<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=windows-1256"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2873" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV>Hi Fenton,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>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.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>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.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>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.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>YMMV</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Terry Farrell </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>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.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Fenton Murray, RPT<BR><A href="http://www.MurraysPianoTuning.com">www.MurraysPianoTuning.com</A></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>