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Owner takes Prius topless, makes hybrid convertible
Click above for a gallery of the Prius Convertible.
Some modifications improve the breed; others are just plain stupid. We'll let you decide on this one. A forum member at PriusChat by the name of Exproducer spent six months and over $17,000 modifying his Waveline Blue Prius to get the open-air experience that was obviously lacking from his life. The amount of mods necessary to remove the roof and install the electrically operated soft top are staggering. The side airbags had to be nixed and the rear seats no longer fold down. The antenna had to be removed and relocated to the dashboard, and the trunk has lost half of its usable space with the top folded down. However, what's even more disturbing is Exproducer's claim that while fuel economy has dropped by two MPG with the top up, it's actually improved by four MPG when he's cruising with the wind in his hair. Since Toyota spent millions of dollars on wind tunnel testing the Prius to make it slippery as snot, we somehow doubt the validity of those figures. Regardless, head on over to PriusChat if you want to read up on all the details of the build.
Thanks for the tip, Danny!
Gallery: Toyota Prius Convertible
[Source: PriusChat]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Gregg 3:05PM (5/01/2008)
So someone has succeeded in making the Prius even uglier. And the door frames negate a lot of both the convertible experience and look. To each his or her own, but please keep it out of my yard.
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Pluton 3:15PM (5/01/2008)
Beauty is in the Price of Gasoline...
Gregg 3:37PM (5/01/2008)
Touche
tankd0g 3:43PM (5/01/2008)
Bet it gets Matrix milage now.
Mike 4:13PM (5/01/2008)
i've been wondering why people buy these if the honda civic hybrid gets better crash scores and looks 100x better....
biggins 3:06PM (5/01/2008)
the smug emanating from that prius just made me throw up. a lot.
what a moron. go move to san francisco.
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SPG 6:07PM (5/01/2008)
Smug alert!
Yes, I love South Park too.
Torrent 3:06PM (5/01/2008)
Doesn't look too bad. But does it still have that 110+ hp engine? What wind can you feel with an engine like that?
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IK47 3:41PM (5/01/2008)
I just drove a Prius this morning
the motor is powerful enough for an AtoB car.
btw, this is coming from a 335i driver
Torrent 3:45PM (5/01/2008)
hmmmmmm interesting....
WHAT WIND CAN YOU FEEL COMING FROM AN ENGINE LIKE THAT?
It's simply not powerful enough.
Disgruntled Goat 4:17PM (5/01/2008)
Back in my day a 1989 Honda Accord only made 98 horsepower and I don't remember anyone complainin'. Contrary to popular opinion, it doesn't take 400hp to hit 100mph+.
WestSiderRider 3:07PM (5/01/2008)
I think this is pretty cool. This guy had a dream for his car and made it a reality. Get yours Exproducer.
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John Johnson 3:07PM (5/01/2008)
Who buys a Prius and has $17,000 extra to blow on anything?
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MKIV 3:10PM (5/01/2008)
Many Prious owners do have the 17k to blow on it. It's not a poor man's car.
Dude 3:13PM (5/01/2008)
"Who buys a Prius and has $17,000 extra to blow on anything?"
The guy who just owns the Prius to show that he cares more about the environment than you do.
WestSiderRider 3:36PM (5/01/2008)
Many rich people buy Prius. HOWEVER, it's not like they are unaffordable for most people. If these dumbasses who keep insinuating that you must be rich and smug to buy a Prius would take a second to do some research, they would see that a Prius starts at $21k. If you factor in money a Prius owner saves at the pump, it really doesn't sound like a person has too be rich by any stretch of the imagination to get a Prius.
John Johnson 3:51PM (5/01/2008)
What I wanted to imply was that I think of a Prius driver as buying a Prius to save gas. Seems silly to spend $17k extra on a vehicle that you bought to save gas.
If it was purchased for environmental reasons, cool, save the rainforest blah blah. AB Green plz :)
I do respect the project and really appreciate the work that went in to it.
Disgruntled Goat 4:09PM (5/01/2008)
More often than not it is the rich man driving the Prius and the poor man driving the 535i. Most people smart enough to know how to truly build wealth know that buying expensive luxury cars is one of the single worst things you can ever do with your money.
Dan 4:13PM (5/01/2008)
My local Toyota dealers have a total of 4 Piouses in stock, and they're selling for $500-1000 under MSRP. And those four aren't strippers, so my real transaction price if I needed a car today would be around $26K + TTL.
When there are scores of 2009 Corollas on the same lot priced in the mid $15s, I have trouble seeing the Pious as anything other than conspicuous consumption to show how concerned you are about consumption.
John Johnson 4:16PM (5/01/2008)
Not saying Prius drivers are poor by any means - just, miserly. You'd think this guy was, buying a hybrid and even figuring out his slight MPG losses and gains. He's really looking for a good return on his investment here.
Oh, and then he spends 200,000 miles worth of gas on a convertible roof for it.