Car Love

 I love my Prius V. If you'll remember, I traded my 12 year old Hybrid Toyota Camry in on a 12 year old Hybrid Prius V in June of last year.

My Pearl

It's been a great car so far. I have loved the Prius since the first US model hit the dealerships. I had the very first one that came to our area. It was sent to the dealership to be a display car. It was the most beautiful shade of green, and the body style was just like the Echo's. A small economy car. I ordered a red one after going down to look at the display car. It was supposed to come in three months. However, Toyota couldn't keep up with the demand, so my order was seriously going to be delayed. The owner of our local dealership called the home office and got permission for me to have the display car. 

Technically, I got to lease it for 2 years. No one could actually buy one that first year. It was in testing phase. During the year, they called me regularly to ask questions about performance, and it got treated like a queen. Every time it needed maintenance, the repair guys at Toyota would fight over who came to get it. I don't think I actually drove it to the dealership for oil changes and stuff more than twice. The warranty was amazing. I didn't pay for a single repair, oil change, tire rotation, or anything else. I got amazing gas mileage on the thing. Well above 50 mpg most of the time.

I only had one problem with it. I was tootling around in Coeur d'Alene and suddenly the engine just quit. I managed to coast off the road and into the parking lot of a store. I borrowed their phone and called Toyota. They came immediately to get me and the car. There was a problem with the onboard computer. They quickly fixed it and sent me on my way.

Owning it also brought something weird into my life. People would ask me to pull over, or followed me to my destination, so they could ask me questions about it. The very first question was always "Where do you plug it in?" I didn't. It recharged itself while driving. I had my shop at the time and countless people would come in and ask me questions when it was parked in the parking lot. I actually created a FAQ and taped it to one of the windows in the car. 

I was very sad when I had to give it back at the end of two years. Of course, I ordered a new one. It was supposed to be red. Sigh. Again, The factory couldn't keep up. They sent a silver one to the dealership and said it would be months before they got to red paint again. Would I accept the silver? I did. Damn, that was a fine car. I miss her.

The V is larger than the average Prius. It's officially classified as a station wagon, and that has been handy. The cargo space is pretty large. It's averaging about 36-40 mpg.

One of the few things that has bothered me about Pearl (my Prius) is the headlights were in bad shape. They were very foggy and yellow. Plastic does that if it sits out in the sun for year after year, and I don't think Pearl got much garage shelter in the last few years of her life. I got a kit for restoring headlights and used it today. I'm quite happy with the results.

I got the Turtle Wax Speed Headlight Restorer Kit from Amazon and used it today. I'm impressed how easy it was to use, and it actually works!

In the below picture you can see the difference. The top one is before. It was very yellow too, which doesn't show in the picture. The bottom one is after. It's not quite as good as new, but considering how bad they were, I'm happy. I spent about an hour and a half working on it. 

It's a boiling hot day today, and the garage was nice and cool, so it was a pleasure to work on them. One of the lights needed more work than the other. Wasn't stressful work. Just gently polishing and sanding. I want to do one more polishing, but I need to wait 24 hours for the Acrylic coating to cure, which takes 24 hours. I wonder how long it will last? I guess I'll find out.

You know, I'm actually thinking about getting some car wax and waxing Pearl. I waxed my first Prius once and hurt so much the next day... My arms were sore for a week! This car is probably twice as big. I need to get that idea out of my head!

Live long and prosper. \\//