro

Jeffro — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:20:14 +0000

And am I the only person who hopes Ford will sell the Mercury marque to Roger Penske, putting Mercury and Saturn under the same ownership?

Then they could sell Vegas?

runs, ducks and hides

By: CGHill

CGHill — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:51:11 +0000

Toyota has always claimed it was a Latin verb meaning “to go before,” which is not quite accurate. “Prius” is an adjective; it’s the neuter form of “prior.” (So the definition is okay; it’s the part of speech that’s off.) They probably get a tad huffy if you refer to more than one of the Matrix hatchbacks as “Matrices,” too. (More than one Lexus is probably not “Lexi,” but it’s too late to stop that usage among wiseguys.)

Still, they once had the temerity to name a sedan “Cressida,” surely the only motor vehicle in recent memory to be given the name of a Trojan woman of arguable virtue.

And am I the only person who hopes Ford will sell the Mercury marque to Roger Penske, putting Mercury and Saturn under the same ownership?

By: fillyjonk

fillyjonk — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:37:49 +0000

1. I now see another reason for learning Latin (something I never had time for and somewhat regret): it allows one to properly form plurals (or other forms) of made-up words. (I assume “Prius” is made up?)

2. Where I live, the lane-blocker (at least on US 69/75) is usually driving a pickup truck that first saw the light of day in the Eisenhower administration. And usually one or the other of the blinkers is going, even though the driver has absolutely no plan on turning or changing lanes.

Of course, I will also say when I happen to pass some young dude driving a pickup (or pretty much any other car), he usually speeds up because there is apparently some shame in being passed by a lady driving an older-model minivan.

By: hoosierboy

hoosierboy — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:32:38 +0000

Thank you for the link, Sir.

By: Lisa Paul

Lisa Paul — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:57:47 +0000

Call me an old granny before my time, but except on the San Diego Freeway, I’ve never felt the need to go over 60-65.

By: CGHill

CGHill — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:46:33 +0000

Perhaps this explains it. From the review of the 2010 model:

[T]here’s eco mode, which reduces A/C operation and deadens throttle response until you feel as if you’re pressing the already stiff accelerator pedal about six inches for a gain of 5 mph.

I’d bet that (1) this existed on previous versions and (2) they toggled it off for testing.

By: Lisa Paul

Lisa Paul — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:36:49 +0000

All I can say is there is a big difference between ratings on paper and reality. When I’ve got my pedal to the metal on the open highway, I’m lucky to hit seventy. I think it’s one of the hidden gas-saving features: you can’t go faster than the more fuel-efficient speeds.

By: CGHill

CGHill — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 22:04:03 +0000

The previous-generation Prius, reports Car and Driver, was governed to a top speed of 104 mph. Presumably not uphill.

How long it takes to get to that speed, you don’t want to know. (Well, it was 39.6 seconds to 100, anyway.)

By: Jeffro

Jeffro — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:50:23 +0000

I’m glad we’ve got the plural of Prius settled.

By: Lisa Paul

Lisa Paul — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:36:38 +0000

Okay, as a Prius driver, I plead guilty. It’s not that we’re morons, but even those of us who love our Priora (thanks Chaz), have to admit, these little tin cans just can’t go very fast.

I fell on the floor when the news broke a few years ago that Al Gore’s son was clocked doing over 100MPH in his Prius. Clearly a set up and attempted smear. I don’t think a Prius can get over 70 MPH and certainly not going uphill.

By: McGehee

McGehee — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:12:58 +0000

Stereotypes are both easy and risky. I’ve long since learned to content myself with thinking nasty thoughts about the particular individuals doing whatever stupid thing that catches my attention, which means that when I see a driver of the same kind of vehicle doing something right (read: the way I would have done it) I don’t have to begrudge the resulting good thoughts.

Besides, with what I drive, I’m undoubtedly more often the target of nasty thoughts, earned and unearned, than not. Many things can be passed off to someone else, but not karma.