I didn't buy my Prius to save gas. People who think that's the only reason don't know jack crap about the Prius.

I bought the Prius for its low-maintenance technologies. The less I have to bring a car in for servicing and wait for hours for the servicing to get done, the better.

- The Prius uses regenerative braking, which saves brake pad wear tremendously-- It needs NO brake pad replacement until well after 100,000 miles. Try that in a Corsica and see what happens.

- The Prius uses a Power Split Device transmission, which is MUCH SIMPLER and MUCH MORE RELIABLE than a regular car transmission. It has NO clutch, no hot-running torque converter that can leak fluid, no gear-shifting wear-and-tear. It only has one permanently-engaged planetary gearset. How the Power Split Device transmission works: http://www.eahart.com/prius/psd The PSD is a simple planetary gearset, just like the Sturmy Archer 3-speed Internal Gear Hub you see on some bikes.

- Since the gasoline engine does not run all the time the car is in operation, it does not require oil changes as frequently as a regular car.

- The Prius has no timing belt, no alternator, no starter solenoid or motor to wear out and cause trouble.

And that myth about disposing used Prius batteries is bunk. It is FULLY RECYCLABLE. Toyota pays a $200 bounty to return the battery pack for recycling. And I'm not worried about its lifespan either-- Mine has a New York State-mandated 10-year / 150,000-mile warranty on it.

Thing is, Toyota isn't the only car maker that uses this awesomely low-maintenance PSD drive system. Ford does too, with the Fusion Hybrid and the Escape Hybrid. You can almost say the Fusion Hybrid and Escape Hybrids are essentially Prius on steroids. You can buy American and still enjoy the same benefits.

I would have bought a Fusion Hybrid, but it didn't come out until 2009 (I bought my car in 2007).