I gotta have my "vehicle" so I can save the planet....LOL. Yep, gambling,,,thats all this country is really about, isn't it? 2010 Priusers better drive drive and drive because they are going to have to have that Gen 4 Prius with Plug-in or else they will get CREAMED with massive fuel costs just like the BMW'ers. 50MPG ain't gonna save either of em.
Actually, I don't want a plugin. Like many other people, we live in a condo. Guess what? NO PLACE to plug in a plugin. Same, of course for apartment-dwellers. Same for many townhouse residents as well -- those that don't have garages and don't necessarily park directly in front of their own townhouse. Considering the number of gas stations in the country and the number of electricity stations, I'd say that when we're thinking of replacing the Prius in 8-10 years, we'll be able to look around at the REAL options and choose. My bet will be that hybrids will be mainstream and things like the Volt will be in the market position that the Prius is in now. (Note that the Volt uses gasoline when you exceed it's minimal capacity.) Things like fuel cells will be a step closer. Electrical generation will be noticeably cleaner. And HybridManiac will still be... a maniac. EDIT: It's interesting that those of us who probably live in the most energy/environmentally sound locations will probably be the last to benefit from plugin cars.
Well I just came to the logical conclusion as to why the Gen 3 Prius has a larger displacement gas engine and more power. It never has any intention of being biased. Speculators want to run up oil? Okay, lets go to EV mode. Now electricity goes up and oil falls. Okay, back to PWR mode. Beefing up the ICE makes perfect sense. See, this thing is a HedgeMobile....hahahahaha.
Even when the car is plugged in outside of a closed garage, I have to think that those cables would be a tempting target for vandals and thieves. And they are are probably not cheap to replace either. I also suspect that the cables would eventually get too messy to pull out of the car when you're wearing a nice suit or dress. To me, not the most practical solution. IMO, plug-in electric will always be a small market until driving range matches that of a conventional car (~300 miles), charging stations are as common as gas stations, and the batteries can be charged in under 5 minutes. The same goes for fuel cell technology. Until then, I think the vast majority of people will have little real interest. If we really want plug-ins, then it makes sense to be to start with the infrastructure--if we build it, they will come. In fact, I worked with a client almost 20 years ago that tried to get the State of California and GM (who were thinking about an plug-in electric car even back then) to agree on a standard. Nothing much happened and nothing much has changed since then. I agree that we will just have to wait and see what our real options will be down the road.
later in 2010 Toyota is building 500 plug-in hybrid Prius's and leasing to corporate customers only in Europe and NOrth America mainly. THis way they can test the technology with Government fleets and get the visibility that Government will offer since they tend to flaunt how they are 'green'. From a marketing and test scenario this is smart for Toyota as they can recall the product if there are real-world issues and yet they get huge amount of free advertising. Based on the success of the program they will launch a publicly available Plug-in Prius a year later so in 2011. Should you wait? That is your call. The way I look at it I can drive my 2010 Prius now and use as our main family car and benefit from the environmental and fuel savings. Once the kinks are ironed out a year into full production then I will look at upgrading to the plugin. Plug-in is the way to go though.
PriusSkeptic...A mind is a terrible thing to waste, but it looks like you were dropped on your head three too many times. Probably takes the bus to work or school
Where did you get that from? I believe that Toyota has even said it would be much longer than that. I seem to remember 5 years being mentioned, but certainly not one year. After all, there are serious issues with Li-ion batteries that Toyota has to make sure are worked out.
Perhaps the Mitsubishi Miev will be the first plug in you can buy. Sales to individuals to start April 2010. Jalopnik - Production All-Electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV Gets Eye-Popping $47K Price - Mitsubishi i-MiEV Mitsubishi launches production of the iMiEV
I prefer a plugin than a full EV. (Northern CA) PG&E's tier charging is going to cost an arm&leg for their electricity. I am no way going to pay $0.35/kwh!!!! To resolve the price, I will have to buy a 3-5 kwh solar panel system (another $20k-$30k). I like a plugin option. People can still buy a regular Prius (but with LiION, means better mpg). Or with a plugin option for those that want better mpg, and plug access.
Seriously - if it gets THAT bad, how do you know that Toyota won't offer a "pack and flash" upgrade for the gen 3, instantly driving their resale values up by 200%? - you know, since nobody will be able to drive anywhere without an EV, and toyota will only have so much capacity to produce Gen IVs... (Gee, hypotheticals ARE fun) As someone that recently bought a Prius - there was no gamble. It was time for me to get a new car and this one met my needs. The fact that it doesn't use a lot of gas, has high resale value, a great online fansite full of helpful web-saavy owners, quiet cruising, low insurance, etc. - are all just frosting on the cake. Maybe your gamble is coming on here flinging crap around, because in your scenario, you'll end up carpooling to work in a prius...Any remaining gas will be far too precious to waste in anything else.:welcome:
