Major, Major Flaw....OR deliberate? Base Model Headlights

Can't assume anything.

The Prius already has a hybrid premium vs. a regular ICE vehicle, so Toyota may opt not to include certain features/equipment common in the other vehicles in their lineup to keep the price at a certain point that the consumer is willing to pay. An example that comes to mind is, until 2012, the Prius didn't have DRLs when almost all other cars that Toyota offered had them, even lower priced vehicles (Yaris, Matrix, Corolla).

 

For Toyota, it will come down to dollars and cents. To me, it would be more cost effective to use similar designs across the board, not just in hybrids, but non-hybrids too. If it's cost effective for the Corolla, it should be a no-brainer for all cars.

 

If we assume that Toyota deliberately degrades the performance of lower-grade options (which I am not) it works against the concept that has made Toyota a dominant automaker in the world. Toyota won the battle by not playing the game other automakers were playing, and offered their customers superior value and reliability for a price people were willing to pay.

If Toyota is going to start offering inferior options in the lower-priced models, to force customers to pay top-dollar for acceptable ones, they are setting the stage for their own downhill slide from the top.

 

I think we can safely assume Toyota is not going do what GM has done in the past.

 

How?