Or, should I say — who would want to drive a Prius? These cars suck unbelievably. Here’s the situation:
My 1999 Alero is deteriorating. I busted the power steering about 2 years ago but couldn’t afford to get it fixed. Recently, the shock (or something like it) broke on the passenger side, front. The guys who fixed that somehow made my power steering worse, so now the car is practically un-drivable. Plus, the muffler system has rusted out, and is now hanging on by a hanger (literally) — thanks Michigan weather. After a lot of back-and-fourth with my parents, we came to the decision that I need a new car, but I should rent something in the meantime.
I called Enterprise, and rented the cheapest thing they offered: an economy car. My friend Cecilia came with me (she actually was really great and woke up at the crack of 8 AM to take me to the rental place) and we joked about a little red Prius sitting in the parking lot. I knew that somehow, even though there was a perfectly good looking Colbalt sitting next to it, I would end up with the Toyota.
The Enterprise employee, Tom, showed me how to start the car…and that was pretty much it. As soon as I put in the key, and pushed the button, I realized that Prius’ suck! The thing beeps if you don’t have on your seatbelt, it beeps when you put it in reverse, it beeps if the bright lights are on. Aside from those annoyances, when I drove it around, the engine was louder than the 1993 Cavalier that I had (Gossamer — he was a beast!). It also didn’t help that it took me 5 minutes to figure out how to make the air conditioning shut off, the radio stations were weird, and the heat smelled like poots.
Plus, the rear windshield was split in two – very annoying.
All in all, I really hated the car. I returned it immediately and searched all of the Enterprises in the area for an Economy-size General Motors car, and I ended up with a Chevy Colbalt. Thank the Lord for William C. Durant, and all of his great acquisitions.
The Colbalt handles like a dream! Even though it’s only 4-cylinders, it picks up faster than a Monte Carlo, and drives pretty smoothly too. I have to admit, the car is basic. It doesn’t have power doors or windows — just one key. It does, however, have a cd player, which is more than I can say about my Alero. I feel pretty cool driving it, and ecstatic that I can make sharp turns, and effortless parking moves. I imagine that in 5-7 years, when I can afford to buy a brand spanking new car, this is how I’ll feel.
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