Check out this link to a Japanese exporter. Their Prius parks itself. I guess the Park Button on the dashboard means a whole different thing in Japan. All this for $28k! We are getting ripped. No EV mode, no 16" tires, and no self parking. What up! http://www.batfa.com/new_car_toyota_prius.htm
Have you seen it in practice? It takes like 5 minutes to self park intself - not worth it for me living in a city where people barely wait for you to parallel park in the first place.
Lawsuits, johno. Lawsuits. One person/car gets hit while parking, owner claims it was the car. Victim sees $$$ and sues Toyota. :|
Do they not have Lawyers in Japan? Are they not sharks too? Very different cultures. I still wonder why everyone else in the world gets 16" tires and we don't?
i saw that car demo'ed on techtv. it is a cool feature for us but not really needed. In Japan where space is a premium, it is very handy. we simply can do without, they arent as lucky.
I checked the link and it would be $28,400 plus $900 for shipping to the U.S., so a total of $29,300. But, is that the BC package (or equivalent)? I wasn't able to determine that from the information on the site. Even if this is a #9, at $28,400 self-park becomes a $2400 option and I'll bet that's more than a lot of people would be willing to pay for that feature.
HEY!! Did you see the inside picture of that car on that link? I totally agree with where the Power button is! I always thought where they placed it was a bit strange for the US market or left-hand drive market. I have learned how to press it with my pinky out so that I look very sophisticated when I'm doing it. (Or gay...whatever...they are the same thing, right? )
umm the power button position is basically not far removed from the key. i dont understand what you are trying to say. you want to insert key with one hand and start with the other? you in a hurry?
What is this "insert key" stuff? I don't know anything about that...In fact, I have never put the key into the key slot since I've gotten the car. But I think having the power button right under the (what would be for us) the left most vent would make the dash a bit cleaner looking. AND it would be a better system for starting the car using both hands. One would turn it on while the other fastens the seatbelt and puts it into gear. I have another pet peeve but I might have to be put into another thread. It is the way the door handles bend down instead of up. I repeatedly open and close the back windows instead of the front based off where my other Toyota had put its window controls. It seems that they put the controls a bit further up on the door handle so your hands naturally rest on the back windows.
the key is inside the fob... i guess if you want to remove it before starting the car, that is your perrogative
I think he means that those of us with Smart Start/Entry never "put" the key anywhere. My keys are in my bag and I never take them out to get into the car.
They are vastly different cultures. The Japanese where were taken hostage in Iraq and later returned were greeted in their homeland with hostility because they broke the rules for travel to Iraq. I even heard they Japan is billing them for their airfare home. It doesn't surprise me that we will not get the auto-park feature here. The EV button is an entirely different matter in my opinion ...
In between the Big 3 and Oil lobby (US). It's going to be many years before a car like that is available again in the US (Nod to the former EV1) Maybe my daughter will buy one. (She's 2 months now)
I think he means that those of us with Smart Start/Entry never "put" the key anywhere. My keys are in my bag and I never take them out to get into the car.[/b][/quote] oic...hmm i spelled prerogative wrong to...
I think self-parking is silly. And I don't much care where the Power button is or what size wheels they use. But I really really want an EV button. I'm crossing my fingers for the next major model change. (Maybe 6 or 7 years? If I live that loooo...
A video of the Prius demonstrating the Intelligent Parking Assistance.. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3...3932685&q=prius -sengs