My Uncle was up to my parent's house for Christmas. He was driving a Prius, the gas/electric Toyota. He was bragging about how the car got 45 mpg on the trip from Virginia to Maine. He's kind of anal, he's always right and you're always wrong so I didn't bother telling him that my buddy Rick gets 53 mpg in his diesel Jetta.
Anyway, I needed to move his car so I could show my Dad how to put the snow plow on the truck. So I ask my Uncle, "Hey, you got the keys to your car?" He says, "Yes." and then there is an awkward silence while I'm waiting. Finally I say, "Well, can I have them? I need to move your car." He says, "No." I'm like, "OK, then can you move your car?" He says, "Yes." He says, "It's not that I don't trust you, I just don't know how much experience you have with the hybrids." I'm like, "OK, fine. I just need the car moved."
I didn't say it but I couldn't help but thinking here I am, I've been driving for 30 years, I've got a degree in Automotive Technology and used to work as an Automotive Service Technician, I currently drive a Ferrari, I've raced Carts and Ocean Yachts and the Governments of 4 different Nations trust me to pilot any ship anywhere in the world. Yet for some reason my Dad's brother doesn't trust me to move an electric Toyota 40 feet. Does he think it's going to get away from me? I test drove a Prius at the Toyota dealer and I know the car has the same brake pedal as the "non-hybrid" Toyota. Like I said, he can be anal.
At the time I test drove the Prius I was just looking for a car for my wife that was good on gas. I liked the Prius just fine. The reason I steered clear of it was when the dealer told me the batteries would need to be changed after 6 years to the tune of around $5,000. The dealer said, "But as battery technology improves the price will come down." I said, "Doesn't matter, I can tell you right now how much this car will be worth in 5 1/2 years."