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Prius Envy, part 2: Yearning for the features of the 3rd-generation Prius
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Open Says Me
(continued from Prius Envy, part 1)
David, a 2nd-generation Prius owner, confesses to Dr. Gasol his desire for the new 2010 Prius, unable to put his finger on the feature that is driving his heart-engine into the red...
Bladder Control
"So you are focused on appearances?" Dr. Gasol wondered, his disheveled bookshelves clear evidence of his thoughts on the matter. "Maybe you should look inside, and think about your bladder."
I knew he wasn't talking about some infantile wish to wet the bed. He was talking about my 2008 Prius' gas tank. It has a synthetic bladder that contracts as fuel is used to prevent vapors from building up in the tank, which reduces hydrocarbon emissions. Problem is, this bladder tank also shrinks when it gets cold, often holding much less than its full 11.9 gallons. The 2010, on the other hand, got rid of the bladder in favor of a tank that is best described as "STIFF".
I was beginning to get the feeling that Toyota's engineers were closet psychoanalysts. And they were giggling.
Sky Blue Sky
Still, that wasn't it. Talk of shrunken bladders wouldn't crack this nut. The improved fuel efficiency wasn't the MPG-spot for me, either. I was feeling compressed now. The popcorn on the ceiling seemed to lower down and scratch my head. Oxygen had left the room; I felt like I would black out. I knew there was something else that lured me. It was something I sensed that day, on Wilshire boulevard: I had actually spoken to the driver. In the awkward moment between recognition and acceleration, I yelled out "Want to trade?" Through his open sunroof, I heard him laugh derisively.
Wait...through his sunroof...right. It has a sunroof! And a solar panel that powers a fan to keep the car cool when it's parked in the sun. Yes! It was as if the sky opened above me and light came pouring in. What made this next generation Prius so desirable to me was elemental: It paired open air with the open road; turned solar fire into solar wind. All while doing its part for mother earth. It was elegant -- if not in its appearance, in its concept.
THAT was what I yearned for. Now, should I trade up, or lean my head out the window and be satisfied?
For more info:
See this NY Times video blog with a less heady analysis of the old and the new Prii. It soothes me. Sort of:
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