Featured Open Letter To Toyota USA: Go All In On The Prius Prime, Kill The Regular Prius Hybrid

Tesla has yet to fire Musk completely

 

I agree with this...that is the perspective of the author.
Speaking only for myself however, I like to think I'm in a freakishly cold, late, late summer of my life.

 

Prius is Toyota's line of high-efficiency, low-emissions vehicles. It can include different fuel types (gas, plug, solar, hydrogen...) and different vehicle classes (subcompact, compact, multipurpose...). Toyota won't dictate the fuel type, it will let the customer choose. In each case, the Prius is an affordable, practical mass-market vehicle optimized for efficiency, possibly at the expense of power, capacity and comfort. When another model is offered with a hybrid power-train, that model still is not optimized for efficiency. Maximum efficiency requires a dedicated model. For customers who drive a lot, Prius will offer the best total cost of ownership due to low purchase price, low operating costs and exceptional longevity.

 

that's why prime needs a dedicated model. the prius line is optimized for gasoline and small battery for energy storage.

 

Prime already achieved maximum PHEV efficiency using the existing Prius platform as a base for low drag, braking regen and efficient operation in hybrid mode.

 

People want more than maximum efficiency.

 

Kind of impossible isn't it?
First of all, what they call a vehicle...is just a name. IMO Toyota can build a "Prius Family"...reduce the Prius family....I don't really care.
But with Prius Prime, basically stylistically being a Prius in both exterior and interior, with only minor tweaks, how do you sell that vehicle as anything but a "Prius" prime?

As it is? If they called it anything but a "Prius", I'd be looking at it going...."That's a Prius".

 

you think? all it needs is its own wheel base/chassis to accommodate the battery more efficiently, and expand the body a bit into more of a cuv fashion.
they can style it like a prius if they want, cal it a prius if they want, or not.
customers can call it whatever they want.

i'd call it hot!

 

Seeing where the battery is in the new Camry hybrid, the Prius is no longer unique.

It doesn't even need that. Either a central battery tunnel like the Volt, if a fifth seat isn't needed, or enlarge the spare wheel well space, is all that is needed. Neither change would be a full new chassis.

 

you need a full rear seat if you want to sell to non 'enthusists'

a larger hatch, and possibly larger battery

 

Again, no need need for another platform for a larger hatch. The TNGA under the Prius is meant to be used for multiple models, including SUVs.

 

But as soon as you change the rear spare wheel well you get into a new chassis as far as crash testing and recertification don't you?

 

i don't understand what tgna is, except more profit for toyota. i haven't seen any changes that make their cars better for the buying public

 

I guess what I'm picking up is that they don't want to build a car that requires a lot of electricity because it will not sell in their home market (high electric prices) and might not sell in the USA (low oil prices)

China is probably a complication in there too- sounds like they have the cheap electricity but they want/need cars that are substantially different from what is street-legal and in demand in the USA.

 

This is that paradigm-shift I drew attention to. The industry is being forced to shift to a low-margin approach.... which means what appears to be a profit gain at the moment is really preparation to sustain business in the future. It is that "tinkering" you didn't see as progress forward.

Think about how difficult plug-in sales will be without subsidy help. Toyota is taking that situation very serious. They don't have the luxury of $44,000 base prices as acceptable. Their audience expects much, much lower prices. Rollout of TGNA is to reduce production cost for support of affordably competitive design.

Economics is more important than engineering in the long run. Toyota knows this well. They carefully study how to reach dealer & consumer and plan out their product-cycles accordingly. That provides enthusiasts with lots of material to spin their own narrative... one which you have helped to feed at times. That's why I politely request more detail, pointing out that vague comments unintentionally contribute to their rhetoric.

It's all about understanding the seemingly unrelated moves that contribute to fleet advancement. With so many parts moving, its very difficult to picture what's happening while in the middle of that plan. As we draw closer to rollout, it will become obvious how each of those steps helped progress along.

 

I believe the testing is done per model, even if they use the same platform. This shows the TNGA design that Toyota is still focused ICE, including hybrid, cars. These platforms generally get used for more than one generation of model, so about a 10 year or so lifespan.

Long term, it would have been cheaper to build the platform for a PHEV battery. Then the hybrid model could have a larger cargo space, or simply use foam to fill the void around the spare.

They are still thinking hydrogen, but TNGA will require much the same changes to the chassis as it would for EV.

China is pushing plug ins. Without them, Toyota wouldn't be selling any BEVs at all.

 

The one thing Prius has that no other "non-conventional" vehicle has is an record of exceptional long-term reliability based on two decades of sales. As soon as you create a new model, that reputation is of no help.

 

That reputation has been taking some flak recently though, third gen's been having a rising incidence of various engine problems.

 

someone hasn't been paying attention

 

Of course because all of the other Toyotas are such sh*ts.

Bob Wilson