That time they gave me a Prius.

Remember that one time Toyota and Clever Girls gave me a Camry for the weekend? Last week they gave me a Prius.

I named her Eleanor, picked her up on Wednesday and dropped her off on Friday and drove all around the city with her. I yelled at the voice activation thing and asked the power button how it liked being a button and I talked to the park button too about how it’s a buttonร‚ย  as well. I mumbled at the navigation system and told my iPhone that having directions told to me by a car rocks far harder than having to look down at whatever madness google maps suggests I do on the iPhone.

I pondered my feelings (out loud, of course) on all the windows and tried to get used to being so low to the ground. When you only ever drive an SUV, even a little SUV like my RAV4, it’s really difficult to not get a little freaked out when giant trucks rumble past.

I told the Prius that I liked it, that it’s a cute little car, but that my heart will always lie with something bigger and more substantial. I’d love a little car for city driving, but on the interstate, I need something with a little more substance. And it’s not that I didn’t feel safe in the Prius, it’s just that it’s really little and I felt like maybe a giant gust of wind could blow me off the interstate or that maybe a giant eagle would mistake my little white Prius for a little baby mouse and I’d be carted off to some crazy, mutant eagle lair.

I was at work all week and had some coworkers take me to get the Prius and to drop it off and they were shocked and awed that I was getting a Prius – for free – to drive around for a few days. I tried to explain the why of it, that I’m in a program called the Toyota Women’s Influencer Network and how it’s Toyota’s way of reaching out to lady bloggers and getting their voices heard on things like driving and car shopping because women are awesome and amazing and brilliant and we have more buying power than ever, but I’m not sure I really made any sense. I didn’t used to be out as a blogger at work but made the decision a few months ago to honey badger it up and let my blogger freak flag fly and I’ve been overwhelmed with how positive the response has been. It’s nice to not have to hide this part of my life, especially when it’s become such a huge part. So many of my best friends are people I’ve met through blogging and so many of the adventures I send myself are to visit bloggers or for blogging related adventures like Bloggers in Sin City or Wanderlust.

Basically, I’m just really thankful. I’m thankful of all that blogging has given me, from the closest of friends to a Prius named Eleanor to drive around for a few days.

Disclosure: I was selected for participation in the Toyota Women’s Influencer Network (TWIN) community through a program with Clever Girls Collective. I did not receive any compensation for writing this post, or payment in exchange for participating. The opinions expressed herein are mine, and do not reflect the views of Toyota.


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7 thoughts on “That time they gave me a Prius.


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    Reply

    To me, a prius is a nice, reasonably sized car!! What did you think to the size of our cars over here when you visited the UK? Whenever I manage to visit the US, I am amazed at how narrow our cars are when I come home. But then again, our roads are a lot narrower too. I’m scared when I have to drive a truck at work. It’s awful to park. I like littler cars.


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    Margaret

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    It’s good that they’re soliciting a woman’s opinion. ๐Ÿ™‚
    Tell them for me, I’d like something other than the narrow slot on the door, to use as a trash receptacle.
    I have a 2009 Camry. Just got it recently. Great car.


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    Reply

    i’m thankful for everything blogging has brought you too, because it brought you to me! miss you, love! So awesome that you keep getting to test out different cars!


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    Reply

    Well that’s pretty awesome.

    I’ve been blogging since the beginning of time and I don’t think I have been offered anything by companies. Anti-Canuck bias, I say.


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    Reply

    Was that the Prius C? It was a bit small! @suki just test drove one of those too.. Great mileage! My next car will have to be some form of hybrid.

    Letting your blogger freak flag.. love this. I started posting links to my blog on facebook wall that was only visible to some and not all, and the response is always nice ๐Ÿ™‚


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      Reply

      I think it was just a regular Prius. And it was pretty small – great mileage but a little bit like a tin can.


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    This post made me smile ๐Ÿ™‚ Something about your writing in this one, I guess! Glad you enjoyed the time in it. I’ve always enjoyed renting/borrowing cars because a) it affirms what I DO love about my car and b) it also reminds me of what I will be looking for in a car if/when I buy a new one… someday… maybe (I’m three months away from no car payment and that feels just too awesome for words!)


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