I recently visited a friend in San Francisco where I noticed that every other person is 
driving a Toyota Prius, including my friend who recently bought a new Prius himself and is really proud of it. I was sucked into the culture and almost tempted to buy a “red” Prius myself after hearing all the good things about it.
The biggest and the foremost benefit of Prius is that it gets an average of 45 or even more miles per gallon. With the ever-increasing gas prices, this could be a huge benefit for anyone. Through the strong marketing campaign i.e. it burns only one gallon in 45 miles, Prius has conveyed a very strong message that has let people think that driving their car is GOOD for the environment.
It seems to be a pretty sweet deal for a consumer. You get a great car with great looks, high mileage, tax credits and it makes a statement that you care about the environment! And did u know that in a Prius, you can drive in the carpool lane alone…
As I mentioned earlier, being influenced by the west coast culture I also wanted to get a Prius, but as soon as I came back to New York –I forgot all about it. So, the thing that surprises me that when there are educated and environment friendly people here in the east coast, why is there so much difference in the consumer behavior? Why don’t we see as many Prius’s on the streets here?
Maybe because, rightly stereotyped East coast stereotypes are status conscious, flashy and uptight, they talk and walk fast, engrossed in their own worlds and show off a lot more as compared to West coasters who are more flakey, casual, peaceful and, “maybe”, healthier. I guess, that’s one of the reasons that they would care less and buy fancier cars like a BMW or a Merc as compared to a Prius. That’s my experience… What yours??
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