4th generation coming 2015!

Or, you can have your own opinion of the Camry instead of the opinions of MT, CR or TV's.

 

My Prius has 125,000 miles on it. That difference is 625 gallons and $2,200.

 

So spread that over 10 years, which is how many years it will take most people to accumulate that many miles, and we're talking $220/year. With a household income of $60k, that's 0.3% of your income. Guess who is going to care about numbers like that? My guess is no one.

 

Try people living on a "fixed-income", ie: retired people!

 

MIT Corp. Relations News: ILP Insider

 

How much does that cost? Plus you have to get power to the pad.

 

People care here where petrol costs $8 a gallon.

People care very much. It focuses your mind when it costs £50 ($80) to fill up a Prius or £110 ($178) to fill up an Audi A6.

We don't want the Prius to become larger, faster, bloated, less economical and more sporty. It's the most economical non plug in petrol automatic in the World and should remain so.

 

Amen to that. I hope that it will remain just that.
Update the Hybrid system, update the exterior, then concentrate on comfort, quietness and handling. That sound like a world winning combination to me.

 

Then they aren't very bright.

It's not 0.3% of their disposable income, it's a lot more than that, and ever dollar saved can be added to that number, not the gross.

Looking at it another way, I'm about to buy a camera that costs $2,149. I'll be getting it for free compared to having a 40mpg car.

 

I'm assuming that the majority of car buyers only look at what the monthly payment will be, regardless of how many years it will take to pay it off. Why else do you see the monthly payment being touted so often? Any other considerations do not make it above the surface.

 

I have heard all these calculations before and the problem with them all is that the cost of a gallon of gas is a variable. My buddies criticized me in 2008 about my installed solar panel system and it's ROI. Guess who are crying now with a $400-500/month electricity bill ($/KWH rising) and my bill is big fat $0! Look at the current situation with gas prices falling, there are suckers out there who are trading in their econo box (20-30 mpg) for an Elephant SUV (10-15 mpg). When gas prices rise again and you know they will, who will be the fools stuck on the Yo-yo ride? I could care less what gas prices do because ownership of a Prius provides me immunity!

 

Those who don't LEARN from the PAST are condemed to REPEAT that PAST...over and over (ala' Groundhog Day)!

 

My desire for gen 4:
- get rid of the flying buttress console
- bump the mpg to 55
- work on reducing road noise
- move the gauges to be in front of the driver rather than the trend to move them toward the center
- outside looks arent important to me I ride inside
- keep the base price under $25K
- smart key on all five doors in the base model
- increase cargo space
- ship with high mileage tires
- ensure at least a temporary spare tire
- backup camera, bluetooth, in base model

I'm ready to buy that car

 

Got to be careful on this. Remember the company that touted Sapphire Crystal screens for Apple? Better than gorilla glass, better than anything? Now bankrupt and it never made it into the product. Who knows if it would make it to the next product even.

I'm skeptical at best although Wiitricity seems to have proven results - they seem to be overfluffing their abilities. And I think yes, a part of Toyota (since they're owned by Toyota) could shut down...

 

Flying buttress: I'm ok with it.

mpg to 55: not sure what the US mpg rating is currently, but with the right driving mix, lightly loaded car, I can do that now, and I'm not a rabid hypermiler.

Reducing road noise: I've alternated between our Prius and an 06 Civic the last couple of weeks. The Prius is miles away quieter/smoother, no complaints.

Move gauges in front of driver: Yes, yes, yes, hate the current setup. Plus make them a hell of a lot more legible in bright light. Tach and coolant temp would be nice too.

Increase cargo space: Oh hell, it's pretty dang good now. Get a v??

Ship with high mileage tires: Really not sure what you mean. Long lasting? Good rolling resistance? I think they currently do pretty good.

Temporary spare tire: No problems currently with anything but the PIP, and yeah: they should knuckle down, do some engineering, get a spare in that.

All the rest, typically regarding moving a feature to base model, I'm just not too excited about: both the feature and which level they need to be in.

 

Here's mine:

• 58 mpg government tested (55 mpg I think could've been last year)
• 18 miles EV government tested range (right now I think it's 11 mixed)
• Flying buttress: Evolution in it? I don't mind it, I like being able to store things below and on top
• Gauges go to front of driver
• Increase cargo space, heck yeah, even if it's just 1 cubic feet more
• Looks better? Could care less...I drive a Prius not just for the looks
• Smart key on main door should stay, security reasons
• LED lights should be standard
• Better infotainment system, more 21st century
• Reduce road noise
• 7 seater for Prius V version
• Prius C version I think is already the perfect size, so more cargo and increased efficiency is good here - drop the price maybe?

 

50 mpg is fine.
18 mile EV would be nice.
Smart key everywhere, but can be customized by owner.
Reduce inside cabin rattles.
Gauges in front
better speakers on the radio upgrade option
backup camera - even if it is the cheap crappy one - standard

 

When I said no one cares, I meant no one in the general public. If a 5 mpg difference was so compelling, there would be a hell of a lot more Prius vehicles on the road today.

And as far as price variability is concerned, you'll note that the number we're using for total savings is based in today's price of gas. 10 years ago it was a lot cheaper, so the actual savings is really less.

My whole family drives Priuses, I love the car. But we have to be realistic. Going from 20 mpg to 50 makes a huge difference. 50 to 55? Not so much, especially in the US, which remains the biggest market for the car to this day.

 

I'm disappointed with that. I'm prepared to give up a bit of handling for the more comfortable ride of the torsion bars.

I don't think the power to weight ratio of supercaps is anywhere near good enough yet.