by "Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
Published 12/24/2017 at 17:38
by "Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
Published 12/24/2017 at 17:38
Tags: SHE WANTS TO SLEEP IN THE CITY THAT NEVER WAKES UP.
STARS: 1
IT IS A COMMON SAYING that we are what we eat, but really aren’t we reflected on everything we own? Lets talk about the owner of this particular one, Maria.
*:fake name.
I’ve known Maria my entire life, and I am convinced this car reflects her rather well : In the land of vast highways, she walks, in the shadow of the Cabrito, she is vegetarian. in company of pickups and large, gas-guzzling sedans she drives a Prius. She belongs to a counter culture that hasn’t really developed here, one just new to Mexico City even, one that cannot be accepted in Monterrey, let alone San Pedro. An aching for change, to accept other things, and to dare be different.
In many ways, the Prius is the perfect stallion to represent her, its a car that is unapologetic about its purpose: to be efficient. Its a car that even when pushed down Gomez Morin did not even dare to break the fancy number, the 5.7l/100km average consumption, despite being challenged by a taxi driver trying to overtake in the slow lane. Its not a fast car, its suspension is quite plushy even and the tires can spin easily in this low grade material they dared call asphalt (seriously the streets here feel like driving on snow), not because of power, but because of the hard material they use to evade rolling resistance.
Its a daily car and she likes it, but she doesn’t love it, it is covered in pristine dust since she can’t bother washing it often, and the cabin is filled with her dog’s treats. She proudly wears the “EXENTO” tags on her car, and doesn’t care if you don’t like the radio station because she likes it just dandy.
Much like her I feel like this car knows that one’s purpose cannot only be oneself: One has to be dynamic and has to take care of other things; It’s what I like about this car I felt that it wasn’t obsessed with itself and came to the task of driving with a pragmatic manner that I respected. In a way it was a detoxication from driving my jeep, what with its many quirks and reminders that yes: you’re driving a Jeep.
I liked it, but I had a question about the whole arrangement:
If Maria aches to be different, well, why doesn’t she leave?
If Prius aches to be efficient, why isn’t it only electric?
Think about it, she would be happy in Mexico City, in fact, her car was registered there, she was meant to study college in Mexico City with the counter culture, with the developing idea of environmentalism and liberalism that one cannot realistically associate with a city like Monterrey. But then I remember why the Prius didn’t change into full electric and I realized that not everything needs to be absolutely changed, Monterrey might be conservative but people here are very nice and accepting, and it feels like home to her...
She likes Monterrey and for that I can’t fault her.
"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
12/24/2017 at 18:11, STARS: 3
A friend’s mom owns a Prius. She’s a Trump supporting conspiracy theorist who thinks Muslims are trying to take over the United States and institute Sharia Law...
I know some hardcore environmentalists as well and none of them own Prii. I don’t think they’d consider themselves liberals either.
I think most people buy Prii for the fuel savings and access to the HOV lane during rush hour.
"ranwhenparked" (ranwhenparked)
12/24/2017 at 18:17, STARS: 1
Today, that’s probably true. When the Prius first came out, and hybrids were still kind of a novelty, they were most certainly purchased disproportionately by the granola munching, sandal wearing, long hairs; but they’ve become more mainstream with each succeeding generation.
The fact that the first generation was a flimsy, Echo-like econobox helped, too, the “hairshirt” image they projected showed how much the owner was willing to sacrifice for their beliefs, the latest cars are much more livable day to day for people that want to drive a car and not a rolling environmental statement.
"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
12/24/2017 at 18:30, STARS: 0
I think its a different culture, you see crazy talk here in Mexico os different than in the US... What I meant with the article is that with that money anyone else would’ve bought a different car and she bought it because she searched for efficiency and perhaps not showing off!
"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
12/24/2017 at 18:35, STARS: 0
This gen prius is the first mass market hybrid here really (massively bought at least)
"bhtooefr" (bhtooefr)
12/24/2017 at 19:13, STARS: 2
One thing that affects things, as well, is that the Prius is no longer the environmentalists’ choice (unless you do only short trips, then the Prius Prime can work).
Not only that, but a lot of people moved to the Prius from much higher-end cars, and now they can have their luxury (well, more than a Prius anyway) while still being able to claim a reduction in impact, with the Model S and X.
"Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)" (bman76-4)
12/24/2017 at 20:47, STARS: 1
For most people the Prius is the ideal car. I’d rather see roads full of prii than roads full of single occupant F-150 crew cabs.
"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
12/24/2017 at 20:52, STARS: 0
Teslas aren’t for enviromentalists, Teslas are for people that are curious what it would feel like driving an electric car but also have a mercedes in their garage
"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
12/24/2017 at 20:52, STARS: 1
I would too. The simple thing is that driving an SUV or a truck as a daily driver in a city is antisocial.
I do it and I hate doing it..
"bhtooefr" (bhtooefr)
12/24/2017 at 21:02, STARS: 0
You’ve definitely got that market, but you do have the market that had a Mercedes in their garage in the 1990s and early 2000s, bought a Prius because they watched An Inconvenient Truth in the mid to late 2000s, and then traded it in on a Model S.
"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
12/24/2017 at 21:32, STARS: 0
I think most tesla owners in Mexico at least have them as toys
They drive them on the weekends and nearby their houses because they feel threatened by criminals, and they are. If you can afford to drop millions of pesos into a car odds are you have a bulletproof car as your daily driver.
"bhtooefr" (bhtooefr)
12/24/2017 at 21:48, STARS: 0
Ah, good point - I was thinking of how Tesla demographics are in the US, not Mexico.
"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
12/24/2017 at 21:57, STARS: 0
I suppose so, you see I think that demographics are fascinating in the US because someone that might afford a Tesla in the US wouldn’t be able to afford it in Mexico, someone that can drop 1.5m on a tesla but not 5m on their cars would probably buy a Honda CRV or a maybe a bmw 3 series and be conscious of where they live. Yet, people are richer in the us overall. It’s amazing how many things are involved!
Likewise, we don’t drive many highway miles, most cars are used daily but for a few kilometres inside the cities, such that you can see I have a seven year old jeep with about 64,000 kilometres.
"dogisbadob" (dogisbadob)
12/24/2017 at 22:59, STARS: 1
The Prius is a quality car with low ownership costs, but there are less expensive, more economical cars down there than we can get up here
And I love that old Nissan crew cab photobombing the Prius in the first pic :p
"Cmac" (toyturbodiesel)
12/24/2017 at 23:17, STARS: 1
I have two vehicles 2008 Tundra, 2010 Prius, both have over 150,000 miles, neither cause any self loathing. Both do get me to where I need to be and back. Always. The won’t save, or destroy the Earth, they both save me money. Winning!!