The begining of the end of the Prius - Time

what's the percent of hybrid sales in japan?

 

Toyota put emission reduction at the top of their priority list when designing Prius, with the dependency on oil next. So, the price of gas wasn't a major factor anyway.

 

Isn't the Prius number one or two?

 

Yes - and more specifically, they couldn't keep up traction pack production. They had some bad thermal management hardware that got recalled too. The new delivery schedules will hopefully not get pushed back any more. On a good note though, they're saying the phev outlander will be getting a new look ... and it looks like they've gone for the massive Lexus 'X' grill look that I see now on the RX & other models;
2016 Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid: Revealed At Paris Motor Show


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ouch, that hurts my eyes! maybe these companies need better designers instead of 'car guys'.

 

Excellent question.

Aqua (Prius C) has been the top-seller (yes, overall #1) in Japan. Prius (liftback) has been #3. I believe Honda Fit is #2.

 

nice. i suppose building them for the rest of the world is just a production bonus. they probably made the right call, not opening a factory here.

well, americans don't care too much about emissions either. but i guess that's a benefit for the 3% majority.

 

I see a lot of positive change in Toyota with the new Camry: Never before could you get a Black interior in anything but the SE trim. The interior materials are much improved. They biffed the driver's seat cushion for tall guy like me but hopefully my 3 letters will combine with similar sentiment for improvement.

 

i can't get past the grille, i'm glad we have the 2013.

 

Greencarreports article says upcoming new Plugin Prius will be differentiated from non plugin Prius and the plugin will have the more 'staid' styling.
I'm ok with that.
Article that Austin refd above.

 

me too, all i want is more battery and a spare. not counting chicks though.

 

Yes, for the first time in practically forever, Toyota was forced into a major change mid-cycle. Except for the front grill in some colors, it's a better car. Hopefully, they've added even more flavor the the next gen full design. The new Prius v is not something I would have bought. I just couldn't.

 

me either.

 

Nissan Leaf got blasted for looking too much like Jar Jar Binks.

So apparently the Darth Vader look is "in" now.

 

doesn't mean that we can't all want to throw up from just looking at it .

 

I don't know why you would say that. Except for right now with an extremely weak yen to dollar, it has made the US delivered prii more expensive to produce. Japanese labor and electricity costs are higher than the US plus production in Japan requires addition transportation of heavy materials. Localized production in the US would have also helped during the manufacturing crisis with the tsunami So for US customers and Toyota Stock Holders Japanese production of the prius has had costs. The prius is also the highest volume Japanese car that is still exported. Now for Japanese workers and perhaps toyota's influence on the Japanese government, creating employment in Japan may have benefits.

The US is not a "production bonus", but was really the dominant market for the gen II prius, when it was proving technology. Japanese sales did not exceed US sales until the Gen III was introduced. 2012 was the last year big hybrid incentives were in the japanese market, but there still are much higher gas taxes. 2013 Japanese sales of the liftback settled back down to about the level in the US. US sales of the phv were much higher. I don't have 2014 sales yet. Aqua/prius c sells much better in Japan than US. US market is about 4x bigger than the Japanese market, and in most years (all years the Japanese government has not given car companies extra money) much more profitable for toyota.

Judging that the price of oil in 1997 when the prius was introduced was $18.64 or about $25 when adjusted for inflastion. In 2003 when the gen II came out it was $27.69 or about $36 when adjusted for inflation. Only the gen III came out when oil prices were higher than today. Expections were that prices would rise and spike, as they have. Fuel efficiency and low emissions while acting like a "normal" car have always been the goals, and it has been quite profitable for toyota in the US. In Japan the government has done at least 3 major low carbon dioide (meaning hybrid) programs to get hybrids out into more public hands. If the prius hadn't been successful in the US it is unlikely the Japanese government would have put so high incentives on the Gen III whish really made sales take off.

 

Actually my wife LIKES the way my Prius (Gen 3) looks. I think its a bit over priced, and I wish I could have afforded the plugin (or it came with a bigger battery). But the gas milage is nice and not having to fill up more than once a week is good. The inside is to easy to scuff however. In 18 months i'll make some mods that will address some things I think should have been included - the "turn signal / backup camera" and Side marker/blinker mirrors. Eventually I'll might add more battery and plug in capability.

 

2016?
If I have to buy a new car before the next Presidential inaugural speech, it will probably be a new 2015 Volt or a G3. The eco-chic will be drooling over the 2016s, and the 2015s will be just as effective as they are now!

Meaning: My next car will be an HEV/PHEV regardless of whether gas is $1 a gallon or $10. I'm old enough to remember when people were scrambling to buy more efficient cars when gas was $1.50 a gallon.
So....now Time is somehow suggesting that hybrids are going to go the way of the T-Rex since gas is now "down to" $1.60???

I think that a few years from now hybrids will still be roaming the earth, and Time will be extinct.

Evolution in action.

 

AW c'mon .... We older than that ... right?
Remember the crisis back before $1.50 ? Look at the lines as folks freaked out when (early 1970's - I'd just started driving) So Cal gas prices went from 45¢ /gallon to 87¢ /gallon;



I dumped a Ford Van (15mpg) and started driving arguably a couple of the worst cars ever made ... Ford Pinto & Chevy Vega. City/Hwy combined MPG's were in the high 20's. Funny ... those were killer mpg's back then. But of course with Pinto & Vega quality being what it was ... I might as well have stuck to the van.

Yet folks wana now buy land barges. It's true ... we never learn from history.
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