MY11 Prius

I've seen way more GenII Prius in my city than GenIII (a total of maybe 3 to 4 of them including mine in 3 months!) on the streets. Obviously they are not selling like hot cakes.

How hard and how much does it cost Toyota to throw in tinted glass windows and electric block heater (esp. for Canada) as standard features? I think it's time for Toyota to stop trying to rip-off customers for these minor "options" and make the Prius more attractive to the unconverted. And stop charging a premium for the Blizzard Pearl paint.

How about some change in marketing strategy? Instead of keep tooting the ECO horn, and only the ECO horn, how about making the PWR mode as user set default (yeah, yeah, I know it's "only" remapping the gas pedal response) and market the Prius head to head against those zoom zoom zoom's? Why limit the target audiance to PG (meaning parental guidance, or pulse and glide, take your pick) when you can go after those bigger market of Rrrr-rated minded people? If you can't convert them, please them. It's better for the environment and for Toyota if more, way more people drive the Prius with "only" 40.ish mpg than no other people except a few hypermilers getting 60+ mpg. You never know, maybe some of the Rrrr people will convert to be PG hypermilers once they own a Prius.

Ok, that means toyota will have to make the suspension more "sporty" for better handling, but again, that shouldn't be too expansive to do, does it?

 

Tinted glass would be nice. I also think the car should remember the last mode you were in so that if you like PWR or ECO you don't have to press it each time you start up.

Has anybody even in the great white north had starting problems with these? Unlike a typical car the starter on this is a damned large electric motor with a huge battery. I imagine that the benefits of a block heater in a normal car to facilitate its starting are already achieved.

I'm not surprised you see more Gen2 than 3, as they've been out for years longer. I do see a ton of Gen3 in my area. I don't count but it almost seems as many as Gen2. They seem to be selling like mad.

 

In southern California there are a crazy amount of gen iii's around these days and considering how short a period the gen iii has been out vs the gen ii, I'd say it's an excellent indicator of hotcakesque sales in the area.



Anyone confirm the lumbar support at all trim levels for the 2011? Anyone have any guesses as to whether or not this feature would be backwards compatible with a 2010?

 

It's a typo.

 

Rats.

 

Does anybody know when the 2011 will be on dealer lots? I am curious if the brake problem has been resolved on the 2011.

 

Which brake problem, exactly? I think most of us are of the opinion that there is no brake problem with the 2010. FWIW I love my family and never worry about my wife taking the kids around all day in ours

 

No GREEN color for the world's best GREEN car?

I'm checking in here with my SHAME ON YOU head shake!

 

Why keep preaching to the faithful and converted and ignore the rest?

Toyota should direct their marketing efforts to the untapped market of non-believers who mostly want macho/manly/muscle cars. It's better for the world to have way more people driving the Prius like a sporty car getting "only" 40.ish mpg, than just a few hypermilers getting 60+ mpg and buying a new Prius every 15 years since they're so reliable.

Let's include bright fiery heart-pumping sexy red (and eliminate the purplish barcelona pink). Let's have 2 colour combinations like black roof on white body even for those without the moon roof and solar panel, or green and yellow combinations, how about sunshine golden yellow with streaks of fire on the sides?

Let's have Chrome exhaust tail-pipes that amplifies the GRRRRROWL of the engine sound. Let's make the PWR mode user configurable as default.

 

That's asking for a miracle.
I'm just asking for a green COLOR choice.
Seriously, you're not going to convert those who just don't care.
To care about the planet decades from now, and to care about fuel economy when their own expense sheet isn't dented enough when they buy gas... these folks are never going to get it if they don't already.

 

About your color selections, you know very well that that will never happen.
Your alternative will be the services of a good quality paint shop; I did.

 

I don't need a paint job for my Prius. I'm really happy with the Blizzard Pearl with dark glasses of the moon roof and the solar panel. I'm just suggesting alternate colours to widen the appeal of the Prius to more potential customers.

Dianne, I'd seen a lot of silly marketing schemes that failed but you never know unlesss you tried. Miracles do happen sometimes! I'm still kinda perplexed by Toyota's approach of marketing the Prius solely as an ECO friendly car while it can be presented to appeal to a much wider audience. It's like inserting a few seconds of blood and gore scene into a movie and get it rated as Restricted, thus excluding audiences from other huge demographics.

There's gotta be some people who're borderline on liking the Prius except for it's image of being a whimpy slow car. These people just need to be told the true power and a little nudge with some cosmetic image enhancements.

 

I don't think that we should even call them cosmetic image enhancements. How about simply a sport package option with a more interesting exterior and possibly interior color scheme? Of course, Toyota would say that's what pkg V is meant to be, but not everyone wants to spend $30K just to get non-dorky looking 17" alloy wheels.

 

A lot more of 'these folks' might be 'getting it' when the CT200h comes out next year.

 

Are you sure you're not looking for something that is really more sport oriented? Hate to break it to you, but even a Prius V is not. Takes more than a set of 17's and different steering ratio to make a car sporty. I still like the HSD candy, but looking for a more appealing wrapper.

You may want to look at the Lexus CT200h with Prius drive train, coming next Spring, 'cept that will be pushing $30k to start. Or just give up on the hybrid thing until prices come down in a decade or whenever. That's what I'm doing - now looking at the 2011 Scion tC which is less practical, but quite sport oriented.

Just a thought, 'cause I've seen your posts about the wheels a few times.

 

What about a speaker from the factory that directs its sound outside. I've seen these things you can get; they tap into the RPM of the vehicle and project the sound of, say, a V8 into the cabin as the car (which may only be a 4 cylinder) goes. If toyota did this right a Prius could sound like a super charged V8. Or like it had a turbo. Perhaps also with the money saved on gas there could be a tiny gas tank you fill and it's only used to spit flames out of the side exhausts (the car would get two side exhausts).

Also, when you buy it you get to pick your three favorite stickers from these categories and they are applied at factory, under the final coat of top coat so that they never come off:
1) Support of Obama / Biden
2) One of the various COEXIST stickers
3) Pro-choice
4) Save the trees

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Jokes aside, Toyota apparently knows its demographic, or at least thinks it does. Look at the Toyota commercials these days (e.g. facebook.com/toyota). You've got very average people who are almost pathetically ingratiated with their Toyotas. Compared to Dodge in which a Challenger is advertised by having the US separatists ride against the Red Coats.

Still, you know those mormon.org commercials these days? People who seem like decent people and then at the end "I am a mormon". Do the same with Toyota but have a guy who likes to cage fight on the weekends then get into his Prius or a guy telling stories about how he was first place in his sniper school and oh yeah here's my Prius. Or I just broke the world's bench press record, let me grab some protein powder from the trunk of my Prius.