After six weeks of owning my Red 2004 Prius, I noticed an optical illusion I hadn't looked at another way until then. I approached the car from the rear and looked at the Hybrid Synergy Drive logo just below the word Prius. I never got the keychain when I ordered my Prius so I hadn't looked at it in detail before. I suddenly noticed the blue swirl divider on the logo could be called the letter S. It is the only blue thing on a Prius that is not Seaside Pearl. So then the silver area to its left is an H, and the silver area to its right is a D, subtly spelling HSD. Either this was so obvious to others that they never mentioned it, or it was so subtle that I was (among) the first to notice it. Which is it? Either way, another fun thing to point out about the Prius, or any other car that will use HSD!
Speaking of, I still have not received the keychain! The last time I bugged my salesperson about it he said they were out of stock. Whether that's true or not, who knows! At least I have the car now.
wow, neat!! I had to pull out my keychain to verify, and I saw it right away! That definately calls for some point donations! Here's 50 for you! -m.
Yeah, I too noticed it only a couple weeks ago (when stuck behind a Prius in traffic) after having been exposed to the logo since spring 2003. Felt dumb.
Yes, the FedEx logo's arrow was my previous epiphany (someone had to tell me about that one though). Thanks for the points rflagg!
Howdy, Tony had earlier alluded to Toyota's cleverness with the three oval Toyota emblem.... What does the emblem mean or stand for? Is there any significance to it? I am always glad to know a cool tidbit about car names, logos, history.---especially good car companies like Toyota Thanks Flyingprius
There might be some significance to the fact that you can find the shapes of all four different letters used to spell "TOYOTA" in the three-oval logo. Or it might just be because all the major car manufacturers were obsessed with ovals in the early-to-mid-90s. (When several other makes were either introduced with oval logos or switched to oval logos; also when we saw a few American cars with ovals all over their design, like the Ford Taurus and Buick Riviera.)
That I have noticed before... I got a keychain off of ebay for $10. But the dealer is supposed to give you one? I never got one! What else are they supposed to give you? So far, all I noticed was the floor mats (which I am accustomed to being an add-on), and a bottle of Toyo-Guard in the center console (along with the rubber boots the dealer is supposed to install underneath the frame).
Hey, I stopped following this post for a while. TMS13 posted this on Thu Jul 01, 2004 From the Guinness Encyclopedia of Signs & Symbols: Toyota: founded in Japan in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda, with the proceeds from the sale of his father's loom patent rights to a British company. Initially called Toyoda, the company was renamed Toyota as a result of a competition for a new logo. Besides looking and sounding better than 'toyoda', the winning design comprised eight characters - an auspicious number in Japan. This design was not adopted when Toyota began expansion into Western markets in the 1960s, and the company was without a pictorial emblem until 1989 when the 'ellipses' were introduced: they comprise a vertical and horizontal ellipse, which together form a 'T', enclosed by a third unifying ellipse for the company's 'spirit of creativity in design'. The overall background space is said to represent the company's technological expansion and future opportunities.
I'd be HAPPY to get free floor mats and pay $10 for the key chain The mats cost about $185. I think the keychain is Toyota when your dealer enters you in the system. If you didn't get one, and it has been some time, you might want to inquire. I think mine took 3-4 weeks and I was surprised to see it. It came from Toyota, not the dealer. Then I had no use for it until my car came since I kept my keys on the remote start fob for my Odyssey. In retrospect, carrying it all year seems sort of silly since I only used it on the coldest winter days. Since I have SKS, I don't keep my keys on the fob, it just sits quietly in my (fob) pocket.
Batavier, I don't understand. If I wasn't clear in my post, when I say keys, I mean house and car. Since I don't need a key for the Prius, I now have only 3 keys - My wife's Subaru, house and front porch. The porch is enclosed, we lock it in the summer when the window to the house is open. The cat can come and go to the porch as he likes. I keep those on the Prius keychain. If, at some point, my wife gets a Prius, or other Toyota that can use the same fob, I WILL get them 'keyed alike', one less thing to carry. The Prius fob (there is the little key for the door IN it) leaves my pocket only at night when I change for bed.
Hmm I keep my keys & the fob together on one non-Prius keychain. Maybe I should look into installing fob pockets into all of my clothes. Is it safer to keep it separate, do you think?
I think he meant we dont get the Prius key chain that soem of you in the USA got when ordering your Prius. I also didnt get one
