2016 Toyota Prius: Return of the Disrupter - Up to 58 MPG

Sounds quite promising.
I'm looking forward to this busting the hybrids past the 3%-4% market share.
I believe this could do it if the car matches their marketing.

 

not at 2 bucks a gallon. you have a better chance of the hummer making a come back. by the time gas gets back to 4 or 5 dollars, the gen V will be out. could be perfect timing.

 

I guess it is perfect timing (prices in USD):

Netherlands 7,18
Italy 7,08
UK 6.91
Turkey 6.67
Germany 6.21
Japan 5.85
South Korea 5.38
Brazil/Chile/Argentina 5.35
Australia 5.27
China 4.73
--> United States 2.74

That is info for Q2 2015. Prices didn't drop in the rest of the world as much as USA. Somebody needs to stop you guys from going into more wars just so you can steal oil

 

$1.69

 

no argument. but i think it has more to do with taxes. from what i've read, you guys are buying black market oil from isis.

 

Those are all US dollars, per US gallon?

 

Would be nice for sure.

But everyone knows the actual price of oil has tanked rather severely. If those countries have not seen a huge drop in gasoline prices, who's getting the extra profits?

 

Their governments. Much of their higher price is tax.

 

Actually price in EU has dropped for about 5% and that is because governments have raised the tax to keep price steady. About 80 percent of the price is tax so even if gas was for free we would still have to pay 5 or so USD per gallon for tax in eu.
Merged.

Us dollars for US gallon, second quater of 2015.

 

No Li-Ion Prius for Europe means no Eco model !
I understand they they do not want to degrade the Auris sales, but quite frankly, Prius Eco could have been a success where gasoline prices are $6.5-7 to the gallon.

 

it's probably still a diesel holdover. if eu ever gets over their diesel fixation, they might start to encourage hybrid sales.

 

Too bad this tax issue is political suicide in the U.S..

From an economics standpoint, the time to lay on some robust taxes on oil/refined oil products doesn't get much better than now - very low oil prices and an economy that's doing relatively well.

Challenging for hybrid, PHEV, BEV, and alternate fuel vehicles to really pick up sales in our current environment.

 

The percent of manual transmission cars in Europe is a lot higher too, I think.

 

we're so anti gas tax in this country, you here more about taxing alt fuel vehicles.

 

Prius 2016 is declared at 3.0L per 100km in UK and probably the rest of EU. Sounds good enough for me. Last one was 4 per 100. That's 58mpg for old one and 78 for new one

Manual vehicles make about 95% or more of vehicles on the roads. Mostly goverment officials have auto. That's one more reason people really like HSD.

 

I've had many manual transmissions, preferred them for years. The newest automatics had been delivering better mileage overall than manuals, and became smoother as well. As I recall, Europeans showed more love for the driving experience, a love I shared. There's not much love in an HSD. That could still be a huge deterrent.

 

A big chunk of this is different gearing. If the manuals were delivered with the same gearing range as automatics, they'd be getting better mpg than they are now. But the automakers would have a serious problem with retraining many customers. Those who are accustomed to just getting into top gear on the highway and leaving it there would be very annoyed at having to learn to downshift much more frequently. It is much easier to program a computer (on an automatic) than to retrain a human (on a stick shift).

Can European readers here comment on any fuel economy difference patterns between manual and auto transmissions in their markets? I had thought that manual transmissions there were often geared for economy, where American versions of the same vehicles tended to be geared towards performance.

FWIW, U.S. manuals have been geared taller in recent years, my 2014 Suby is much better than its 1997 predecessor. But the new one clearly falls short of its auto/CVT cohorts.

 

I bet this is a fraudulent comparison. I would be surprised if this is the price of the super unleaded 95 RON / 91 AKI grade gasoline, since United States of Germany in their typical fraudulent fashion have been effectively eliminated unleaded gasoline. According to their directives, states are free to import 91 RON / 87 AKI if they wish, but still you don't have a choice other than fuelling your car with super unleaded gasoline. This is definitely not a free market and if you want an answer, just ask yourself who sets the rules and who gains from this silly economic environment.

But, maybe this situation is a sign of wealth for the residents of USG too. Maybe the state and the people, I am so unlucky to have been born and live (Former Republic Of Greece) are too rich, to not sniff at such unworthy details.

 

And the point is...

 

After driving an HSD, I just think of manuals and conventional automatics as quaint but hopelessly outdated.