Featured SPOTTED! *UNWRAPPED* 2016 Prius spotted this morning!

You are being entirely too pessimistic. You take the "glass half empty" view while I am a "glass half full" kind of hombre. Cheer up, alternative fuel vehicles are doing very well, especially here in California, which is the proving ground for most innovation.

I have no idea what Toyota is thinking, they are secretive. Whether the hybrid is "mainstream" or not is a matter of definition. There is no argument that Prii are certainly mainstream here in California. But Toyota is laying the groundwork for a loyal customer base, whatever their next iteration of an alternative fuel vehicle might be.

(For those who don't know, Moore's Law states: "You can lead a mule to water but you can't lead him to the Kentucky Derby." ) I think that PHEVs and BEVs are evolutionary. Who knows what the future generations of alternate fuel vehicles will bring. Possibly, solar powered vehicles will be an evolutionary step along the way.

Yeah, I don't know what their plans are for hydrogen. They will have to invest heavily in the infrastructure to support hydrogen fuel vehicles. I don't see that happening right now. Elon Musk has invested in his "supercharger stations" and that strategy is beginning to make (cents) sense for his BEVs and cross country travel.

I urge you to stay positive because the future of alternative fuel vehicles looks very bright because of companies like Toyota. My wife has owned Porsche, MBZ, Jaguar high end, high tech cars. She says "her" PIP is the best car she has ever driven and the most fun to drive (she is easy to please and loves hypermiling).

 

While the hybrid premium has been dropping, ICE fuel efficiency hasn't stood still. So most people simply go with the non-hybrid version. Higher fuel prices can help, and so will lowering battery prices and on other components due to the growing plug in market, but the ICE car will always be cheaper, which is what it comes down to for most car buyers(sad but true).

Increasing CAFE targets will force the manufacturers to hybridize more of their fleets. That might mean a period where hybrids outsell ICE, but I think that time frame will be short lived as plug in cars soon out pace the hybrids.

The MKZ would be an interesting case study. The model is equipped to have no hybrid premium. The hybrid not getting half of sales received a news blurb in some circles. Yet I don't think anyone has looked deeper into it. The MKZ has a 2.0L Ecoboost or the hybrid at its base price, but there is also an optional V6 that is a requirement to get the AWD option.

"Based on Polk retail registration data, nearly 37 percent of Ford vehicles that are available with AWD were equipped with the technology in 2012." - Ford All-Wheel-Drive Retail Sales up 72 Percent Since 2009, By the rough fractions, the MKZ hybrid is selling in near equal numbers to the FWD ICE, and possibly more than the base ICE. Though I suspect most buyers opting for the V6 are opting for the AWD.

The new styling, and presumably better handling, may help the Prius grow, but an AWD option may be a bigger enticement for new sales.

 

Was posted for Ursamajor: Hybrid Model Global Sales Results | TOYOTA Global Newsroom

 

That's so vague, it doesn't actually tell us anything.

There's a wide variety of "hybrid" systems available, each with different performance levels, some that plug-on too.

Also, what does "short" mean? Years? Decades? Product generations?

My take is hybrids will become the norm. We're watching the battery almost completely disappear in size (hidden away underneath the seat) and traditional transmissions become more complex and expensive.

 

there's no question that some here, with ulterior motives, are very short sighted, or they let their own personal beliefs color their perspective. none of us can project the future, but that's no reason to try and skew the past and present to fit your own paradigm.

 

The wrangler sold more than the Prius and is a niche car. So is the mustang! Not sure why this is so controversial.

 

Really John? If we took worldwide sales, you and I both know that the picture for the Prius would look way worse, not better. The Japanese market is an anomaly, driven in part by government policies and a desire to buy domestic. In other parts of the world, the Prius is a weird oddity, not the norm, completely unable to compete with diesels and smaller cars on price.

 

everything is driven by government policies. you can't discount it.

 

i think it's this post, 'hybrids are not mainstream'. i suspect you simply have a different definition then some of us. i agree, the facelift won't attract enough buyers alone to radically change sales, but by just about any definition, 'hybrids are mainstream'. people by cars for many reasons. they choose certain models for many reasons. and hybrids are no different.

 

i promise, (this is written in internet stone) not to go on danny's new venture and diss the volt.

 

What are you currently driving? a niche car or a compliance car?

List: http://insideevs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015-sales-chart-august-vfinal.png

Last I checked, Jeep Wrangler was classified as a: Small Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD

 

Wrangler and Mustang sold more where? What is your definition of "niche car?" What is your definition of mainstream? How many units need to be sold before it fits your definition of mainstream or non-niche?

 

mercedes ev.

 

I don't know what this means. Evidently something to do with social media. I don't use social media and I never will!
I don't have a "smart phone." I have a dumb phone and miss the operator asking "number please" and listening to other users' conversation on the party line. I lead a dull and uninteresting life, nobody would be interested in what I had for breakfast......if I could only remember!

 

Mainstream and niche are terms with flexible meanings that usually don't stand alone.

If we go by sales, the Prius sold over 122k in the US for 2014. The Corolla, Civic, and Cruze each sold more than double that in the same time. Then the Elantra and Focus were both getting close to double. All these cars have similar cabin space to the Prius, likely all of them are mid-size also.

By sales I wouldn't call the Prius niche, but it isn't mainstream compared to likely cross shopped cars. The other hybrids sell in lower numbers, and are a niche product compared to the sales of their ICE siblings. Except the Prius c. It sold much better than the Yaris, and the compares well to other B class cars.

 

Camry and Corolla are mainstream, they appeal to the masses. Their sales prove it, too. The Camry Hybrid, while not considered mainstream, does sell quite well in the greater Indianapolis area. The City of Indianapolis even has some HyCams that the police detectives use and have been since 2007.

So for Generation Four Prius to appeal to the masses, they would have to lose the super aerodynamic styling. Then that might risk losing their core customer base. I even read about a Prius Eco that I have heard very little about. Toyota tried the small sedan body with Generation One. And Gen Two was a big step forward away from the traditional four door sedan.

In my neighborhood, SUV's and pickups rule. But there are a few of us that have hybrids. I have a Gen 2 and a HyCam, there is another gentleman that has two Highlander hybrids. The rest are CUV's, minivans and beater cars for the youths who are in high school.

There is one Porsche PanAmerica that the gentleman doesn't park in his garage (!). I don't even know what to think about that. And the home he lives in is a rental, the sign was in the yard "for rent".