Is the 2010 NOT ready for prime time?

My brother in law was thinking about buying a computer. But then he thought, they keep improving those things each year, making them faster and faster, adding more peripherals and games and stuff. It's been 15 years since he first thought about buying one. He says he hopes they stop improving them soon so he can get one.

 

Yea, they rushed out 5 years ahead. In 2015, there will surely be a better Prius.

 

They said they 150 Demo plug inns this year. They will also have to stay more competive with others getting in race. I just spoke to a dealer in Florida today that had one upgraded on there own and the car is traveling to the west coast and they are plugging it in every night and getting close to 80 mpg. I am saying the plug in will be going out the doors in quanity and a better price than you think because of other automakers jumping in on the action

 

Someone is going to have to come up with a larger-capacity battery that weighs less, takes up less space and doesn't cost more than the current NiMH battery.

 

I can understand why someone could make a good arguement that The 2010 Prius has been rushed. When you release a model in May with almost the simultaneous anouncement that Ipod integration will be available in the fall, plus similar anouncements concerning Safety Connect and Steering changes. Then I think you can wonder why these things weren't ironed out before release.

Having said all that, I am now going to say I don't think The Prius was rushed so much as The Prius release was "changed". Without behind the scenes access I have nothing but speculation about a release date and how that might of been affected by the release of the Insight but I don't think I'm stretching speculation too far to say Toyota has reacted to the arrival of the Insight. If the Insight hadn't been released would Toyota of waited and ironed out some of these bugs and released the 2010 closer to..uh 2010? Perhaps..we just will never know.

Obviously this release while perhaps not rushed, was affected by outside events. The Economy and Competition. There is still an unreleased level of The Prius, the Prius #1. Wheels (no pun intended) are still in motion. Yes, to a degree that happens with every redesign and new model, but in my opinion usually not to this extent.

The whole option package structure if not rushed, seems reactionary and maybe slightly premature. You have the as of yet unknown, unavailable Prius 1, go to 2,3, then 4,5...and also in my opinion the structure is like a ladder with missing rungs. 2,3 offer excelllent value, but if you want the sunroof or the top of line "gizmos" The 2010 Toyota Prius splinters out into "two" " top of the lines. Either the Sunroof or The Tech package. That seems a little unfinished to me.

This is all Personal Speculation, but I think Toyota probably originally planned to market the 2010 Prius as a much more top of the line product, more mainstream but also far more luxurious. Which it is, especially if you go for the top of the line. However my guess is they got wind of Honda's "Hybrid for Everyone" campaign and then were stuck. If they released The Prius as a $25,000+ automobile with Lexus like extras, they would be playing right into Hondas hands. I think Toyota realized they couldn't afford to allow Honda to take the "affordable" hybrid spot without a fight. Thus we are given this almost broken ladder package/price structure, where base models are in my opinion a very good value, but very rapidly as you climb the ladder, The Prius becomes less of a value and more of a luxury. To make the jump to either the larger 17 inch wheeled, super tech equipped Prius, or to obtain the Sunroof requires a fairly big jump in cost.

So there is my long winded opinion. 2010 Prius rushed, arguable but I don't think so. 2010 Prius release, reactionary and thus perhaps making the entire release a little uneven and premature? Yes.

 

And in the same post it said you would not be able to get one. I'd be happy to take your bet, PHEV's may prove to be viable but they are years away from being anything other than toys for enthusiasts and eco-chic celebrities. Make sure you bookmark this thread so you can find me in a year...

 

Bite off more than you can chew?

Why would Toyota want to bundle together so much all at once?

The approach that has always worked well is to rollout in phases... since there is always an abundance of them in the waiting. More to come is normal.

Remember, even if the car was configured "perfectly", it would still only be the consumer wants & needs being addressed. Dealer, salespeople, and mechanics would have to wait. This way, they can get a jump start before the next surge in demand arrives. It gives the pioneers an opportunity to collect & share real-world data too.

This is my THIRD rollout experience with Prius (2000, 2004, 2009). From my perspective, there was no rush. The choices made for this particular upgrade seem to be a nice balance of addressing many audiences.
.

 

The 7500.00 Senate rebate just passed for the purchase of Plug in cars is far more than for a toy. It has put the plug in on the front bunner. Toyyota just missed the 2010 date because they needed just a little more time. Why now you can buy a plug in pack for them on ebay for 2000.00

Prius Plugin PHEV Conversion Kit with Lithium-Ion - eBay (item 200344551230 end time Jun-19-09 23:25:01 PDT)

I will be more than happy to bookmark it. you need to do the same.

 

Excellent perspective. You invaded my brain and stole my thoughts. (Guess I forgot to take my Zyprexa today).

I especially like the broken ladder analogy. The "Prius Team" issued a challenge to come up with a better set of configurations, with the requirement that you stay within 10 total packages. Here is a link to a thread about it. Please check it out and add your comments on what you would change:

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...sted-list-please-approve-suggest-changes.html

Roy

 

That's only 2 kWh pack but you can get 4kWh pack for $1k more, total of $3k. That should qualify for $2,500 tax credit.

 

I would disagree that you have any real issues here.

1.) While some people will see these changes to the steering as an improvement, some will love the feel of their car, and never make the changes. Just because they are choosing to adjust this on later production vehicles does not make this an 'issue'.

2.) The IPod controller is currently an available option that can be port added, or dealer added, and has a list price of $299. If you are referring to the USB integration, that is different, and everyone will be paying ~$200 for this once available. (Even the cars with this included will go up by the $200, per Prius Team).

3.) NAV resolution fixes. While some folks have indicated that they are unhappy with the NAV screens, others have said that they prefer this screen. For those of us upgrading from a Garmin, TomTom, Etc., the integration is a huge upgrade. (Just like a 42" Plasma my brother just bought looks great to him, but seems TEENY compared to my 52" LCD - Personal Preference)

4.) This is not likely to change immediately. I would not consider it a bug, although I would love to see the SR on a V myself, I would not see this as a flaw.

5.) ETC? Seriously, are you saying that this is a reason that the 2010 is NOT ready for primetime? (or maybe we should ask the TDI Fan Boy to tell us why it is not yet ready? {{Tongue in cheek here, not trying to offend Mr,TDI ;-)}}

 

As we say in the software world, 'shipping is a feature'. You have to start getting a return on your investment, and that means getting the product in the hands of your customers. In this case they decided that shipping with a few known flaws was better than holding the car back to fix them - and this is also widely known in the world of software.

One slight problem Toyota will have with Prius is the law of diminishing returns. The largest opportunities for reducing fuel consumption have likely already been had. We've already seen people complaining that the 3G isn't enough of an improvement over the previous generation, expecting half the fuel consumption. Well, sorry, physics of an internal combustion engine won't allow that. For greater fuel mileage, you may have to sacrifice size to reduce weight, eliminate some accessories, and most of all sacrifice some speed and acceleration.

That will potentially make future generations less attractive for upgrades, if sticking with the basic petrol-engine plan.

 

I've been thinking the same Mike. Engine efficiency of 40% seems like a wall, at least for now.

 

So?

Big picture.

Only a tiny fraction of the consumer base is faced with that dilemma anyway. The rest are comparing 3G to a guzzler.
.

 

A great thread.

As to a PHEV Prius, although it is much discussed by PriusChatters,
Toyota is not convinced it is a winner:

Toyota's Problem With Plug-in Hybrids | BNET Auto Blog | BNET

So the non-PHEV status of the 2010, and probably the 2011, and even
the 2012, wouldn't be a "not ready for prime time" issue for Toyota.

if I'm reading this correctly, we should be rooting for 60 mi range, 60
mph, four door EVs... in the $30-$40K price range.

Which I am.

 

How many times do you see an "update" on a model? Toyota's Prius Team are being up front with us and telling us it will happen, other manufacturers are going to do the same, they just aren't telling you about it.

I think of all the cars on the market today, in 5 years time Prius will be the least obsolete of them all.

Obsolete isn't really the right word though, more like out dated, as it will still do exactly what is was designed to do very well. Floppy discs are obsolete because computers don't have floppy drives any more and have been replaced by USB sticks. But a computer which still has a floppy drive and performs the tasks it was purchased to perform might be out dated but it isn't obsolete. You might even have installed USB ports to allow for the new technology.

 

Agreed.

Quite true, I believe. And the "Prius" you mean is not just the 2010 version, but the entire Gen2 series as well.

 

Wonder if you ever found something you don't like about the Prius, maybe you actually work for Toyota, if not, men all this time spent making lobby...

 

I beleive that thread is a smoke screen. they are starting to lease them this year and next year I beleive they will have enough of the lithium battiers to start rolling them out.

Toyota To Lease Plug-in Hybrids In Japan, US, Europe - Automotive Business Review : News