Winds of change are blowing through the car world right now. Toyota has created a Prius that you might describe as “sexy” without a shred of irony. And Mazda is bringing back the infamous Wankel, not as an engine but as a range extender. Heck, Smart is building not one but two SUVs. Oh, and a car review on a Prius might be some of the best writing you’ve ever seen.
Welcome back to Comment Of The Day! Every day, we read every single comment posted on our site and pick the one that made us laugh, get informed, or feel warm inside. You don’t have to go into our comments sections and write thousand-word stories about why you love a car so much, but a lot of you do, and that means a lot to us. So we’re highlighting some of the most excellent bits of thought that you’ve formed into words and digitized onto our website.
We kicked off our publishing today with a Micro-Review on the new Toyota Prius. Toyota has managed to break the car community with this car. It’s a Prius that doesn’t look dorky, has good power, and drives like a normal car. For the past two decades, the Prius has been the unfortunate recipient of jokes from car people. But now, can you really make those jokes anymore?
Our Micro-Review on the Prius was written by the lovely Emily Velasco. I should reiterate that the setup for this review was sort of nutty. We only realized that there was a press drive for the Prius when we saw other journalists driving them on the first wave. Toyota forgot to invite us and we had just enough time to get someone to the event right away. There was really no time for anyone on the east coast to fly out and I had COVID-19. So, we deployed Emily and put her right into her first car review.
Honestly? Calling this a home run would be an understatement. If Emily were a baseball player, this review would be like bombing the ball into the stratosphere. This isn’t just good for a first-time car review, but it’s a stellar car review and piece of writing, period! A lot of readers echoed this in a flood of positive comments, but it is bockscar who takes the COTD win with this comment:
Emily, you have done a great job with your article. It has all the attributes of the best car reviews. Wit, information presented, questions asked, etc. I completely enjoyed it start to finish, and I’m no big fan of the Prius. This generation might change my mind. I’d have to drive it. Not in the market, though. Had to buy a Honda Odyssey, for my wife’s wheelchair.
Jason. you need to hire this talented woman immediately.
Emily, just one more thing, 6’4”? Even more impressed! Well done!
Coming from someone who was a huge R&T fan back when they had the BEST writing on the planet, this is high praise.
You rock, Emily, and I think I can speak for a lot of us when I say that we hope to see more of your work here! As for the Prius? Why oh why do you look so good?
But that’s not all, folks, as today we technically have a double-whammy of a COTD! Also published today is a dive on the rotary range extender Mazda MX-30. The Mazda MX-30 is already a weird crossover with strange doors and odd proportions. But a patent filing suggests that Mazda is about to crank up the weird up to 11.
Mazda could have just tossed a regular piston engine into the vehicle as a range extender. But nope, the patent filing suggests that the rotary is coming back! And Mazda’s work here is more than just placing a rotary inside of an electric crossover. There’s a lot going on that couldn’t be quickly explained here. So, I recommend reading that story.
In the comments of the story, we have our honorable mention COTD from fellow Opponaut Arch Duke Maxyenko. I think I like this rendition of Let It Go more than the original:
The oil smokes white on the mountain tonight
Not another carbon footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation
And it looks like I’m the queen
The combustion is howling like this swirling storm inside
Couldn’t keep it in, heaven knows I’ve tried
Don’t let them in, don’t let them see
Be the good Mazda you always have to be
Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know
Well, now they know
Let it go, let it go
Can’t hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the rear coach door
I don’t care what they’re going to say
Keep the battery range on
The smoke never bothered me anyway
It’s funny how some distance makes everything seem small
And the fears that once controlled me can’t get to me at all
It’s time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrong, no rules for me
I’m free
Let it go, let it go
I am one with the wind and sky
Let it go, let it go
You’ll never see me cry
Here I stand and here I stay
Keep the battery range on
My power flurries through the air into the ground
My soul is rotating in blown seals all around
And one thought blows by like an oily blast
I’m never going back, the past is in the past
Let it go, let it go
When I’ll rise like the break of dawn
Let it go, let it go
That perfect Mazda is gone
Here I stand in the light of day
Keep the battery range on
The smoke never bothered me anyway
I honestly have no comment other than bravo, you brilliant reader. These are the comments that COTD is meant for, and they make us smile. Thank you all for continuing to make the Autopian community awesome.
As a final order of business, we detected a rather unacceptable comment on the site today. We love lively discussions and even hot debates here. Our readers are a diverse set of people and it’s awesome seeing everyone chat like they’re some people talking about cars in a garage. That’s how it should be! However, please remember that there’s someone on the other side of the screen. If you cross the line, we will not be afraid to nuke your account from orbit.
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
• A Reader Reminds Us That The Car Community Still Has Plenty Of Heart: COTD
• The New 2023 Toyota Prius is Sleeker, Bigger, Quieter and More Powerful, So Why Am I Bummed Out?
• The Rotary Range-Extender Mazda MX-30 Could Be The Weirdest New Car On The Road
Props for COTD. I read this article I dont know what the comments that won are or from what articles they came from. Perhaps links would come in handy. But if you are tossing a life preserver to Elizabeth from Jalopnik and NYT fame? Yeah she burnt her bridges and hurt Jalopnik, maybe tying Autopian to a 3 mile island fiasco is not a good idea. Never tie yourself to a sinking ship.
Was it from the guy that was supposed to “cool it off” ?
Yes, I had replied to his comment and went to check later and everything was gone. I was hoping they had kicked him into the sun and it appears they have. Kudos to the team for doing the right thing.
I feel like you guys are just giving COTDs out to people who spend a lot of time and effort trying to write witty things. Unfair.
COTD!
Stop rewarding effort. I want some good old fashioned cronyism up in here.
Maybe mr.choppers is missing the “best one liners” flavor of COTD as I am. Enough with the warm and squishy feel good stuff. Give me something that makes me LOL.
It was actually an attempt at self denigration…
Sir, this is a family site.
Oh, yes, it was indeed mighty nice upon refreshing the tab to see that rather unacceptable comment gone. Whew. There’s free speech & then there’s…speech that’s just plain objectionable. The classification ‘hate speech’ exists for some pretty damn good reasons. This website with its writers and readers is in general a great community where diversity is among its strengths; tolerance in such a context doesn’t include tolerating intolerance. Thank you.
Agreed but it starts here but remember what happened at the before site. Car haters writing political columns with the ability to block any commentator who disagreed with them. It is a delicate line that I know I couldnt manage.
I don’t know if the website has the capability for this, but would having something similar or literally a Discord channel work out for us?
Thanks for all the kind words, Mercedes. You’re awesome.
This is a test comment for Matt