4th generation coming 2015!

i think they treat it as the golden haired child. when the market demands more, they'll make more. there's no rush with $2. gas, the only place that's lathered up about it is us here at p chat.

 

This is not a retort. Actually, I agree with you.

Anyone, however, that thinks gas will stay at or near the current is more of an optimist than me. World conditions will dictate a shortage/increase in ost, and if not, the politicians will "cease the opportunity" to add taxes. Hybrids, and fuel efficiency works against all the things politicians want to spend money on.

 

agreed. gas will go up, but you can't build cars for the future. timing is everything in auto mfg. otherwise, you wind up with rusty metal sitting on the lots. tough to figure when oil prices will rise significantly, but there's certainly no hurry to make a lot of new hybrids at todays sales rates.

 

Yes, with the latest hybrids and some of their small ICEs, the Fiesta and maybe a Focus. They didn't send any cash to a truck buyer though.
Fueleconomy.gov only compares 4 models at time. The Ram1500 diesel is rated 30mpg highway. The gas versions, and the GMs, are all more efficient than the Tundra also.

That is the Tundra's most fuel efficient form. Ask Toyota why they canceled the V6 for this year.

 

I hadn't linked the two, but as you guys mentioned above, gas prices probably are having a significant impact on the delay.

When oil starts to spike again I would imagine they will announce it and start their advertising campaign. As a whole people don't look to the future when they buy cars. Just look at the stats on the rise of pickup and SUV sales when oil has been high.

 

And they will be allowing other companies to reap the rewards.
GM got caught with their pants down with the quick spike to $4/gallon, Toyota made out like a bandit because they already had the product out in the market.

They did not seem to learn from their success.

 

don't be so quick to criticize toyota, they haven't missed the boat yet.

 

I can't see a marketing campaign hinging on the current price of gas. Maybe just me but I pay little attention to gas prices.

 

I am not obsessed with the price of gas, but I am certainly aware of the price. I look for the cheapest price, even in the Prius, whenever I purchase gas. I will seek out the station that gives me .02 discount (usually a lower price to begin with), and I avoid Chevron like the plague. I was in Long Beach, CA last week, and I seem to recall that unleaded Reg. was over $3.8 something per gallon.

 

I won't drive out of my way to save a few cents. I usually fill up at the same place every time. However, if I'm getting ready to need gas and notice a deal at a station I'm willing to get gas from I will stop there instead.

When gas prices hit rock bottom at one station in town. I did stop at it and fill up. 1.73 was too low to pass up! Of course it was only 1 mile out of my way. A mere pittance of a distance with a hybrid.




iPhone ?

 

i do as well. but if we're talking about car purchases, much of the driving public base their choice on mpg's and gas price.

 

Frankly, some of the public does.
I believe much of the public base their choice on color and number of cupholders

 

cupholders are important.

 

I agree! I have had several vehicles with no or poorly placed cup holders.


iPhone ?

 

mercedes used to be the worst. the dealer told me the germans don't believe in drinking and driving.

 

I would prefer the Tesla cup holders with heating and cooling built in.

 

Welp, with cars like the Corolla, Toyota has a REAL challenge on their hands with the 4th gen Prius. I rented a 2015 Corolla with CVT, drove it like my Prius for 2 hours and turned it in with gage reading 41.6 MPG (I reset it when setting off. I sound British The driver seat is the S premium was wayyyyyy better than any top of the line Prius liftback. It had push button start, smart key, lots of headroom, attractive interior, HD radio. Softex seats, and these doggies start off well under $20k (I'll have to check).

Yeah, Toyota has a BIG challenge with 4th gen Prius: Make a MUCH better Prius for less money. I doubt 55 or 57 or 60 MPG will matter quite so much except when gas prices are over $4 again.

 

they'd rather sell corolla's. they're in business to make money, not save the world. we're lucky we're getting what we get.

 

I've been assuming they just don't feel they have any real competition, so why give up a single marginal Gen3 sale by letting the Gen4 cat out of the bag? There would be a problem with that strategy if Toyota was concerned about potential Gen4 buyers tiring of waiting and just buying something else, but Toyota has been figuring those buyers don't really have good options, and until the NYIAS that was probably more true than not.

Thing is, NYIAS coughed up some interesting green car news here and there. Among the most interesting to our household was the new 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. A new design puts the batteries under the trunk rather than in it (something even Toyota can't manage with their Camry or Avalon hybrids), providing a spacious sedan with a big trunk and full folding rear seat that manages 40MPG+ and does all those other neat hybrid things that are so useful in around town driving. Is the 2016 Sonata Hybrid "in the same category as the Prius"? Certainly not. Might it appeal to a lot of potential Prius customers anyway? I think so.

When you've got a new model coming out, there's a certain tension between on the one hand the desire to show off the new model ASAP and "freeze" the market to prevent defections to competitors, and on the other hand to keep the lid on the new model as long as possible to avoid tanking sales of the current model. The delay created by reconsidering the Gen4's appearance and/or configuration has delayed its launch by enough that Toyota now has two problems that are getting worse by the month. First, the Gen3 has been left twisting slowly in the wind; two years is a long time to leave a car on the market with the expectation that it's on the verge of replacement (diminishing its projected resale value), and 2015 sales are reflecting this, above and beyond the impact of low gasoline prices. Second, the rest of the industry isn't sitting still; with an extra year of developments, the Gen4's capacity to "wow" is in danger of slipping as feasible alternatives begin to appear.

Toyota needs to stop worrying about cannibalizing Gen3 sales and worry more about securing Gen4 buyers before those buyers get sick of waiting for news and just defect to alternatives. The right time to raise the curtain on the Gen4 is sooner rather than later. I know we'll be giving the Sonata Hybrid a hard look when it shows up, and if by then we still have no clue what the Gen4 Prius will be like, I can't really say with certainty what choice we'll make to replace our 2005 Gen2.