4th generation coming 2015!

Interesting data:
- EV/plug-ins account for 97.5% of Prius market
- top seven models account of 88.2% of EV sales

If you look at hybrid sales, there are 3 big losers:
#1 Civic hybrid 34.3%
#2 Ford C-max 31.70% (you know why)
#5 Prius 15.4%
#6 Prius V 12.1%
#7 Hybrid Camry 11.1%

The biggest gain is Hybrid Accord 1327.70%, followed by MKZ 34.3% and CT200h 17.3%.

info on hybrid sales: December 2014 Dashboard - HybridCars.com

Looks like delay with Gen4 hurt Prius, and hybrid Accord had taken on Civic and Camry sales. Also luxury hybrids are up, probably due to discounts and cheaper gas prices.

 

Well I didn't say it was a difficult prediction

What will happen depends on how many price reductions manufacturers can make and how big a percentage the rebates are of the cost of the car.

Resale value of the first generation of electrics will be awful as the improvements are coming rather quickly.

Teslas will be less affected by the Leaf, for example, when rebates run out. Simply due to the rebate being a 10% discount on the Model S vs 25% for the Leaf.

If, however, Tesla can lower the price of the Model S by $7500 by the time the credits run out, the affect will be very minor.

 

Well, back to topic, this thread is about 4th Gen Prius.

Model S or X will sell regardless of gas prices or tax credits IMO. I am not in the market for one as I am only interested in plug-in gasoline hybrids. I am not sure what will happen to the around $35,000 EVs if they are not selling well now with the $7500.

 

So it is!

Although the second half of your post doesn't seem to match the first

 

Is Toyota planning to give Prius a wider appeal? Where? Mostly in Japan?

 

With the way their products look lately I wouldn't count on it. So far they've been putting a /different/ ugly mask on the same pig.

Maybe they should hire guys from Hyundai, Audi, Mazda, BMW and take some basic styling lessons.

 

Maybe the next prius is a pickup truck.

 

My eyes. One would swear it's photoshopped.

 

It's not photoshopped, I've ridden in it.

Prius Truck from AutoBeYours PRUCK

 

You should graft the new beak of the Prius v on the front of it

 

I don't know about you, but there are some things in life that I just do not like to gaze upon. For example a badly deformed baby, or a severely injured veteran. The "beak" of the Prius v is another sight that fortunately I have not seen, and really do not want to see.

 

Looking at concept designs like the NS4, it is clear that there are good designers at Toyota - we have to question why these designs don't come out as production cars. If we conduct a poll here, I am certain more than 90% of us will be in favour of the NS4 design vs. (say) the latest Camry. I cannot imagine the opinion being too different outside of this forum with the general public either.

As Tideland Prius noted earlier, one reason could be the requirement to do well in various safety tests and standards. There is also the simple fact that a mid-generation refresh usually involves minimal effort enhancements - these will be very carefully balanced so that the added engineering resources for refreshing has minimal negative effect on the bottom line so it is not likely that top notch designers will be given a lot of time for these tasks. And think of it this way, suppose they decided to give Prius Gen3 a significant face-lift in 2014 or 2015 taking its design more towards the direction expected for Gen4, the likelihood is that most of us will end up a bit disappointed when we finally see Gen4. Also, how many of us here waiting for Prius Gen4 would be looking to get a mid-refreshed Toyota Hybrid - I would say not many. And I can go on and on... the simple fact is that most of us who contribute to this Prius Fourth Generation Thread have quite a bit in common in terms of what want in Toyota's next generation of hybrids and I think we need to try and not worry too much about Toyota's activity outside of that scope.

I am still optimistic that the Prius Gen4 design will not disappoint us.

 

Given the extended time period, we all hope that it is due to rigorous testing of a new battery, sleek and beautiful styling to meet crash tests, and a gazillion other things that will make it the most perfect car evah. In reality, it's probably due to a battery change. This is Toyota after all, and radical changes that make everyone go WOW!!!!!! are simply not in this company's DNA.

With declining sales all around for fuel efficient hybrids, maybe Toyota has made the decision to wait as long as possible the get all of the changes they want now, which could save some bucks on the next upgrade. I think most would wait an extra year or two (already there now), to get the NS4 body, superb battery upgrade and even more.

 

Wonder if the new Prius will get Apple CarPlay.

 

The concept NS4 although it looks amazing and I would buy one no doubt, unfortunatly would never work as a production car if it had those (what appear to be) 26+" rims attached to the production veh. It might pull off 30 mpg with those behemoth donk a donk style rims, if you hyper mile... Lol.

 

I'm mostly curious to see where Toyota will go with the 4 gen interior: Will it be more mainstream? More luxurious or more eco plastics?

fwiw, since buying a used 2005 Accord sedan for the family last year, I've realized Honda is perfectly capable of pooping its pants design-wise also (like Toyota): this new 9th gen Accord sedan - great driver's seating, legroom, controls, really good. Front passenger legroom - worse than my Prius. Muted passenger footroom and legroom.

I guess with any of these budget, non-luxury cars there's bound to be some 'scratch your head' type of flaws. It's just that the 3rd gen has a couple too many of those IMO.

 

a comfortable interior and stylish exterior would be a radical departure for toyota, and very unlikely, if the latest camry is the best they can come up with.

 

I'm just hoping they found a new lightweight way to improve the sound deadening.

 

Does the Camry still hold the title for most boring car on the planet? Lol

With the refresh it's def better but still not what those funny toyota commercials make it out to be...

"Aggressive fenders, etc" haha!

The A to B folks love em though and they seems like nice and roomy roadtrip cars. I'd actually consider a hyacam for my wife's next car after her Rav's leave is up.