Posted by Greg Burns on September 21, 2000 at 13:39:16:In Reply to: Toyota Prius Update posted by Kevin Matthews on November 05, 1999 at 10:30:24:
Just took delivery of the first "Prius" sold in Fairfield County (and possibly the entire state of Connecticut) last night. Although there was a 3-4 month wait to order one, I was able to get on a waiting list to purchase the "rental"/"demo" (with only 240 miles on the odometer). It could NOT be sold per Toyota until the 60-day trial period was over, and during that time, the dealer could NOT accept any deposits. Yesterday was THE day, and there were 10 other people in line behind me hoping I might change my mind or secretly wishing that my loan would not be approved. (Prius Envy?) ;-D
The car is GREAT! Amazingly quiet, roomy, and peppy to drive. In fact, it rides like a MUCH heavier car. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the gas mileage actually CLIMB to 43.0 mpg during my twenty mile, hour-and-a-half, bumper-to-bumper I-95 rush hour commute this morning! The "Aqua Ice" color (the one I WANTED!) is spectacular in the sun! (Ironically, NOBODY, except for a few savvy car enthusiasts, have really noticed it...YET. Perhaps that's because the Honda "Insight" has funkier styling?).
My ONLY complaints involve the financial aspect of its purchase: the $20,450.00 price jumped to over $25,000.00 after "mark-ups", add-ons, taxes, etc., but I guess that was to be expected. (Heck, look at the Miata, Viper, Prowler, Beetle, PT Cruiser, and 2002 T-Bird!) Speaking of taxes, the State of Connecticut recently introduced a bill making any "High Mileage" cars, which achieve "over 50 mpg HIGHWAY", EXEMPT from sales tax! WOW! Unfortunately, while the "Insight" is exempt, with its 61 mpg CITY / 70 mpg HIGHWAY EPA rating, the "Prius", with its 52 mpg CITY / 45 mpg HIGHWAY EPA rating is NOT! If ONLY they had left out the word "highway", I would've saved over $1,500.00 in state sales tax! >:-/ Considering the "Prius" holds 3 MORE passengers and is LESS polluting, I feel this is entirely unfair! I plan on contacting as many state Congressmen, Senators, legislators, and representatives, to see if the wording of this bill can be amended to help other future "Prius" buyers.
You will be happy to know, however, that the Federal Government has issued a special tax form which allows a one-time income tax deduction of $4,000.00 for those purchasing an electric OR hybrid vehicle.
Hey, folks, sorry for rambling, but I just wanted to share my newfound excitement! If you're seriously thinking about buying a "Prius", it's DEFINITELY well worth the wait! TRUST me!