[ucantcme]

Originally Posted by comPuTer

Even though we have both my Cruiser and her Prius, I am not disappointed in the mpg I am getting on the Cruiser. For my mix of highway/city I am consistently getting 24 mpg. Considering the poor aerodynamics and weight of the PT that's not bad at all.

In fact, driving the Prius has affected the way I drive the Cruiser. The folks at Toyota told us we when we purchased it we would have to re-learn somewhat how to drive if we wanted to get the best possible mpg. Most of us pick up bad driving habits over the years that translate into many lost mpg. Things like slow but steady acceleration from a dead stop, coasting to an upcoming stop whenever possible, planning your route as much as is reasonably possible to avoid stops and/or left turns, etc.

The gas engine in the Prius won't kick in under 35 mph unless the computer detects that you need additional power for acceleration, the A/C, or other needs. It has become a challenge (even a game of sort) to see how little you can cause the gas engine to kick in when under 35 mph. This has affected the way I drive the Cruiser and I am sure it has bought me 1-2 mpg.

The amazing thing is that there is a company in CA that has perfected a mod to the Prius where they are consistently getting 100+ mpg! They have quite a few cars on the road for almost a year now. They added another large lithium (I think) battery so that you are running on pure electric under 35 mpg. The additional battery is charged by hooking up to any available 120 wall socket. Because it is still so new, the custom mod costs about $7k but Toyota is looking closely at it. If they put their blessing on it and add it to their mass production, it will severly lower the price of the mod.

<soapbox>
So, the answer to the question "are we dumb..." is NO. There are lots of folks in this country that are serious about weaning us from dependence on fossil fuels. I hold the large oil companies responsible for why the country is so far behind in this respect. They have overtly (and covertly) sabotaged efforts in the past to protect their mind-boggling profits. Their day, hopefully, is coming to an end soon.
</soapbox>

I'm curious - How many miles do you get on one gas fill up? Do you plug your car into an outlet at night sorta thing...or what?