Prius gets no respect....no respect at all

Judge: "Bailiff, please call the next case."

Bailiff: "People v Al Gore III, a contested traffic citation."

Judge: "What? Did I hear you right? Some moron's gonig to contest a traffic ticket?"

Bailiff: "Yes, your Honor."

Judge: "Are the defendant and his attorney here?"

Defense Counsel: "We are, your Honor. Steve Dewey of Dewey, Cheatham and Howe, representing Al Gore III."

Judge: "Mr. Assistant District Attorney, what's the charge?"

ADA: "The defendent was pulled over for speeding, 100mph in a 65 zone."

Defense Counsel (interrupting): "In a Prius."

Judge (to the ADA): "Is that right? In a Prius?"

ADA: "Yes, your Honor. It says here..."

Judge (interrupting): "Case dismissed. I have never heard anything more ridiculous in my life. I drove 35 miles yesterday behind one of those pansy things and it took me an extra 15 minutes to get where I was going. I don't believe the car will do it and I don't believe anybody who would ever want to go 100mph would buy one. Mr. Assisstant District Attorney, don't bring me any more crap like this and tell the Sherriff's office to recalibrate all their radar guns." ... And, without any probable cause, the search and seizure will be inadmissable and the drug charge will get kicked, too.

Of COURSE it'll hit 100! Probably more!

But since most Prius owners are under the impression they'll get better economy dreeping (um, they won't...) then the cars rarely see any speed over 25...

If you're suggesting the Prius fuel economy does not fall off as it is driven faster, you're wrong. It has a very low Cx but its Cx is non-zero, so fuel economy degrades as the speed increases. Fuel economy on the highway is drag-limited.

"DH" "Wickeddoll®" ...

ROFL

Natalie

Right now, on KCMP, 89.3 (a Public Radio station in the Twin Cities), as part of the afternoon news, they're broadcasting a story on Al Gore III's arrest ("underscores nation's growing problem with prescription drugs") and, after a moment or two of mocking what's in the Gore's medicine cabinet ("marijuana's a prescription drug in the Gore household?"), the DJ, Mary Lucia, is interrupting the reporter to say, "you've missed the big part of the story: he was doing 100mph in a PRIUS! Did anybody think these things could do 100mph?" To which the news reporter is saying, "No!" and then "must have had a strong tailwind..."

No respect... even on Public Radio...

Well, hey... the stupidily on Al III's part may create a silver lining for the Prius, then. ;-)

Cathy

That was a stupid way to spell "stupidity"!

Cathy

on Al III's part may create a silver lining for

Too bad Rush Limbaugh should have had a prius, LOL.

Not to worry, big Al's son will get off with treatment and probation. Actually I hope he does. The guy does not deserve time in jail, although going at 100 mph is endangering other innocent people and that is troubling. He does need to get his life together and set out on his own, void of drugs.

Actually, I feel for Al III.

Can you imagine being the son of that twit....Al Bore?

I am somewhat miffed at Al's lack of understanding with his son. Surely he must have known of the problems he has.

"DH" ...

LOL I can't believe she said the same things people said here! Too funny.

Natalie

I'd like to see everybody who commits a crime salvaged, if at all possible. Not just the rich white guys.

He's been through rehab and other alternative sentencing already. He might not get so lucky. However, his Dad has connections and they've got the means for a good lawyer.

Even if you want your kid to pay a price if he screws up, I don't think anybody really wants to see their kid in prison. The local jail for a weekend or two, maybe. Prison, no.

But the US prius is set for Power rather than Economy, so the gas engine kicks in a lot more.

And that engine runs particularly well ~70 MPH on the highway, or 50 MPH on two lanes.

Is there a way to set it for economy rather than (or vice versa)?

jeff

A little while back I posted my mileage numbers at various MPH up to 90 MPH when we took that trip to VA from NJ. It does indeed drop off at the higher speeds, confirmed. Tomes

"Wickeddoll®" ...

I have had my Prius up to 90 once and then backed off after a bit. It did have the reserve power to go faster. I am not sure that it did have the stability though. I had to explain to my new driver son: 'just because the speedometer goes up to 120 does not mean that the car goes that fast.'

I do like DH's statement that the case might get tossed due to probable cause for the stop - Speeding at 100 in a Prius. Tomes

"Jeff" ...

I would like to see this as well, as from my usage I believe that I would want it to use the electric motor moreso. It just turns on the gas engine a bit more that I believe it needs to. I have heard somewhere that one can hack into the programming, and invalidate the warranty in the process. Tomes

Both my Mazda and my Corolla GTS have 150 MPH speedos. I had the GTS up to 128 once, the front end felt 'light' and there wasn't a lot more to go. Is was pretty much topping out. I maybe had 3-4 more MPH left in it. I wasn't near the redline, though.

The Mazda? NO WAY!!! I think it'd have been lucky to see 118...

There is a web page out there when an Electrical Engineer hacked the Prius with a Libretto and changed the programming.

Of course, you void the warranty. Perhaps your dealer can access the economy mode. BTW, the economy mode is standard for most of the rest of the world...