That's crap, as are the above comments that chime in about actual savings, true mileage etc, without considering what americans pay for cars, how much gas we consume, etc. Here are some actual facts: The average price PAID for a car in the US is about 26 grand. The best selling cars in the US are the Ford F-150, and the Chevy Silverado--gas guzzlers, with MSRPs that start at about 10 grand more. My parents have a 2003 model prius, which they paid 21 grand for (and the MSRP is still about that). Granted, you can't haul wood in the thing, but it fits 4 adults quite comfortably, has no trouble doing 85 on the highway if need be, and while not a performance hound, it's a fun little drive. As far as mileage, they put about 12-15,000 miles on it every year, and regularly drive it in both suburbia and on regular 2-3 hour hauls; they also take a couple 7-8 drives hour per year. My father, bless him, has kept a journal of the car's mileage the entire time (along with his other cars), and depending on who is driving--a huge factor, mind you--he has an overall average mileage of 43.7 MPG. (When my leadfoot mother drives, it drops as low as 32 MPG, usually 35 or so, and my dad regularly gets 50-plus MPG, but mostly because he's a passive driver.) That's a sampling of over 2.5 years of driving (and the 2004 model apparently gets better mileage, is bigger, and has a more powerful engine). Now, compared with his buick century, which remarkably gets 22 MPG on a good day, and that's substantial. He admitted the first year he bought the Prius that he was only realizing $600 gas savings per year, but now that gas has more than doubled in price since then (and not going to get better any time soon), he's sitting pretty. The government kicked in a nice retroactive tax break for him as well.
So for those who say it's too expensive--you already pay more. For those who say the mileage sucks--you likely get half as much. And it's still virtually emission-free. Righteous indeed.
I'm not a sci-fi guy, or a Gibson afficionado, but picked up a galley at work (i work at a magazine) and read it because i've always wondered about Gibson. As much as I'd like to give a full review, I'll resist for now. I will offer a basic plot preview for general interest: beware, there's likely many spoilers in here (also note: I read it over a month ago, and don't have it handy to refer to, so forgive me if i forget some aspects, like names ; )
The protagonist is a young woman who works as a counsultant as a "cool-hunter." She is called to London to give her thumbs-up/thumbs-down (literally) opinion by a conspicuously trendy agency that specializes in branding. the interesting thing about the protag (sorry, lost her name already) is that she responds to brands viscerally. it sounds precious, but it comes off fine. tommy hilfiger for instance nearly sends her swooning. while in london, staying at an ex's pad, she frequently logs in to an international blog that speculates on "the footage" : ove the past several months mysterious clips of unspeakbly beautiful footage of unknown prevenance somehow surfaces and then is parsed by a community that is joined by mutual, insatiable curiousity. they can't figure out if it some old film being released to the world, the work of a neophyte or a master, shown chronologically or randomly... but all are obsessed with finding the latest. this of course, is picked up on by a marketing magnate who determines that it's the ultimate in organic, grass-roots, viral marketing. it's perfect, and he wants to find out who invented it and so, of course, hires our cool-hunter to get to the bottom of it.
in the mean time, our protag has discovered that she is being stalked and threatened by an unknown, who wants to stop her.
without going too deep into the plot, she globe trots to japan and elsewhere, never quite knowing who to trust and often what she is even pursuing.
Though it's hyped as "up-to-the-minute" in terms of technological know-how, it's already even a bit dated (reliance on email over IM or P2P etc.--and her and nearly everyone's computer of choice is a mac; i use one, but it's a bit dubious, even though design folks do tend that way ; ) )Nonetheless it's suspenseful, clever, witty and insightful. And informed. And while I"m not a woman, I know that as a writer it's often critically perilous for a man to write from the perspective of a woman--no complaints from me, but I'm interested to see how women will feel. I haven't read any critiques of it, but I would suggest that it was written almost as a screenplay; that is, Gibson was cashing in a little bit, making a work of literature that is so transparently adaptable to the silver screen (a la a Richard Preston novel, IMHO). No shame in that, but i'm sure that for some it will wound their literary sensibilities.
All in all, I tore through it, which is as good a sign of a fine read for me as anything. If anyone has questions, I'll do my best to answer them.
cheers
Slashdot Mirror
That's crap, as are the above comments that chime in about actual savings, true mileage etc, without considering what americans pay for cars, how much gas we consume, etc.
Here are some actual facts:
The average price PAID for a car in the US is about 26 grand. The best selling cars in the US are the Ford F-150, and the Chevy Silverado--gas guzzlers, with MSRPs that start at about 10 grand more.
My parents have a 2003 model prius, which they paid 21 grand for (and the MSRP is still about that). Granted, you can't haul wood in the thing, but it fits 4 adults quite comfortably, has no trouble doing 85 on the highway if need be, and while not a performance hound, it's a fun little drive.
As far as mileage, they put about 12-15,000 miles on it every year, and regularly drive it in both suburbia and on regular 2-3 hour hauls; they also take a couple 7-8 drives hour per year. My father, bless him, has kept a journal of the car's mileage the entire time (along with his other cars), and depending on who is driving--a huge factor, mind you--he has an overall average mileage of 43.7 MPG. (When my leadfoot mother drives, it drops as low as 32 MPG, usually 35 or so, and my dad regularly gets 50-plus MPG, but mostly because he's a passive driver.) That's a sampling of over 2.5 years of driving (and the 2004 model apparently gets better mileage, is bigger, and has a more powerful engine).
Now, compared with his buick century, which remarkably gets 22 MPG on a good day, and that's substantial. He admitted the first year he bought the Prius that he was only realizing $600 gas savings per year, but now that gas has more than doubled in price since then (and not going to get better any time soon), he's sitting pretty. The government kicked in a nice retroactive tax break for him as well.
So for those who say it's too expensive--you already pay more. For those who say the mileage sucks--you likely get half as much. And it's still virtually emission-free.
Righteous indeed.
I'm not a sci-fi guy, or a Gibson afficionado, but picked up a galley at work (i work at a magazine) and read it because i've always wondered about Gibson. As much as I'd like to give a full review, I'll resist for now. I will offer a basic plot preview for general interest: beware, there's likely many spoilers in here (also note: I read it over a month ago, and don't have it handy to refer to, so forgive me if i forget some aspects, like names ; ) The protagonist is a young woman who works as a counsultant as a "cool-hunter." She is called to London to give her thumbs-up/thumbs-down (literally) opinion by a conspicuously trendy agency that specializes in branding. the interesting thing about the protag (sorry, lost her name already) is that she responds to brands viscerally. it sounds precious, but it comes off fine. tommy hilfiger for instance nearly sends her swooning. while in london, staying at an ex's pad, she frequently logs in to an international blog that speculates on "the footage" : ove the past several months mysterious clips of unspeakbly beautiful footage of unknown prevenance somehow surfaces and then is parsed by a community that is joined by mutual, insatiable curiousity. they can't figure out if it some old film being released to the world, the work of a neophyte or a master, shown chronologically or randomly... but all are obsessed with finding the latest. this of course, is picked up on by a marketing magnate who determines that it's the ultimate in organic, grass-roots, viral marketing. it's perfect, and he wants to find out who invented it and so, of course, hires our cool-hunter to get to the bottom of it. in the mean time, our protag has discovered that she is being stalked and threatened by an unknown, who wants to stop her. without going too deep into the plot, she globe trots to japan and elsewhere, never quite knowing who to trust and often what she is even pursuing. Though it's hyped as "up-to-the-minute" in terms of technological know-how, it's already even a bit dated (reliance on email over IM or P2P etc.--and her and nearly everyone's computer of choice is a mac; i use one, but it's a bit dubious, even though design folks do tend that way ; ) )Nonetheless it's suspenseful, clever, witty and insightful. And informed. And while I"m not a woman, I know that as a writer it's often critically perilous for a man to write from the perspective of a woman--no complaints from me, but I'm interested to see how women will feel. I haven't read any critiques of it, but I would suggest that it was written almost as a screenplay; that is, Gibson was cashing in a little bit, making a work of literature that is so transparently adaptable to the silver screen (a la a Richard Preston novel, IMHO). No shame in that, but i'm sure that for some it will wound their literary sensibilities. All in all, I tore through it, which is as good a sign of a fine read for me as anything. If anyone has questions, I'll do my best to answer them. cheers