Poll for your reaction of the Gen 4 - so far.

Yeah well, it looks good. I won't say I'm enamoured of it's utility. Very specifically:

If I'm on a windy road at night, it's rainy and and the windshield's starting to fog up, and I decide I want to change the vent mode to Heat/Defog. I'm not impressed with the amount of time I have to take my eyes off the road, figure out just which flush-mount button I've gotta push, then push it multiple times while watching the LCD, on the lookout for a specific tiny symbol. And if I go too fast I gotta cycle through them all again.

Did I mention I was negotiating a curve?

You know, if they'd kicked that enormous fresh/recirc button out of that row, they maybe could have fit all the modes in a row. And then if they'd put some dimples or something on them, you might be able to do it braille mode.

 

When compared to your Tesla maybe. Not everyone can afford the glass cockpit interface.

 

Ordinary and dated is fine with me if it is practical.

I remember seeing a series of adds on TV years ago where they showed a dashboard morphing from the old design to the new design. I always thought, "the old one looked fine." The new one was more about change than it being better.

I'm not big on how a car looks (unless it's truly ugly like the Ponitac Aztek) inside or out. I'm okay with the Gen IV exterior although I'm not crazy about the tail lights. Actually it's the dash that is beginning to wear on me. I know I can order a car without the bathroom accessories which will be a big improvement. But I can't do anything about the Darth Vader shape which I've begun to realize I'll have to look at all the time.

 

It is not my intent to be argumentative. To each, I respect the right to disagree, or to have differing opinions.

I am puzzled by writers who profess to not care what their car looks like. I suppose I am too visually oriented, but I enjoy a beautiful car; (mine or someone else) an attractive woman; I love looking at a P-51 Mustang; and I think FLW's "Falling Waters" is a beautiful creation.
I can understand when a writer expresses an appreciation for the beauty of the G4. I'd wager there are a few that think the Pontiac Aztek is attractive.
But to say I don't care what it looks like, well I can't understand that.
Virtually every time I go to the garage to get in my car, I look it over and the appearance brings me pleasure. I wash it regularly to maintain it's appearance. Then, the pleasure is reinforced by it's comfort, convenience, amenities, and driving satisfaction.

Otherwise, a vehicle is strictly a utilitarian mode of getting from A to B.

 

i love looking at beautiful cars too. from the inside of my prius.

 

I don't feel you are being argumentative. As you said to each his own.

Yes to me a car is nearly strictly utilitarian, as long as that includes the creature comforts I desire. If I cared about looks I never would have bought the Gen II. I really don't think it is a good looking car, but as I have said numerous times that really isn't important to me as long as the price is right, and the features suit me.

But then I'll be 69 years old on Saturday and perspectives on "things" have changed as I get older. I want comfortable seats, good cargo space, good mpg, a decent price. When I was younger how a car looked was much more important to me. I bought a 66 Camaro based 90% on how cool it looked, the rest was how fast it was. I kept it for many years but finally sold it when I realized the trunk was too small for camping. It no longer mattered that I could burn rubber in third gear. We finally sold our second Pontiac Fiero (bad reliability reputation but ours were perfect) when we needed more space for our growing family.

I'm not an old fuddy-duddy either. I bought this Yamaha FZ-07 bike in February and enjoy it every time I ride it. Actually although I think it looks very cool it was the extra power, reliability, comfortable seat, and low price that attracted me; not the looks. Oh and I love the gauge cluster. I couldn't keep up with other riders on group rides with my Suzuki DRZ400S, so I needed something that would easily hit over 80mph. I do have to admit when I recently came out of Home Depot I saw my bike but thought it was somebody else's and I thought it looked really great. Then I realized it was mine. Note the Gen II in the garage behind my bike.



But the car? It's all about space, comfort, price, etc. Not looks for me.

My highest hope for the looks of the Gen IV is that at least a few people will think it looks good. Everybody thinks my Gen II is ugly. I get a little tired of saying "yes but" then explain the mpg results.

Oh yea, I average 54 mpg on the bike.

My wife describes us a pragmatic.

 

Nor wants it.

Elon's idea that a tablet has no buttons and therefore your car shouldn't either is just stupid. Tablets are hard to use and slow. Old mechanical keyboards are two or three times faster. Tactile controls are simply better.

 

Once they put this tech in cars that cost less than a small house, everyone will like them. Everyone already pokes glass now anyway...phone, pad, car...it's all the same.

 

With knobs and switches you don't need to take your eyes off the road once you know where they are and what they do.

LCD displays in the dash are not (and have never been) a good idea. They have undoubtedly caused several accidents since their introduction.

What is really needed is reliable voice command that recognizes and obeys only the orders of the driver unless a passenger knows and states the override code in case of an emergency. The menu of commands should be on an overhead display in the driver's line of sight.

 

and a steering wheel button you press when giving commands. this would be ideal, amazing we're not there yet.

 

no offence but new 2016 design is ugly

 

Without any reason explaining why, what was the point of that post?

 

Cool bike! I'm not riding these days (Mom is 87, only son, sisters live far away) but I'd get a hankering for that FZ9 with the triple and crossplane crankshaft. Bet that thing sounds sweet! My last bike was a 2003 FZ1. Great bike for backroads carving. In my avatar, was sitting on bike belonging to guy standing just behind it. Ninja 250, actually his wife's bike. He was an expert rider, former racer, trackday instructor. Unfortunately, he lowsided and went over cliff off Hwy 9 north of Boulder Creek / Santa Cruz and died in 2012. Kinda shocking actually, I didn't hear about it until this year. .....
Anyhow, be safe out there. I'm thankful I had no incidents in probably a hundred backroads rides from 2003 to 2010 on the windiest little roads on SF peninsula which is great backroads riding. There's other routes for great riding: over Mt Hamilton out to Del Puerto Canyon, Mines Rd and a whole lot more.
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I'll bet the 4th gen Prius shows up at the SF auto show around Thanksgiving time. Hopefully it is not locked up.

 

That's what a vehicle is. Cars are not attractive things naturally. They're little boxes on wheels, of which you see hundreds or thousands every day. It takes decades to get used to them enough for them to become good looking. And even then, if they aren't really show cars, they are ordinary because they are mass produced. Anything you see thousands of every day can't really be interesting to look at.

Besides, eye candy has to be awfully special to do anything for me anyway. Landscape photography is boring. I've seen perhaps 5 landscape shots in my life worth looking at for more than a second.

Unusual aircraft (Beach Staggerwing, SR-71, Dehavilland Venom, Piaggio P-180 Avante etc.) can be attractive. We'll executed astrophotography can be attractive, especially from Hubble. New cars just aren't, no matter what they look like.

The new Prius is decent looking to me. Fine. Don't care. It looks like it won't carry my stuff. I'm going later to look at a Nautical Blue Metalic 2012 Prius Four.

 

Sorry to hear about your friend. I know Hwy 9 and Boulder Creek. That would be a fun road on a motorcycle.
The FZ-07 is fast enough with 75 hp. The FZ-09 is crazy fast with 125 hp.

Here is what grabs my attention in automobiles. These old cars were so elegant. The craftsmanship was astounding.
You can view the rest of my photos from the Nethercutt Museum here (235 photos). I was fortunate to spend 6 hours there with a tripod and decent camera. If you visit or live in the L.A. area and like old cars don't miss this one. It is the best museum of old cars I've ever seen.

 

gorgeous, brass era?

 

Yes the Nethercutt has many brass era (1886 - 1915) cars. But the beauty extends beyond that era.

 

oh yes, i love watching the car shows when they do anything pre 1960.

 

Yes Toyota has made improvements on the car but it just doesn't fall into sporty look as they wanted it to be. I thinks so far the best looking Prius has been the 3rd gen but that's just my opinion.