Today, I was part of a focus group of 2016 Toyota Prius owners. There were six of us in my group and each of us were asked why we chose this car as well as what we especially liked and disliked about it. It appeared that there were other focus groups of Prius owners beyond mine. We got a look at the Prius Prime as well, but alas no test driving. They offered glimpses of potential Prius enhancements. We shared our minds for two hours. Many of the items discussed, both good and bad, were the same as can be read on these forums. I wore my PriusChat tshirt. Maybe we'll get some more members for our group. I know that we have a thread about "have you seen a 2016 Prius today?" Well today I saw a parking lot full of them.
An email survey followed by a few phone calls. Seemed like they were segregating or grouping and choosing. It was in Southern California.
Yes. That was discussed at length. The consensus in my group was favorable for the new taillights. White interior was touched on. Like this forum mixed feelings. No mention of spare tires. I said that with the linear improvement in economy that the Prius looks to command the hybrid market. And that the inevitable rise in gas prices will assist that also. It seemed like part of the Prius styling strategy was to "shake up" the market. There was a lot of range anxiety about electrics and people thought there was too much compromise in features for the plug ins.
Makes sense for Toyota to focus on CA as that's where the most are sold. Is the HQ still there or have they moved on to TX?
Seems like a pretty cool thing to have been a part of. One small step for man, one giant leap for Priuskind! Or something of the sorts.
but they could care less about texas. cheap taxes, most likely. a lot of asian companies have hq'ed there.
I received a similar E mail a few weeks ago. Asking to provide Prius feedback. I really didn't have the time. but it would have been interesting.
I recall Toyota Canada Inc. sending a survey about windshield wipers a few years ago. They asked about the courtesy wipe feature (that feature came and went so I was surprised they asked about it) as well as rain gutters (like on most Lexus models). The windshield rain gutters made it to the 2016 Prius which is a nice feature and probably cheaper to implement than the water-repellent front door windows on the 2010-2011 models.
Me too. I got the email and 2 letters in the mail. Filled out the questionnaires, but didn't submit a phone number or request contact. Glad you went, Kevin. It's nice Toyota is listening. What kind of potential enhancements were shown? Thanks.
Great! I really like the idea of an electric parking brake. Our foot-pedal seems kind of old fashioned? But, it's simple. Thanks.
California is the capital of USA . They get everything first. Nice to do that anyway. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
As long as you can control the firmness of the electric parking brake. A simple ON or OFF is not good enough. The more control the better. Personally I would rather have manual parking brake. What if your battery is dead and you need a tow?
Good stuff. Hopefully they can learn what they can with the E-Four system on the JDM version and give us the updated one when the time comes. Dolly up the rear wheels.
What if the tow truck had no dollies? you wasted an hour waiting for a tow truck that couldn't tow your car and have to waste another hour waiting for another tow truck with dollies. Not everyone will mention ohh BTW I have electric parking brake and my battery is dead to the operator.
