Why Not a Prius Convertible?

From NY Times article today:

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/16...us-convertible/


August 16, 2007, 2:59 am
Why Not a Prius Convertible?

By Jerry Garrett

Tags: environment, hybrid, prius, Toyota
Toyota PriusToyota has sold more than 750,000 Priuses worldwide.

Toyota has a television commercial running now that brags the company makes nine vehicles that get 30 miles per gallon of fuel, or better.

And that doesn’t even count Scion’s three vehicles, which all get close to 30 m.p.g. or better, at least on the highway.

But my question is this: Why so few?

It could easily be so many more. Toyota has already been thoroughly roughed up in the media for its emphasis on gas-guzzling full-size pickups, hot rod hybrids that get mileage as bad or worse than gas-powered equivalents and phasing out its fuel cell vehicles. This, from the company that boasts about its green cred.

But let’s forget the hulking Tundras and the tire-squealing Lexuses for a moment and ask, why just one Prius? This could be a whole franchise on its own. A lot more viable than Scion, if you ask me. Why is there no Prius wagon? How about a hatchback and a sedan? A coupe? Or even a convertible? I mean, who said hybrid buyers have to take a vow of boredom? One size fits all? Really!

Scion is a separate car line based on variations of quirky little boxes. How many of those would really be enough to satisfy demand? Does Yaris really need to come in a two-door hatchback and a four-door? Are buyers really lining up for each? And don’t even get me started about all the different iterations of little Toyota boxcars there are in various markets around the world.

Why only one Prius?

“We feel we serve that market adequately with the vehicle we have,†said Bob Carter, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.’s general manager, when I asked him about it recently.

How about a hybrid Corolla?

“Again, people in the market for a hybrid in that size range have the Prius to meet their needs,†Mr. Carter continued.

No plans for different configurations of Prius?

“No.â€

But Toyota has made no secret that it has at least thought about creating a Prius lineup. Last November Jim Lentz, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Sales in the U.S., said that in order for Toyota to hit its goal of selling 600,000 hybrid vehicles in the United States annually, “there will probably have to be Prius and derivatives of Prius that are selling in the neighborhood of 300,000 to 400,000. We don’t have any plans to do that right now, but that’s the direction that nameplate can go, because it is that strong.'’

More recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that Toyota plans to unveil a Prius wagon in 2011, coinciding with Toyota’s switch to lithium-ion batteries.

After the Prius wagon, one knowledgeable Toyota executive said Toyota plans to launch up to nine more new and redesigned hybrids using lithium-ion batteries in the 2011 and 2012 timeframe, although the timing could still change as the company firms up its medium-term hybrid product schedule. The executive said up to nine models are being planned for the U.S., but some models may drop out from the plan.

Officially, Toyota is keeping its trap shut on the next generation Prius. But for at least the next several years, and maybe longer (for all we know), one Prius is all we get.

The hybrid market, as far as the self-proclaimed world leader in fuel-saving hybrid technology is concerned, is worth only one dedicated vehicle? I don’t get it.