So, I love my Prime. Haven't seen another in the wild and I drive over 3 hours each day on congested roads. I debadged the rear emblems on my Prime and find persons looking at it trying to figure out what type of Toyota it might be. So, for fun, I'm thinking about rebadging it with Mirai and Fuel Cell emblems. (I found a place on line that sells the Toyota Mirai emblems; about $26 each). My wife tells me that when I bring it in for service, a tech might just look at it quickly and service it incorrectly. I assured her that they service by VIN so that would never happen. Maybe only I see the humor in driving a Prime that looks like a Mirai, badged as a Mirai. Anybody else?
Why not go all out and make your own badge for it instead? Instead of "Mirai" ("future") you can label it the Toyota Kakkoi ("Cool/Neat"), Toyota Denki ("Electricity"), Toyota Kage ("ka-geh", Shadow -- which I always thought would be a cool name for a car that's not a Dodge), Toyota Kimagure (Whimsy/Whimsical) -- or if no one else knows what the Prime is yet in your neck of the woods, the "Toyota Himitsu" ("Secret"). Go all out, man...
I've often thought of adding badges like "Twin Turbo" onto my Prii just to mess with other enthusiast's heads! Most drivers really have no idea what cars, particularly new models, have for powertrains. I mean look at the idiots who drive those cars with so-called Hemi engines, as though they invented or are the only ones with hemi head engines; how ridiculous! A ton of cars have hemi head engines, and I had the pleasure of racing my hemi Acura Type R, and trouncing a Hemi Dodge! I think you have a great sense of humor, and wish you the best! .
Sounds good! And if you want, you can pick one up here: EB Enterprises 121G - Flux Capacitor | O'Reilly Auto Parts
Smart woman. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong some day. Putting on the wrong emblem might accelerate things.
It’s unlikely to get you more than a strange look in a dealer service department, but consider that if your “Mirai” were ever to be in a serious collision, a “FUEL CELL” badge might complicate the emergency response. Most fire departments now know what to do with gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, but hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are still uncommon, and it wouldn’t be entirely unthinkable for an incident commander, recognizing the hazard but unsure how to respond, to decide to back off, rather than acting aggressively to extricate patients, extinguish fires, etc. Indeed, this is also a reason to keep all of the “PLUG-IN HYBRID” badges—these are one way emergency responders are trained to identify hybrid vehicles, so they can take the necessary precautions against high voltage and HV battery electrolyte. My rebadging suggestion: the plug-in hybrid Toyota Century. Look at Toyota part numbers 75403-40010 (¥4,180) and 75404-40010 (¥3,520). Replacing the SofTex seat coverings with wool is optional.
If you took your Prius Prime in for service and say you have a Toyota Tundra badge. If they service it as a Tundra, that dealership needs to be shut down for good... My question for you is why rebadge your car to something else? You can certainly go with Prius PHV from Japan and that is a correct badge for this car. But again that is your choice, I am just not a fan of looking at a Prius with turbo, supercharge, V8 emblem/badge or any car with a wrong emblem/badge.
Very good point on how the fire department deal with emergency. There are certain wires to cut for the battery in more serious accident and it's clearly labeled. However with the wrong badge they might not even try to look for that cable.
This is just "fun talk" from people who have nice, techno-advanced vehicles expressing some frustration from "name-plated" donkey holes ribbing them about the "gutless geekmobiles" they drive. . That's why I wish they'd make my Prime Advanced as a 2-seater, 2-door, 1000 lb lighter pocket rocket! I'd be an owner, now! .
Down in Georgia they don't. When I totaled my 2016 prius gen 4, the first responders pulled us (my wife and I) out right away. It was a 30 mph collision, but all air bags deployed, and the horn went on. Nobody hurt, but the car. The first responders wanted to turn off the horn off, and despite the warnings I gave about the HV batteries... They proceeded to open the hood and chop the 12v battery off with a very large AXE. I'm sure if it were an earlier model car, where the 12 volt battery where in the back, the horn would be sounding for a long time... jp
