Surely you know me well enough by now to realize that I’m going to find a way to take a simple task and make it waaaaay more complicated than it should be.
Enter my total blonde moments from #ToyotaWomen TWIN Camp last week.
One of the things that we did was of course to test drive different Toyotas. The cars were all lined up, ready to go for us: maps inside. We just had to pick one and go for a drive with a partner. Mine was the fab Kristen of Our Crazy Bunch.
We decided to start with the Toyota Prius Plug In. Cute little car. Something neither of us could really own unless our kids weren’t going to be with us… or if I was okay with mine beating on each other and she was okay with sticking one of hers in the trunk. But we figured it would be fun to try it out anyway.
Me and the Prius Plug In
It’s decided I’m going to drive first. We get in and only think we turn the car on. It’s one of those push-button-to-start vehicles. Fine, I’ve seen those. I push the button.
I don’t hear anything, but everyone says how quiet the Prius is.
Then I attempt to put the car in drive. With the little joystick looking thing.
The joystick
To my way of thinking, and Kristen’s too which totally made me feel better, when you put the car in drive, the stick should stay there. But, with this joystick(probably not the proper term for it, but it’s what it looked like), it returns to the original position.
We finally have to yell for help if we ever wanted to get out of that parking spot.
We learn that the Prius isn’t actually turned on… though it was just as quiet once we actually did get it started.
And that the joystick works a little differently than we had thought. We also learned that there’s a button to push when you want to park, which I’m seriously glad they told us or it would have been trouble when we got back.
Then it was time for our test drive.
Where we got lost.
With a map.
When all we had to do was go in a big square.
All of this is probably why when we decided to drive the RAV4 next, there was a Toyota employee in the backseat. It did help that he could give us directions, but he was a little terrified of our typical blogger behavior. You know: making sure we take plenty of pics, even if it means getting beeped at when the light turns green and we don’t go because we don’t have our shot yet. He was also not amused by us joking about hitting pedestrians for points.
Driving the RAV4
We’re actually good drivers, I swear. As soon as we figured out how to start a car, put it in drive, not get lost when going in a square… and we totally don’t really hit people with cars, either. Honest. I’ve never even gotten a ticket, y’all.
Disclosure: I was selected for participation in the 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.
We got lost too! AND someone was following us, so we got them lost too! Oops.
We had someone following us as well! Definitely need a route just programmed in!
I would have had the same problem with the Prius!
I felt so silly. But got a laugh out of it, at least!
OK that sounds complicated. Can I just press a button and go? 🙂
Once we figured it out, it was really easy.
This story is even funnier the second time I’m hearing it… you left out a few details, because I would have told you about the time a friend came to take my car to get the wood out of the tire (whole ‘nother story~ I’m not a good driver, but you know that now) and parked his Prius behind my mom’s car and then took mine. For the life of me, we could not figure out how to turn the darn thing on, so when my mom needed to leave and he wasn’t back yet, we had to do some stealth maneuvering to get her car out, which was impressive if you ignored the reason we had to do it!
Ha! Glad I’m not the only one who couldn’t figure it out!
I don’t think I would have made it out of the parking lot.
We wouldn’t have, without help!
We have the same sense of direction!!!!
Thank goodness for gps!
I get lost in my own town. I seriously need a GPS implanted in my brain or something. lol
Looks like you had a really fun time, despite the small snafoos! 🙂
It really was a good time! But wow, do I get lost all. the. time.
You totally stole my entire post. Lol and while I agree that I’m really a good driver, my husband was scared for the Toyota guy. 😉
Mine was shaking his head at our taking pics at lights.
That is truly hilarious!!!! I dont like driving new cars, especially other people’s cars. It makes me nervous. I bet your husband died laughing at your story! It is good to know that something like that would happen to someone else, too. 😉
He thought it was hilarious!
Oh, my! My nerves go crazy when I drive someone else’s car. I’ve always wanted to test drive a Prius though (and I love push-button cars). Hope you had fun…once you found your way.
It is nerve wracking to drive someone else’s car. I felt like telling the person who helped us “I’m a good driver, I swear!”
I think I would have had the same problem with the Prius. Although my car now is a push-button start and it did take some getting used to.
Not hard to get used to, though odd when you aren’t used to it!
I thought I was the only one who could lost driving around in a square! At least you looked fabulous doing it! I love the part about your typical blogger actions: I am always asking my husband to take photos for my posts. I likely would have had the Toyota guy to take pics! Thanks for the laugh.
We still found our way back, but it just wasn’t the right route! LOL
Okay, that’s just creepy – just yesterday I was hanging with my friend Kristin and she was telling me about driving her dad’s car which is push to start and somehow she pushed it but didn’t start it when he was showing her how to drive it and then she rolled down the driveway.
There might be a pushing-but-not-starting epidemic, is all I’m saying.
Maybe it is an epidemic. That makes me feel better- it’s not just me!
Such a cute, funny story.
Thanks! It was a good time!
That’s crazy that the shift stick goes back to start! Sounds like you had fun during your test drives though. 🙂
Right? Who would have guessed? I thought I was doing something wrong.
I am ready for the button to be pressed and the car to drive ME! Then I won’t have to get a license at all. 🙂
That’s probably coming. 😉
Hilarious. That joystick baffled me too!
Glad it wasn’t just me! Not hard once you realize how it works, but not something you figure out just by looking!
Listen, if I ever had to re-take my drier’s test, it would be a huge fail – so I’m impressed you all figured out as much as you did! Hilarious!
I don’t even want to think about having to retake my test!
My hubby’s VW has a button thingy you have to press when you park ( and his is a manual)… he has more trouble having his car valet parked! Wonder how similar it is in the Prius. I probably would have gotten lost, too. Just my nature and I’m not blonde!!! 🙂
Oh, I bet! They probably don’t know how it works!
That is freaking hilarious!!! I wish I was there.
Seriously, that car sounds too high tech for me.
It really wasn’t that hard- once we figured it out. 😉
Do you know what cracked me up the most about this? That you chose the Rav4 because there was an employee in the backseat. Like, he comes with the car. Heehee!
I think he was in there BECAUSE of our crazy behavior. Like, go watch those girls, they don’t know how to drive!
This was too funny. I don’t know what I would do without my GPS (well, I’d get lost a lot). That joystick thingy looked way more complicated than it needed to be.
GPS is a must!
David is always worried I’m going to hit pedestrians. I haven’t yet so you think he would get over it.
Same here, girl!
OMG Shell, I can relate to this on every SINGLE level! I totally joke about hitting people for points! Even my kids play this. This is hysterical to me. HAHAHA.
Nothing wrong with joking around a little. 😉
I’m cracking up! I wish you had a picture of the guy in the backseat!
He probably looked terrified!
I’m still confused about how you turn the car on….what else did you have to do? Sometimes I get into a rental car and it looks like I’m launching a space shuttle to get it to go!
We just didn’t push the button hard enough. LMAO
Love your mad crazy car skills 😉
You’d totally ride in a car with me, right?
My group and I did the route THREE times before we realized we weren’t actually following the actual route. You totally weren’t the only one having trouble with it.
That makes me feel better! We got thrown off by seeing “Toyota Way” thinking we had to turn there instead of keep going and circling back to it. At least, that’s my excuse.
I probably shouldn’t be allowed to test drive cars, especially when there’s a camera handy. 😉
Cameras and bloggers- probably not always the safest combination!
That sounds soo fun!!
It was a blast!
Holy cow that is the weirdest shifter I have ever seen! No wonder you had trouble.
You crack me up girl. Good thing they didn’t put us in a car together. I ALWAYS get lost!!!
Hahaha. Love it. I totally would have gotten lost, most likely, as well.
Ha! Pedestrians are always worth hypothetical points. 😉
Sounds like you had a wonderful time. 🙂
This is going to sound weird, but weren’t the vehicles sexy? I just loved driving the Prius and the Sienna. So glad that we got to meet. Finally! lol Next time, we’ll have to talk more. Any chance you’ll be coming out to Show Me The Blog in October? It’s in St. Louis and I’ll be speaking! Let me know if you’ll be able to make it out! 🙂
Hahaha I would have gotten lost too. I’m terrible at directions.