Should Toyota release PiP Gen2 nationwide, if...

YES!

 

I think they should. Mostly because the average EV uses more energy per mile than the PIP, and 55mpg is being a little generous (I think 50-52mpg is likely).

Using the 30mph steady speed figures compared to the Leaf, the worst region for emissions would still be at ~48mpg equivalent for a PIP. Every other state would be better...

http://avt.inel.gov/pdf/phev/fact2013toyotapriusphev.pdf

http://avt.inel.gov/pdf/fsev/fact2013nissanleaf.pdf

 

My opinion...the PIP was designed as a compliance vehicle, but this niche market has changed due to competition. If the PIP is to become a successful product financially for Toyota, they must increase the range and make it available to everyone. Question is...does Toyota consider "this vehicle" a priority.

 

The smallest battery possible to comply with California's requirements to qualify for carpool lane access, zero emission vehicle standards, etc.

 

Thank you. CARB. So they can sell any vehicles in the states that apply.

 

build the pips, and clean electricity will follow. clean fossil fuels is an oxymoron.

 

They could but PiP might be a hard sell there. The areas that are displayed with the ultra low mpg gasoline equivalent emission also have much cheaper and more plentiful gasoline and the areas to travel are much farther apart. There just wouldn't be the incentive to plug-in as much, although they would be ahead by using the gas engine more. The areas displayed also seem to have drought issues, excessive heat, and more likely to have severe weather. Having a PiP might give them a piece of mind if they could use the battery for emergency purposes (for more than just what a 12V inverter could do).

Couple of options if Toyota were to pursue this market that might be a hit:

1) Emergency EV with direct 120V port (400 Watts minimum)
2) Automatic rear window shade, perhaps manual side window shades.
3) Solar Roof Package like in the Prius Three and Four

I highly doubt the 2.7 kWh they would pump into their car would even begin to register with all the air conditioning, electric stoves and electric heat . Don't forget the blended mode that would likely kick in as well with the 70/75 mph speed limits in many of those same states.

 

i do see toyota coming out with a second gen pip, but i don't see them pursuing competitive sales volumes.

 

Even if some states don't exactly have "clean" energy, I still think they should release the next gen PiP nationwide. Maybe someone who drives a gas guzzler wants a replacement vehicle, and decides to buy the PiP because it's the best overall value for their needs compared to say, an EV such as the Leaf.

The way I see it, the more people that we can wean off gas only cars, the better for the environment, regardless of where it's plugged in. If Toyota refuses to release the next gen PiP nationwide, people seeking a plug in hybrid will find one in their competitors such as the Volt or C-max/fusion energi. Yeah, they have drawbacks too, but at least you can buy those nationwide, instead of having to special order it, or flying out to a state that sells it, and shipping/driving it home.

 

We've seen that map before, and I said it looks to me like CO2 gerrymandering where they try to say, for example, Pittsburgh is dirty but they carve out a bunch of PA and say its clean. Looks to me like someone is trying to carve out a big clean zone, which is bigger than I think it really is.

But anyways if you look at the EPA Clean Power Plan, EPA is proposing to demand an enormous shift to non-carbon nuclear and renewable sources, in relatively short time order (2020 interim targets). I have trouble seeing it happen, probably gets watered down in the final rules due this summer. In there, EPA gives each state a power plant plan they have to follow...Virginia's is especially onerous. I guess they wanted to teach VA a lesson. MD and WV got off easier.

But I like to see PiP2. I want to run some calcs looking at if say, we bumped VA hybrid ownership to 10-20%, how much CO2 would that save, and could that offset instead of having EPA shut down all of our fossil fuel power plants. In any case, I am not a big fan of big power plants.

 

I can think of a couple of ways to reduce cars' oil consumption.

The sexy but expensive way is to keep increasing the electric portion of the car's motivation, and, as this thread attests: the way the electricity is produced may be doing an end-run around the good intentions, at least in part.

The low tech, and very simple method, if possible: drive less.

 

if you're going to rely on the general public without government persuasion, (incentives) consumption is likely to go up.