I kid you not, I had a voice mail from a saleswoman today who told me this. She said there were no ears listening and she could give me inside information that the 2009's will be out in August and get 30+ more mpg than the 2008's. She said they will also be about $500 cheaper and I should wait for these to come out. I am still laughing.
The 2009s will be out in late August and they will be identical to 2008's. There's been some speculation that the 2010 will have much greater MPG, but nothing official yet.
I know this article from Popular Mechanics has been out for a while... think there's any validity to it? 2009 Toyota Prius: Spy Report - Popular Mechanics
Here is an article from late 2007, can only hope ... Toyota 1/X hints at a new Prius | Car Tech: An automotive blog from CNET - CNET Reviews "Toyota's 1/X concept, shown at the 2007 Tokyo auto show, uses a body design that closely resembles that of the current Prius. But the 1/X has a lot of tricks up its sleeve that could give it double the already frugal Prius' mileage. First off, the 1/X's body is made of the same carbon fiber materials Toyota developed for its racing cars. This type of body makes the 1/X a third lighter than the Prius. As a flexible fuel vehicle, the 1/X's plug-in hybrid power train can burn gas and ethanol. With its lightweight body and plug-in hybrid system, it can run for much longer distances than the Prius under electric power. Toyota took some radical steps with the platform, putting the engine and hybrid system under the rear seat, giving the 1/X rear-wheel drive and good weight distribution."
Carbon fiber... that will definately double the cost of production.. hehe isnt fiberglass cheaper? but i guess all those materials cost a lot more money than the traditional molded or injected plastic...
...published in March 2007... kinda kills all validity to it. A lot of water went under the bridge since then.
...can only hope? Are you seriously hoping for this to come out? You realize that the price of such a vehicle would be many times the cost of the current Prius?
>> ...can only hope? Are you seriously hoping for this to come out? You realize that the price of such a vehicle would be many times the cost of the current Prius? I also hope / guess Toyota will pull out all the stops and produce a super hybrid with a low MSRP so they can retain the hybrid crown (sorry HCH owners) plug in may be an option (to help keep costs down)
I have been hearing the 2009 will be 1 inch shorter and 2 inches wider and get better gas mileage for a while. It is my assumption it will have a larger NiMh pack so a better ability to absorb regenerative energy from the brakes. Remember that the Prius has a higher City MPG and I think that is what will be improved. The Hwy rating will most likely stay the same. If you think about it, if the regenerative brakes only worked with the brake pedal and not when you coast you could get extra mileage in the city easy. This will shore make P&G easer for all of us. However, last I heard it was not going to be out until Feb 09, and it will not have a plug. That is until I get my hands on one...Bwah ha, ha ha!
I've got some land for sale....and a really nice bridge.....send me a check and I will send the deed to you via tooth fairy........
You know, I have been around for a few years and I find this all very strange. Why is there so much confusion. Is Toyota keeping everything under wraps for some reason?:spy: If they can't produce enough cars now why all this hoop-la? Come on Toyota-give us the straight deal. What can we expect in 2009/2010?
Because they are not GM. They aren't going to promise something that they are not positive that they can deliver.
With the new models going on sale in a few months don't you think they do know what can or cannot work? I know the new battery thing/plug in option may be iffy but the ship has already sailed for the 2009 model,they,unlike GM,do know what the 2009 will have(or not) ie: new battery pack,etc.
They have already said that there will be no major changes between the '08 and '09 models. The third gen to be introduced in 2009 as the MY '10 is supposed to have major changes.