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PRIUS mentioned in Top Gear article

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by alanclarkeau, Jan 19, 2018.

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  1. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Top Gear article (date unknown, but sent to me this morning)

    20 cars that changed the world

    upload_2018-1-20_14-40-4.png

    [Trivia - why are almost all Press Cars RED?]
     
    #1 alanclarkeau, Jan 19, 2018
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  2. GreenJuice

    GreenJuice Active Member

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    Is that article really correct? I thought the Prius came before the Honda Insight by a couple of years.
     
    #2 GreenJuice, Jan 20, 2018
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  3. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    You're right.

    According to WIKI, "The first mass-produced hybrid vehicle was the Toyota Prius, launched in Japan in 1997, and followed by the Honda Insight, launched in 1999 in the United States and Japan.[ The Prius was launched in Europe, North America and the rest of the world in 2000".

    [Top Gear hasn't always been the authority in accurate reporting of automotive matters, being more entertainment focussed.]

    Hybrids have actually been around since the turn of the century - the century before!!! Ferdinand Porsche is one early developer. Often regarded as the first commercial, though not sure if it would be called a commercial success, is the 1911-18 Dual Power Model 44 Coupe - "Below 15 mph the car was electric powered and above it the conventional engine took over to take the vehicle to a maximum of around 35 mph" - no, it didn't have regeneration.
    upload_2018-1-20_16-29-45.png upload_2018-1-20_16-30-32.png
     
    #3 alanclarkeau, Jan 20, 2018
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  4. Bill the Engineer

    Bill the Engineer Senior Member

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    LOL!!! Back then cars barely had brakes!
     
    #4 Bill the Engineer, Jan 20, 2018
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  5. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

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    In UK the two numbers on the registration plate signify the year of registration the 6 signifies that it was between the 1st of March and the 1st of September in the 2010s and the 5 courts the year as 2015. Numbers change on the first day of March and the first day of September every year and the latest number is 67. After March 1st it will become 18 until SEP 1st when it will change to 68. In 2021 the will change to 21 then 71. Better Google it if you're still confused.

    Top gear always found facts got in the way and involved research for which they were mentally handicapped.

    I once had an old Morris 8 with a plywood floor and cable brakes. There was no water pump and water circulated through the block and radiator simply by thermal convection.
     
    #5 RCO, Jan 20, 2018
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2018
  6. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    Why are you bothering with "Top Gear"? They do comedy. Not facts.
     
    #6 David Beale, Jan 20, 2018
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  7. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

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    Rightly, no mention of cars. :ROFLMAO:
     
    #7 RCO, Jan 20, 2018
  8. Since2002

    Since2002 Senior Lurker

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    Toyota struggled with the U.S. debut because the original Prius released in Japan in 1997 wasn't testing well in U.S. customer tests. Also Toyota Motor Sales in the U.S. was in disagreement with Toyota Japan about pricing for a car that they felt would be a difficult sell in the U.S. Eventually a few modifications were made and agreements reached on pricing, and the 2001 Prius was launched in the U.S. in July 2000. Unfortunately by then Honda had already begun selling the 2000 Insight in the U.S. a few months earlier, thus creating the still widely believed perception that Honda created the first mass produced hybrid.

    Here's the timeline:

    October 1995 - Toyota hybrid concept car at Tokyo Motor Show
    October 1997 - Honda hybrid concept car at Tokyo Motor Show
    December 1997 - Prius goes on sale in Japan, the world's first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid car
    November 1999 - Insight goes on sale in Japan
    December 1999 - Insight goes on sale in U.S.
    July 2000 - Prius goes on sale in U.S.
    September 2000 - Prius goes on sale in Europe
    October 2001 - Official launch of Prius in Australia
     
    #8 Since2002, Jan 20, 2018
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  9. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    The Gen 4 Prius is/was marketed as a sporty hybrid (or at least sportier than before) and of course they want to show off the Prius-exclusive Hypersonic Red colour.

    Manufacturers will pick one colour for their press material to highlight the vehicle.

    e.g. The Gen 2 and 3 were shown off in silver most because it was the "high tech" colour (for Gen 3) and the in-trend colour for the new millennium (Gen 2... aptly named Millennium Silver Metallic).

    The Prime/PHV is shown off in the new Blue Magnetism/Spirited Aqua colour (although Magnetic Grey/Decuma Grey is available in the press fleet)
     
    #9 Tideland Prius, Jan 20, 2018
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  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    3rd gen brochure cover vehicle was blizzard pearl. With a background that looked like a Wizard of Oz set, stylized, green, blue sky with clouds.

    4th gen, not so much...

    IMG_8162.JPG
     
    #10 Mendel Leisk, Jan 20, 2018
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  11. WilDavis

    WilDavis Senior Member

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    Top Gear? I think you mean Top Sneer, surely (Shirley!) Wretched program presented by narcissists full of their own bloated air/wind/gas led by an oaf who has the charm of a Horned Toad (apols. to any Horned Toads reading this) I remember seeing a much younger (but more mature) Mr. Clarkson in an early BBC TV series "Jennings at School" (…from what I remember, he played a narcissistic bully/oaf/pratt in that¹ too! (…whooda thunk it? o_O …everyone! :rolleyes:))

    ¹ (for any Horned Toad fans) The Jeremy Clarkson story - BBC News
     
    #11 WilDavis, Jan 20, 2018
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2018
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  12. krmcg

    krmcg Lowered Blizzard Pearl Beauty

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    They do seem to back into the opinion that they want - regardless of the facts...
     
    #12 krmcg, Jan 20, 2018
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  13. KilgoreTrout

    KilgoreTrout Junior Member

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    Not to pick nits here, but Clarkson et al are no longer with Top Gear. It's now hosted by Matt LeBlanc (weird, I know), Chris Harris and Rory Reid. Of course, it's still mostly ridiculous. It seems you might know this already from the link you provided, however.
     
    #13 KilgoreTrout, Jan 20, 2018
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  14. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I was thinking the reveal at the Detroit Auto Show.. It was silver.


    Yeah the Gen 3 and 4 are marketed towards different people. The Gen 3 towards your typical Prius buyer (as at that time, that's who bought Prii. It did gain a few new people as there were new PC members that bought the Gen 3 because it looked a lot better than the Gen 2 and would've never bought the Gen 2).

    The Gen 4 is designed to attract a younger or more sporting driver - it's to show that the car no longer drives like a toaster on wheels.
     
    #14 Tideland Prius, Jan 20, 2018
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  15. Bill the Engineer

    Bill the Engineer Senior Member

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    You obviously haven't been in my Gen 3 while I was driving. My passengers usually grab for the assist handle above the door at least once on every trip.
     
    #15 Bill the Engineer, Jan 20, 2018
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  16. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    Look out for the crazy Firebrid! :D
     
    #16 Prodigyplace, Jan 20, 2018
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  17. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    No, we haven't had them here on TV - think it's only PayTV - which I have. But I get email updates, probably because my son once had a subscription to their Australian version magazine. But I did know Clarkson had gone, some with a Chris Evans?? came here but were terrible so I didn't watch after the first one.
     
    #17 alanclarkeau, Jan 20, 2018
  18. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Evans was only there for the first season. It was weird.. way too many ppl (It's like the BBC was throwing everyone in and seeing who the audience like). Evans, Harris, Reid, Schmidt (Sabine) and LeBlanc.

    For me, Reid is like a younger Hammond. He prefers the hot hatches. Harris is the more mature one with the luxury performance class as his favourite (at least anything that goes around a track well). LeBlanc is an all-rounder and seems to like all types of cars.
     
    #18 Tideland Prius, Jan 20, 2018
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  19. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

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    I haven't been described in those words for several decades now, so thanks!
     
    #19 RCO, Jan 21, 2018
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  20. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    I think Toyota is being fickle with their established customer base, to their detriment. The style-over-function, outside and in, the compromises and deletions, the insistence on pushing infotainment, I've got little interest in all this: if the next gen follows this trend I'm out. Might be outa cars by then anyway, lol.

    The sad thing is: the car is a technical masterpiece, it's just they've gotta rein in the nutters in marketing.
     
    #20 Mendel Leisk, Jan 21, 2018
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2018
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