The reason being?

I mean, I know it says “to better market its hybrid cars” but Toyota is already known for hybrid and fuel efficiency.

I am by no means a Toyota fan but I think it’s a great idea. The more hybrids the better. Technology and price will be affected. I for one would love to see everyone do this

An unneeded move if you ask me, but whatever. I doubt I’ll ever be in the market for a Toyota/Scion/Prius anyway.

I have a Prius and I’m very happy with it. As long as they keep improving the product it doesn’t matter what they call it.

I dont understand the part about the battery packs tho, they dont seem to have a problem with space right now. Why would they later on? Unless they plan on using even more batteries to get more MPG. That would be nice.

I think this is an interesting marketing move, but is it really a wise one? It would seem to be more trouble than it is worth, because customers now expect to be able to get a hybrid version of their favorite existing model.. and the brand equity that Camry hybrid and Highlander hybrid have earned goes right out the window when these loyal Toyota customers are told to go shop for Prius Bs and Prius 4Xs instead. Instead of making a separate brand name, they should rebrand their hybrid system as the Prius and use them on their already known and proven models.. then there could be Yaris Prius, Corolla Prius, Camry Prius and Highlander Prius models, for example.. which wouldn’t have to rely on unique bodyshells and outlandish styling gimmicks to set them apart from regular Toyota models as the current Prius does.

Everything boils down to money.

This is somehow seen as profitable by the eggheads in the financial department. Good on them. Maybe Toyota can focus on producing fun sporty cars with all that dead weight out of the way.

so basically its SCion all over again?

I hope the backlash over the old tech in hybrids won’t doom that venture. But, it’s toyota’s prerogative and if they want to create a brand centered around the prius, power to them. I personally don’t see the need or the benefit.

(EDITED FOR CONTENT, LANGUAGE)

Look GM has 5 brands (not including Saab), Ford has 3 (not including the PAG and Mazda) and Chrysler has 3 brands… so I guess Toyota is trying to suppress Ford and Chrysler regrading the number of brandnames. Let’s see: Toyota, Lexus, Scion and now Prius. Let’s hope it won’t turn into another model rebadging practice.

dumb move, why bother? I just don’t get having different brands, just use your original name. Toyota isn’t paying enough attention to why GM is hurting

Looks like deantj needs to get laid.

scions for hippies?

screw toyota who do they think they are HERTZ

I sure do wish i was as witty and original as deantj

That was a test. Unusual. With all the censorship, I can’t even sneak a “****” in my posts, and now it looks like big brother’s asleep at the wheel.

OK later losers. I’m geting laid plenty, it’s you guys I’m worried about.

Ford needs to borrow these technology for and build a fuel efficient commuter car.

I’m surprised it has taken this long. My big prediction for Chrysler is that the Smart cars begin to take a center stage and a new brand to showcase them is born. In case anyone hasn’t noticed, there is a very distinct group of people that buy hybrids. Currently, yes it’s the political hippies. Toyota would like to pander more to this group without tarnishing the Toyota brand image. Most of us afterall, are not political hippies, thank God. So the only way to do so is to create a new brand with a distinct image. Otherwise they risk alienating sales from say, the Tundra.

Dr Deantj… how’s the practice coming along?! Is it no longer fun to post when you can’t vomit poor language everywhere? I think it’s safe to say, you and your idiot side kick brought this on the site. I have no doubt you will fizzle and wither away as you search for another site to defile.

i wonder how much they paid a marketing agency to come up with the wonderfull and well thought out names of a, b, & c.

This move is redundant. By 2011 hybrid technology will have gone mainstream, especially if the price of gas keeps rising and the government increases the CAFE standards. Almost every new car will need some kind of fuel-saving technology to be competitive. For Toyota this means there will be overlap between the Prius brand and Lexus/Toyota/Scion. And we have all seen what brand overlap has done to GM, Ford, and DC…

oh great now we’ll have a lot of penis driving around

Global Lightning – While everyone is ‘aware’ of hybrids, the chances of hybrids being mainstream are slim to none. They represent a very small market share right now. To grow to even a 10% market share in 4 years would be revolutionary. For one, most people buy vehicles on a 5 year loan plan. Turnover will prevent that growth. Two, I am curious how manufacturers will handle procurement of the materials to manufacture half ton battery packs in that magnitude. Thats quite a bit of nickel to find. Three, selection alone will prevent it.

I suppose the argument though is what is considered “mainstream”…

I just got this in email. It’s quite funny, and to a large degree, true. Enjoy…

A Modern Parable

A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (General Motors)Decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate
the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing.

Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. They advised, of course, that too many people were steering
the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team’s management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering
superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called
the Rowing Team Quality First Program, with meetings, dinners and free pens and a certificate of completion for the rower. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.
Humiliated, the American management laid off the rower (a reduction in workforce)for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives
as bonuses and the next year’s racing team was “out-sourced” to India ..

The only reason I can think of, for this not to be a lateral move, is moreso to protect the Image of Toyota, rather than showcase the new Prius line. Maybe they are scared of driving away their Gas driving no-hippy customers, by having their lots filled with bizzare and “unconventional” looking cars.

is there a point to this other than to confuse people??????

Never mind that the Prises are starting to fill up the Toyota lots from slower sales. I just cannot see this happening, even though the Prius was very well marketed. This would make the Toyota brand an absolute non-hybrid brand (since all hybrids would be Prius branded), depriving the mother brand of a major quality of having a perception (as false as this is) of great fuel efficiecy.

TOYOTA NEEDS TO MAKE A BRAND FOR SPORTS CARS…not hybrids… Toyota is already known for being fuel efficient, reliable appliances.

I don’t like how american vehicles, which are just as efficient as the imports, are ignored. the prius doesnt get that much better mileage and it harms the environment enough its fuel savings, cost ineffectual as it is, are not compensating. American companies are producing the efficiency necessary, and doing so in environmentally friendly ways. This reliance on hybrids is going to wear out when the environmental impact from the NiMH batteries comes up with a bill and all the prius owners have a larger stake in the bill than hummer owners.

Piablo, that’s so true it’s unreal!

my mom drives a Prius

Great post Piablo. Like trying to steer an oil tanker with a canoe paddle.

As to the topic at hand, an interesting move, should they choose to make it., however, I do agree that it could cause confusion in the marketplace. Someone may want a hybrid Camry for whatever virtues they like the Camry for, rather than having to buy a seemingly purpose built vehicle.

I’m not sure that I agree with the sweeping generalization that all people who embrace hybrid technology are right-wing, hippy, non-conformists (god forbid). I think that hybrids are also attractive to people who fall into the “early adopter” category, i.e. first to get a plasma TV, first to get Windows Vista (for whatever reason), etc., etc.

piablo you know everything dont you i want to know what you do for a living mr high and mighty

So, different company name, same crap vehicle, what’s new?

So… we have Lexus, which does luxury hovercrafts, Scion which does tarted up econoboxes, and then there is Toyota, which builds dull yet fantastically reliable cars of vague identity and character. Now we’ll have “Prius” as a brand, which will feature semi-expensive bubble cars with hybrid powertrains.

General Motors collected most of its companies over 100 years. Toyota just invents a new brand every time it has a new product that could instead be used to define its identity as a multi-tier automaker.

It’s amazing to me every time I hear about how continually successful Toyota is as an automaker. I’m simply amazed that a manufacturer that produces such bland cars can be doing so well. They just work on the interior quality and try a few quirky exterior designs and push *nothing but* fuel miser engines and hovercraft suspensions.

I know I’m in the minority because I’m a car “enthusiast” but doggone it… the Camry philosophy is so awful. I don’t want all cars to be race cars. I just expect them to be more exciting and competent than understeering hovercrafts with pretty leather interiors.

I wish Toyota would consolidate back to being Toyota and create its products under a single, unified identity moniker.

“TOYOTA NEEDS TO MAKE A BRAND FOR SPORTS CARS…not hybrids… Toyota is already known for being fuel efficient, reliable appliances.”

If you’re Asian you’d know that they’ll work for money not ego. Unless you pair sport with ultra luxury, there’s no $ in it. Even then there’s too much work to be done for so little profit.

People who want real sports car should be willing to spend the money to get it. A 335i is quite decent and cheap so why do you want Toyota or even Kia to make a real sports car? can’t afford one?

“So, different company name, same crap vehicle, what’s new?”

Exactly why you should stop mentioning Pontiac since GM is crap and it’s the same thing all over.

hey everyone well done for realising GM is crap have a cookie. ha ha

400HorseSS – Not sure if I should take that as a compliment or insult. I’m leaning towards compliment… It’s pointless to ask what I do for a living. For one, I could easily lie. Two, does your job define your intellect or self worth or societal value? It may, or may not. Remember, money doesn’t make the man, man makes the money. So maybe I run a paper route, maybe I’m a seargent in the Marine Corp, maybe I’m a Wall St banker. And for the record, I support GM and their future success. I am aware you work for a GM company. That joke/parable was merely just that. Have a laugh.

Veda – “People who want real sports car should be willing to spend the money to get it. A 335i is quite decent and cheap so why do you want Toyota or even Kia to make a real sports car? can’t afford one?” …….That fly’s in the face of your comment to me regarding not buying a sports car and donating that money to the needy. Double standard?

Piablo, your little diatribe on disclosure of profession is comic. I copy-pasted for posterity.

Having a little internal conflict of sorts, are we? Do you look at yourself in the mirror and repeat those lines when you need to validate your job and existence in general? You’re a small man, if a man at all….

Sure thing Doc. Keep up with the dual specialties…

not a smart move… i understand toyota wants to run all their hybrids / e-cars under the prius brand? or what?

what will they do about the Lexus Hybrids? Sportier Hybrids (costy or not) ?

id rather make “prius” a crossbrand feature line, available for “special cars of the toyota portfolio”… a bit like BMWs M-company…

or – going along the lines of my previous post – make “prius” the trademark for their Hybrid… “Get the new Lexus LS 400 Prius” “Check out the hot new MR2-Prius”… somehting aliong that idea…

So what happens if hybrids just kind of disappear? Say by 2018 electric cars are reliable, cheap and able to go 1000 miles on a single charge, what would the point of the Prius brand than?

The Prius is not a scion. It is a hybrid car that gets about 50mpg easily and has decent exceleration and all the comforts of any other car on the road. No, it’s not a sport car, if you want that then you need not look at the prius. The scion is not a hyrid either so please don’t confuse the two. At least not yet. And the prius is also not that expensive compared to other cars of it’s size either. The big difference is when you go to that gas station and fill up. All of about 8 gallons after 450 plus miles. If you hate high gas prices and want to help out with slowing down global warming, then you want to check out the prius. Oh and another myth about the prius. It goes on its electric motor far beyond the 25 miles an hour that some state. Even at 50mph or above if the road is flat the electric motor will take over for a while saving even more gas and money.

Anyone else thinking that one of those 3 will be the FT-HS sports car that toyota has been talking about? That would be a great way to kill two birds with one stone. They would be opening up the brand with a bang and fill a gap in their car lineup.

Prius, like scion, is the name of a sub Toyota brand that I would mention by name without getting paid. I just refer to the faux-luxury division as “the faux-luxury division” or Toyota’s the faux-luxury division.”