2010 Prius Hopping A Slow Boat From Japan Starting Today

If it were done by an old fashioned car company with lots of defects and lots of early warranty claims in its normal act, we would be within our rights to snicker about "quality check" units. Considering how well G2 Prii--even `04s--have done in this respect, the attitude is not appropriate. Fair is fair!

 

A boat load of Prii?! Oh, baby, only second to a boat load of bikini models (even though a far second)! It makes me want to be a pirate.

I guess the boat is headed to the undisputed center of the world -- Los Angeles that is. Longo Toyota here in Los Angeles, incidentally the biggest Toyota dealer in the world, which sells almost 100 cars everyday, should start selling them in about a week.

I noticed one thing: all the cars in the lot are boring shades of gray (white, light gray, dark gray, and black that is) with only one Barcelona Red Metallic sticking out. I wonder why. I thought more people than that preferred colors instead of shades of gray.

Regarding quality control, no, these hundreds of units are not crash-test cars. No car company can afford destructive tests of more than a few of their cars. Yes, they are quality-control units -- that is the units that go under more quality-control tests than regular-production units to make sure there is not something unexpected in the production.

Lucky for those who can get one of these babies in their garages. I'll wait for the recession to pass myself. Although, honestly, it's always a very bad idea to buy a car during the initial release year unless yo have to. Prices go down substantially after one year, and more features become standard or available as well. Sometimes the problems and defects in early production model or first-year models are also fixed in the second year. Moreover, you read all the reviews and you become confident about what you are buying. So, my sincere advice is that wait until Spring 2010 to get one of these babies, unless you really have to get it now.

 

^^
Well, it's usually a few grants...

But now I see that you have preordered it; so, definitely enjoy it!

In fact I bought my 2009 Corolla only sixteen days after it first appeared in US dealers. It cost me perhaps $4,000 more than I would have paid now but I ended up getting a very rare fully loaded XLE model with navigation, which is no longer sold. LOL

So, you might end up getting a very rare fully loaded Prius that will only be sold during the initial release.

 

Toyota doesn't know either

Apparently Toyota doesn't know what boats their cars are going to be on....

Thank you for contacting Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

I apologize; the information you have requested is not available from Toyota.
​

Hope somebody signed for those things before they left the factory

 

Here is another site for you fanatics..

marinetraffic.com/ais

That site tracks ships all over the world. And yes, I already checked. None of those ship names are found..

 

^^
Nice, interesting site. Doubt it's comprehensive though...

 

From Google Earth the distance between Toyota City and Los Angeles is 5,740 land miles (4,990 nautical miles). With a medium-speed, 24 knots (27.6 MPH) Ro-Ro, it would take 8.5 days. Subtract about one day for the time difference; it's 7.5 days. So, the Ro-Ro should make it to the LA Harbor by tomorrow (Saturday, May 2) or so and the cars should be available in the dealers starting this Monday or so.

So, expect the toyota.com site to switch from 2009 Prius to 2010 Prius on Monday morning and the 2010 sales to commence.


Here are some notes:

• I noticed that there is a new light blue as well as the light green. The other unusual color is the navy.
• These cars look very similar to the 2009+ Corolla from the front.
• Another reason why these cars must be called "quality units" seems to be that they are all high packages -- notice the fog lights.
• Note the front license-plate holders -- looks like they are intended for sale in California.
• If you want to get your hands on one of these babies soon, head to Longo Toyota in LA early next week! (This is making the assumption that Ro-Ro was headed to US; so, don't blame me if not. )

 

Any update in estimating when the new Prius will arrive at California dealers? Even if just an estimate? (although I'm sure it has been posted, I haven't read an estimated arrival date other than "summer." "Summer" is a rather wide range though)

 

Late May.

 

Here is where the Slow Boat is located per Prius Team:

What's so special about May 7, 2009 for Toyota Motor Sales USA?

2 hints...1) pass your day and night checking Toyota.com tomorrow and 2) anyone with a digital camera might want to sneak around Benecia, CA sometime tomorrow.

Caution, as your PC friends and dealer resources can attest, the first cars to hit US soil still take many days (and weeks) to hit showroom floors so don't get too excited just yet, we've still got some time before your Prius will be ready for pick up (that includes our Prius Priority folks who actually have a delivery window to reference).

Best,
Erica

 

If I were WAY more of a total loser than I already am ... I'd have enough time to drive to the Portland Port ... stalk the carriers as they head east ... eventually finding my car, watch it leaving for Montana, and go hug it when the driver stopped for dinner.

 

Do you have room for another?

 

Does anyone know when the next round of Prii will be leaving Japan for the States?