Next up for the Prius Family - The Prius t for Truck?

That hino looks much more capable than the abat.

 

There is a picture in the thread. Unlikely the concept of a tiny bed will turn into a production 8' bed.

Maybe, but probably not. It's clear that tiny trucks are not particularly hot commodities in the US. This is not just about image. Image does not tow a trailer. Truck sales in the US are probably where they are because of people who a) need a big, powerful truck and b) People who want to look like they need a big, powerful truck. This vehicle will cannibalize few trucks sales. Its realistic hope is creating "truck" buyers of people who normally are not.

We know nothing about this, maybe it will be AWD and beefed up to become a real truck, but if it's a prius with a truck bed (like the subaru baja was essentially an outback with a truck bed) Toyota would do better to simply not bother, they'll be wasting their time. A truck is more than a bed, it's a capable frame and powerful drivetrain, both of which are goals working against mileage.

 

We don't call them trucks here, trucks are big vehicles used for heavy haulage. Ford and Holden (GM) both make utes (utility vehicles) which are based on the Ford Falcon & Holden Commodore.

Ford


Holden (GM)

These are both huge sellers here in our small market.

The boat I use for work weighs 7,700 pounds, I tow it with a Land Cruiser, the best vehicle for the job.

 

I made reference to this truck early in the thread. It is sold here in Australia and is a great city delivery vehicle.
HINO Australia - Models Hybrid

 

Those ones they sell and do sell well in Australia do look pretty cool. There just doesn't seem a market for them here. Markets are fickle either way from culture to culture. I think we know that with the "prius hate"!

 

I have seen some old el caminos, and they definitely have their purpose. I did a quick search and found
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupe_utility"]Coupé utility - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

So gm was thinking about it at the same time as toyota. GM of course went bankrupt and plans killed.

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=ugly_cars

The timing of the death of these vehicles in america corresponds directly with regulations. Unlike SUVs and truks the ute was clasified as a car and needed to follow the more stringent emissions, cafe, and safety regulations.



A prius-t should easily solve this problem in the us. The question really is price. In the rest of the world outside the US and Japan I doubt many are willing to pay much of a price premium over the current offerings. These things sell in australia, south america, and europe where hybrids have not done well. In the US and Japan where they might, the vehicle needs to be well done. Again that is my criticism of the A-BAT, I do not think it really fits the markets in the us or japan. I do think a well designed hybrid "ute" with electric 4wd and some towing capacity can find a market.

 

Yea. I believe the el camino was based on the Chevelle, wasn't it? And the 1970 Chevelle (among other motors) offered a LS6 450hp 454cid guzzler that was by FAR, way over the top when it came to power. Many of the owners swear that the 'advertised' hp rating was understated, because insurance companies had stated they'd be reluctant to insure a mussle car that came in rated any higher. But, if you gotta pull a maximum length 5th wheel trailer, well, that'll do the trick. Maybe the Lexus 600h will be available some day, in an el camino styled version. THAT would actually be on par with the mongo LS6

 

Ford had their before GM. The Ford Ranchero started in 1957. It was based on the full sized Ford station wagon body. My brother had one and one day we got curious what the screwed in metal panels were in the bed floor. Took one off and could see the station wagon back seat passenger foot wells.

 

Unless you twist the frame

 

Both are quite attractive IMO. Reminiscent of a 68 El Camino http://www.squidoo.com/1968-chevy-el-camino

 

Would love to see a 7-seater with 50MPG (plug-in). Bonus points for AWD the way Lexus has done it (rear wheels electric only for rare cases where all wheels are needed).

 

If rear wheel use is rare, why even have AWD? Just get FWD and save the weight and expense.

The rear wheels powered by electric only looks good on paper, but it has a drawback. If the traction battery is drained, generated electricity is going to the front wheels, and you need the power at the rear wheels, what happens? Does the system dip into the buffer capacity of the battery, reroute the electricity from the front, or just not use the rear wheels? I assume the first, since the others can potentially lead to an accident.

 

The engine can drive the front wheel directly through the PSD and excess charge generated through an MG is rerouted back to the rear wheels. Not difficult. Even in the Prius, when the engine spins, excess charge goes to the battery. So if charge was low, they would up the RPMs of the engine, putting it in a less efficient mode that could power all wheels, front directly through the ICE using the PSD, and indirectly using MG through the inverter->battery->rear wheels.

 

And sell it for under $14K as long as you're dreaming crazy stuff.

 

Efficient utility is how I'd describe it.

I'd rather they put it under a different name to emphasize that they are for "work". "Truckus", perhaps.

I would rather see a work van before a pick-up but an efficient convertible pick-up could be ok. But it has to be a no-holds-barred pick-up. No pissing around promoting it with drag racing.

But absolutely no SUVs. Sports utility is an oxymoron.

 

Most trucks sold in the US are well overpowered and oversized for the use they are put to. A small contractor/handyman could get away with a Ford Ranger sized truck for 95% or more of his use. My ideal truck would have a 1000lbs capacity, have a small area behind the seats but no crew cab, and would be able to haul 4x8 building materials. That being said, fuel economy should be pretty good for a truck. No AWD needed for me.

Being that the ranger does 22/27 now without direct injection or a modern tranny, 25/30 should be possible with direct injection and a modern tranny. With a hybrid system 35mpg should be possible.

 

Yes they are attractive because neither has that ugly Pontiac front end GM insist on sticking on GM(H) imports into the USA.

I don't refer to our utes as El Camino style because Australia has been making utes since the mid 50s or earlier.

1955 FJ ute


1964 EH ute


1978 HK ute

 

How about a Gen III version of this Gen II masterpiece?

 

Gorgeous! I love how they didn't even deal with the choppy line in the trunk, no anti-aliasing or anything

 

I agree with UGC here - fuel efficiency is one of the most important factors of owning a Prius, IMO. Could they make a competitive MPG in the 30's for such a vehicle? If so, I think a lot of people would be interested, myself included.