Prius glut?

With all of our middle east adventuring, one good oil shock would empty out the Prius inventory in no time. I remember even/odd days, and days when there was just no gas to be found.

 

I do not expect gasoline to stay this cheap for long. I'm positioned to cope with whatever gasoline costs for the next 12 years or more. I expect gasoline to spike up a huge amount due to world conflicts. When? I don't care when.

I'm also minimizing my carbon footprint, something I have been concerned with for a very long time. Conserving energy has always made sense, to me, anyway.

Harry
[/quote]
Good comments, yes I read an article about with gas prices down the prius is selling slower but as Harry pointed out they always go down this time of year, so when it starts peaking sales will probably go up, its very short sighted. But then again not every can afford to buy a new car even when it would be good but hopefully when the time is affordable they'll take conservation and CO2 into consideration.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Beryl Octet @ Feb 17 2007, 02:42 PM) [snapback]392049[/snapback]</div>

And Prius does not need gasoline? During the week-long power outage after wind storm in Seattle area in December I had as much trouble as anyone else when gas stations closed because there was no power. You see, to have less trouble with gas outage (as opposed to the gas price) one needs a car which can run 1000 miles on a simgle tank. Prius consumes three times less gas than an SUV but it has three times smaller tank. So range is still same 400 miles give or take. Mercedes E320 CDI is the best car for gas outages - it can make more than 1000 miles on it tank of diesel.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(momfortheenvironment @ Feb 17 2007, 03:04 PM) [snapback]392052[/snapback]</div>

Ugly thing is - we'll have 100% electric cars that charge from electricity made in coal-burning plants that are being constructed as we speak.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Earthling @ Feb 17 2007, 02:38 PM) [snapback]392048[/snapback]</div>

Yes - but there are many more people with other requirements. And, unfortunately, there are almost no hybrid cars for them. Prius barely touches one market segment.

Fortunately for Prius it has weight in brand/model recognition sense, like BMW or Mercedes. So someone who wants to stand out can do it in a Prius. Hummer drives make a statement and Prius drivers make a statement. Like it or not, you have to take various market aspects into account, even if you are not one of those people. That is partially why Civic Hybrid sells less - it looks like regular Civic. Celebrities drive Prii, not Civics or even Lexus 400h. Besides, with Prius one can stand out of the crowd for mere $25K or so as opposed to paying $35K+ for entry-level major brand luxury car.

Compact sedan - Prius, Civic
Family sedan - Camry
Sport sedan/coupe - ?
AWD sedan - ?
Luxury car - Lexus 450h
Luxury AWD car - ?
Minivan - ?
Small SUV - Ford Escape / Saturn Vue
Large SUV - Highlander
Luxury SUV - Lexus 400h
Convertible - ?
Truck - Silverado

That's it. Most interesting cars are in compact/family sedan and small SUV. And even then there is barely two models to choose from. I don't expect general consumer to be happy with such a narrow selection.

Interestingly enough, newcomers like Nissan again enter the same compact/family sedan segment. This increases selection, but does not increase market coverage.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(LazyBear @ Feb 17 2007, 04:06 PM) [snapback]392091[/snapback]</div>

Well, assuming we did get down to some sort of rationing/spot outages, I'd much rather be faced with finding 12 gallons to cover my roughly 600 miles of essential driving in the course of a month month than double or triple that (I'd probably be carpooling, but just considering worst case). As for range, there's always an extra gas can or two for the mower and other yuppie-required yard tools... And a siphon pump, now that I think about it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(LazyBear @ Feb 17 2007, 04:24 PM) [snapback]392096[/snapback]</div>

Your categorization is off. Prius is classified as a 5-passenger, mid-sized vehicle, in the same class as the Camry, although the Camry is somewhat larger.

The Honda Accord Hybrid also falls into that category.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse @ Feb 17 2007, 05:33 PM) [snapback]392101[/snapback]</div>

Camry is significantly larger, run comparo at autos.msn.com. It is 14 inches longer, 3.5" wider, has 2" more shoulder space in front and the back.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(LazyBear @ Feb 17 2007, 07:03 PM) [snapback]392138[/snapback]</div>

Is that 14" usuable space? I doubt it. I don't know the criteria used to classify a car as mid-sized. Can the Camry fit 4 mail tubs across the back seat and 4 in the trunk? My Intrigue is 21 inches longer and it is a mid-sized car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(LazyBear @ Feb 17 2007, 07:03 PM) [snapback]392138[/snapback]</div>

As I acknowledged, however, that does not automatically make the Prius a "compact" car and therefore your categorization remains incorrect.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AnOldHouse @ Feb 18 2007, 11:44 AM) [snapback]392354[/snapback]</div>

Please define what do you think compact sedan is. Edmunds.com lists Prius in compact sedans which is pretty respectable company. Prius has more rear seat leg space than many compact sedans, but it is pretty narrow, run your own front/rear shoulder space comparison at your favorite car site.

MSN autos classifies Prius as small car, along with Civic, Ford Focus, VW Jetta, Audi A4 and BMW 3.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JimN @ Feb 17 2007, 08:27 PM) [snapback]392235[/snapback]</div>

The current Prius is categorized by the EPA as a midsize car because its combined passenger and cargo volume is between 110 and 119 cubic feet. The Prius has an passenger volume of 96 cubic feet and cargo volume of 16 cubic feet. Other cars that might be normally considered compact but which were categorized as midsize by the EPA include the Nissan Sentra and Versa. That means Nissan's smallest sedan is midsize, they have no compact sedan. This is all off the fueleconomy.gov web site.

Personally, I find the Prius a little narrow for a midsize car. But the Infiniti G35 is also narrow and it too is categorized as a midsize sedan.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(LazyBear @ Feb 18 2007, 06:03 PM) [snapback]392602[/snapback]</div>

You speak in strange whispers friend. Are you not "of the body"?

Someone forgot to give you the purple kool-aid when you joined this forum.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Feb 18 2007, 10:53 PM) [snapback]392658[/snapback]</div>

In addition, the federal government has also categorized the Prius in the mid-sized class based on it's weight. The Prius is in the 3,000 pound vehicle inertia weight class which qualifies it as a mid-sized vehicle. Since the Prius demonstrated the greatest fuel economy increase in its class, over the benchmark average fuel economy for that class in the 2002 model year, it achieved the largest tax credit level of any model.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Feb 18 2007, 11:53 PM) [snapback]392658[/snapback]</div>

I don't care about obsession, propaganda, brainwashing, koolaid, blind faith, or anything else along those lines. I prefer cold facts and reality.

Actually, I don't get why someone got offended by the fact that Prius may not be a midsize car. OK, let's call it midsize, it does not change anything. My original point was: sales of Prius will flatten because market needs variety. There are not enough hybrid cars that can cover the market. Expecting even 20% of population to buy Prius is simply not realistic. Expecting majority eventually driving some sort of hybrid car is realistic. Saying that one model can cover large market segment is a pipe dream.

Toyota is a good, relistic company so I am sure they will continue expanding their offering and improving existing model. I personally would love to see hybrid AWD sedan, slightly wider than Prius, but not necessarily as large as Camry. Preferably with Lexus amenities

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Earthling @ Feb 17 2007, 11:38 AM) [snapback]392048[/snapback]</div>

Exactly, I don't really care how much the gas goes up, I can just start walking if it starts to hit my wallet hard. Its just the point of when I drive i know that I am not polluting as much as the car next to me(unless its a Prius or a civic Hybrid).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(LazyBear @ Feb 19 2007, 02:08 AM) [snapback]392732[/snapback]</div>

I didn't get "offended," I was merely pointing out your error. It's a common error, and the reason why the Prius is frequently, and very erroneously, compared to the compact-size Corolla, an inappropriate comparison as they are not in the same car class sizes.