Finally I drove a brand new 2004 Prius home last night. I placed an order in Nov and was told to wait for at least three months. Someone who ordered one had to leave the country, so my salesman called me about the car. It’s not exactly the package I ordered, but it’s close enough. It’s very interesting to drive a hybrid car. You can watch the fuel efficiency on the LCD screen. I have to tell you that I’m already trying to adjust my driving habits to increase the efficiency. Basically, you have to avoid sudden acceralation in lower speed around 30 mph to have the electric motor do the work (so called stealth mode).

The car is great, but I hated the sales manager in the dealership (Sterlling McCall Toyota on Highway 59). He insisted on having body sealant ($495) option on the car, which I refused first, but he told me that he would sell the car to the next person on the waiting list if I didn’t want the option. He told me that the treament was done already. So I took it, but I felt that the experience was bad, and I would not buy another car from their dealership anymore. I was willing to pay the sticker price for the car, definitely not for the stupid car body protection, which is useless in Houston’s climate anyway. They actually had body sealant treatment done next day after I signed the paper work. Car salesmen are all crooks to me, at least from my experience.