The Monster Pruck!

You may ask yourself, "Hmmm, what exactly is a Pruck?" I'm hear to set the record straight and give you a bit more info about this much loved object of my affection.

I'll give you a hint. There's only one Pruck in the picture! [BONUS: This really is my car parked at the office]

I recently found myself at work parked between two behemoth vehicles in the parking structure below my office. I didn't see the people who got out of the vehicles, but it is likely they also have a comfy office job in our building. So then I immediately asked myself, why do these people drive these less-than-20-mpg guzzlers just to get to the office?

The sad answer is that they are some sort of bizarro-savers who don't mind filling their tanks with crisp $20 bills and exploding them in 6 (or maybe even *GASP* 8) cylinder combustion engines - not minding the savings or planet it destroys.

"Though Bizarro acts in what he believes to be the best manner, his Bizarro logic often causes him to act for evil." Thanks Superman Wikia for the quote and picture!

But the better question is, why didn't they get a Pruck?

A Pruck as you might have guessed is a just a Toyota Prius. Though it is a relatively small car, it has a lot of room inside and the liftback hatch makes it incredibly versatile. I have the joy of driving a 2007 (2nd gen) Prius myself, which came with many luxuries, including:

• Keyless entry
• Push-button start
• Backup camera
• CVT Transmission
• Hybrid power train for super good fuel economy
• I added a handsfree bluetooth adapter and mic via the AUX port which is neatly stored in the center console for less than $35 total. It comes with the bonus of an extra USB port for charging my phone 😉 
  NOTE: The price of the adapter has increased since I originally made the purchases though there are many less expensive alternative brands.
  SECOND NOTE: To get these AUX to bluetooth adapters to work perfectly you need to add a ground loop noise isolator or you'll hear a lot of static on your line.
  THIRD NOTE: Once you have all of the parts, installation takes about 5-10 minutes.

I purchased this car in excellent working and cosmetic condition in all cash for less than $7000 and well below its KBB value at the time. I even talked our local dealer out of the dealer fees that these used-lots-tyes often have for no reason I can determine. I was able to do this only after getting wise to the fact that owning a brand new vehicle through a loan or lease is ridiculously bad unless you are ridiculously well-funded for retirement; (I swear I will write out exactly why sometime soon).

How to be a Monster Pruck driver with the Prius

This weekend, I was reminded that the Prius is not just an efficiency beast. It is also extra good at versatility and it paid dividends when two friends needed help moving.

The first friend needed help transporting a small chest freezer and several large storage bins to his new apartment way across town. He was really worried because he thought I had a small car. But being a Monster Pruck driver, I assured him that everything would fit in the car. And it did! We just folded down the back seats, filled it up, and went on our way - with good gas mileage to boot!

The second friend had an even bigger order to fill. She needed a full size mattress, matching box spring, floor lamp, desk chair, and an assortment of flatware, kitchen gadgets, bedroom niceties, and the humans-to-unload-the-new-treasures transported across town. I assured her the Monster Pruck could handle it.

My Pruck fully loaded and just waiting for the bed stuff to get tied down.

I unscrewed the removable antenna, pulled out my trusty homemade blanket from the trunk (which is exactly the size of the roof of my Prius), and then covered the car's roof with the blanket, mattress, and boxspring - in that order.

We folded down two of the three seats in the back and filled the trunk and majority of the back seat with the 5ft floor lamp, non-folding chair, and other goodies while still saving a seat for one of our three passengers to ride safely in the back.

Hats have been used to conceal the identities of the innocent!

Here you can see me driving the Pruck at minimum speeds as a friend hangs onto the ropes holding the bed parts down!

Here you can sorta see a bunch of the free treasures we got on a friendly treasure pick-up! What a great haul!

I love the Prius so much, but at the end of the day it is still a car. The more I look around, the more ♫ I'm asking [me] to change [my] ways ♫ because all driving is destructive to the planet and to savings.

I've started walking to work more frequently and avoiding the car completely whenever I can. However, when you need to drive, the best option is a trusty, fuel-efficient, hatchback as your first choice. It is roomy enough to move 5 adults across great distances, (though it is better to not have to do that very often for the mentioned reasons), and versatile enough to move so many treasures you won't believe it.

More to come on the double-edged sword of car ownership, but in the meantime keep on Prucking!

And stay tuned as We battle to Save Us!