Prius for Piano Tech?

[John M. Formsma]

Terry,

 

I've heard somewhere that hybrids do not get as good of mileage with mostly
highway driving, which is typically what I do. Have you noticed anything
like that, say, on a long road trip?

 

Mine is a 1999 Honda Accord with 221,000 miles. I'm hoping for 300K before I
retire it. A normal year sees anywhere from 24K to 30K miles. I have to
transport two small boys, so I need something that will comfortably seat
them along with car seats, plus carry my trunk-full of tools. I'd need to
eyeball the Prius to see if it would do all that. I generally like the idea
of reducing emissions (for human health-not sure yet about any negative
effect on the planet), but it's also a big difference in price right now
between gas-burners and hybrids. I wish we'd get off our buns and drill for
oil in Anwar or in my back yard if there's oil here. At the same time, also
develop alternative energy at a reasonable cost so we can virtually
eliminate our dependence on oil. Sounds good, don't know if it's possible.
Time will tell.

 

Other cars I'd consider looking at are the Pontiac Vibe (30/36 MPG), and the
Mazda 3 5-door (26/32 MPG). If I remember correctly, there's a Volkswagen
station wagon with a diesel engine that gets mileage in the 40's, but I'm
not so sure how stable the price of diesel is - would have to check that
first.

 

Lots of decisions, eh? ;-)

 

John Formsma

 

 

  _____  

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Farrell
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 5:06 AM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: Re: Prius for Piano Tech?

 

Hi Fenton,

 

I made the switch from a '92 Lincoln Town Car to an '06 Prius. It was fairly
painless. I'm 6-foot and fit in the Lincoln easier, but 54 mpg (since new -
4-month average) beats 17 mpg any day. I have already transported a couple
grand actions in the Prius. I don't typically carry more than four or five
boxes of tools, so I was able to simply set the actions directly on the
bottom of the trunk area with the rear seats folded down. The Prius is
actually a mid-sized car and there is quite a bit of room in there - more
than meets the eye from the outside. If you carry a mountain of tools all
the time, you might need to do some sort of other arranging - there is a
fair bit of height back there, so yes, an action could go on top of a layer
of tool boxes. My 140 lb. Great Dane fits quite easily back there.

 

I am very happy with my Prius. If you've ever enjoyed driving a stick-shift,
you will especially enjoy driving a Prius. It is fully automatic of course,
but if one is willing, there are all sorts of gas-pedal games one can play
to increase mileage significantly. Under no/low-traffic conditions, where
you can drive any speed you want, it is not difficult to coax 80 to 100 mpg
out of the little rascal! The car is FUN to drive! Our lifetime 54 mpg
average represents a combination of urban and freeway driving - mostly
during times when traffic flow dictates our speed. I can easily imagine that
if you do not play any high-fuel-efficiency games with the gas pedal and
drive with a lead foot (gotta beat that other car to the traffic light!) you
might average something closer to 45 mpg - maybe less, I don't know.

 

Folks will point out that "it will take you 15 years to recoup the
investment" in the extra cost of the Prius via fuel savings. The argument is
that the Prius costs $25K and a Corolla (or some similar non-hybrid car
costs $15K or whatever). First, I'll be getting a $3K tax rebate, so my
Prius costs $22K. Second, our other car is a '03 Saturn. We paid $18K for
the Saturn - I suppose an '06 Saturn might be more like $19K or $20K. IMHO,
the Prius is much more of a high quality car than the Saturn. It also has
more safety features like side air bags and vehicle stability control. More
car, way more MPG (Saturn only gets 25 mpg), more safety, and IMHO - as soon
as the first bomb drops on Tehran (or another Katrina or whatever) and
gasoline shoots up to $5+/gallon - a quicker-than-you-think investment
payback via fuel savings, AND way less emissions (if you have a conscience)
"89 percent fewer smog-forming emissions than the average new car, exceeding
the standards for a Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle". For me, the decision
was a no-brainer.

 

YMMV

 

Terry Farrell 

----- Original Message ----- 

The Volvo wagon has 165K and is eating too much money between gas and
maintenance. BTW, you better be charging at least as much as your mechanic.
I'm researching my next vehicle and wondering if a Toyota Prius could
actually work. Naturally, critical is the ability to transport a grand or
upright action. I would be so grateful for any techs using one to let me
know how they like it, can you fit an action in there on top of your tools?
I've looked in them and they seem pretty big, not like my Volvo wagon. But,
I am willing to scale down some and I sure could dig 45 MPG. Or, any other
vehicles that get high mileage, second choice for me right now is a Subaru
Outback, great car but more dough and only mid 20's MPG.

Fenton Murray, RPT
www.MurraysPianoTuning.com

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