When TOP posted the pictures of the Prius/Tesla/Toureg wreck the other day, I failed to give credit to the photographer (I found the pictures at a third-party website which also didn't attribute them). Turns out the photographer is John Nuttall, a.k.a. skagman, who has alternative views on his flickr page. He says the pictures have been extremely popular and that he's gotten more than 13,000 hits on his flicker photostream since putting them up. Thanks to John for setting us straight.
Mike
Featured Comment by Bill Mitchell: "OT: since I got my Prius, when I drive in the local State Park the wild animals seem to pay no attention to me. Last weekend I came on several flocks of wild turkey, and they let me drive right up in the midst of them as though I weren't there (they were on both sides of the main road, running back and forth between them). Turkeys are the most skitterish wild life, but deer act the same way towards the Prius. I haven't run across our resident Florida panther lately, so I don't know how it would react."Mike replies: On the contrary, this might not be off topic at all! I imagine this might be something that certain wildlife photographers might very much want to know about....
Actually, the driver of the Tesla says in posts quoted in the Flickr comments that it was a Prius.
Posted by: Bob | Monday, 02 November 2009 at 05:38 PM
Looks like a Prius to me.
Posted by: Bill Mitchell | Monday, 02 November 2009 at 05:54 PM
Looking at the other pictures on that page, the silver car is indeed clearly a Prius and not an Avensis (which is Camry-type sedan, for you north-americans ;) )
Posted by: Cyril | Monday, 02 November 2009 at 07:31 PM
Nope! The body shape is clearly a Prius. Also one of the pictures shows clearly the "Hybrid" legend.
Posted by: Christopher Oliver | Monday, 02 November 2009 at 07:54 PM
Okay, I changed the post to remove the reference to the Avensis. (It was Wired.com that said it was an Avensis.)
Fact-checking seems harder when it's trivial....[g]
Thanks y'all,
Mike
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Monday, 02 November 2009 at 09:22 PM
Regarding Bill Mitchell's comment, I have experienced the same thing with my Ford Escape Hybrid and it hauls a lot more photo equipment than a Prius. I'm just say'n'.
Posted by: Christopher Lane | Tuesday, 03 November 2009 at 06:04 PM
so the prius is made with snow-white technology?
this is awesome
Posted by: almostinfamous | Tuesday, 03 November 2009 at 11:08 PM
Wildlife photogs might want to get a Prius, huh? Mike, you've boosted GAS to a whole 'nother level!
Posted by: Ari | Wednesday, 04 November 2009 at 05:58 PM
Agreed on the Prius/wildlife thing--I've had crazy good luck with bighorn sheep in Badlands with one, pronghorn elsewhere. Love or hate the Prius for other reasons as you will, but it does make a heckuva car blind.
Posted by: Joe Decker | Thursday, 05 November 2009 at 12:21 AM
> I haven't run across our resident Florida panther lately, so I don't know how it would react.
Not very cheerily, I expect, being either dead or severely wounded. 8-)
Roger
Posted by: Roger Whitehead | Thursday, 05 November 2009 at 03:41 PM