look guys a non gm car today, hehehehehehe.
i would actually like to see a teaser of the wagon.

Perhaps they can design the next one to withstand more than a 10mph collision.

Slowly transforming “Prius” from a model into a make.

The wagon will be a home run in the suburbs. Pro-hybrid families that find the Prius hatch too small, but don’t want an SUV, will jump all over it. It’ll be a shade bigger than the Outback for less money, and a hybrid to boot.

CA36GTP - what are you talking about the prius not being able to withstand more than a 10mph collision, it has a 5 star safety rating.

I wonder how much they had to pay for that rating. I’ve heard more than one story told to me personally by Prius owners of the cars spending 2-3 months being repaired after minor accidents that would be paint-scratchers in other cars. In one, the motor mounts collapsed after a slight hit at a traffic light.

If you’ve ever driven a Prius, you know that it runs in a pure electric mode maybe 15-20% of the time. Now, add the additional weight of a wagon and items to be delivered? I can’t see the benefit…

Does ‘Prius’ mean anything? Where did that name come from?

CA36gtp- I’m not sure what your talking about, but I have indeed heard reports of the front and rear bumpers being very expensive to fix, and crumple easily (crumple zone?).

Chris C-I was actually thinking the same thing. But if it’s indeed true that it will be using lithium ion batteries, then I’m sure it will be capable of the same range with an extra 500 ibs. or so.

But I didn’t know so many people considered the current Prius so small. Personally, it’s pretty versatile, but I can list a number of things that I don’t like about it. One of those things is the miles per gallon figures, which are unrealistic for this car (more like in the early 40’s). Another is the expense. For some reason, I personally know dealerships think they can charge alot more to repair a hybrid, for some unrelated non-hybrid component than on a relative vehicle. And then, Toyota thinks they can charge you more for these parts, because it’s a “sophisticated” automobile.

But I see alot of opportunity in it, lots of space, a design that’s unlike any other in the US, and good economy for what it is. I preffer the Honda Insight, because it was truely a bare bone economy machine, and I feel Honda put alot more effort into making sure it achieved those figures (some of the best ever posted by an American vehicle).

so you take an ugly yet efficient car make it bigger so it is more appealing to the masses but loses then you detract from the only think it ias good at saving gas. buy a damn camcord or better yet do make a diesel hybrid.

someone tell Toyota this Hybrid crap wont work HYDROGEN IS THE FUTURE

cwwilson: True. That is exactly what is happening

LP640: No **** it is the future, do you think that Toyota doesn’t know that? Are you serious? We’re talking about the most innovative, most forward thinking, and first/second largest carmaker in the world here. They know how to make money, and they know the future, even if you don’t like their products/style. Hybrids are a stop gate measure while other fuel technologies, such as hydrogen, are being developed and perfected for mainstream, mass consumer use/sale. However those technologies definitely are not ready yet, and for now, hybrids are going to play a major impact on transitioning the consumer from pure gas driven energy to a mix, to a completely different form of fuel/energy. Toyota is utilizing this hybrid technology for the present and the near future, with the semi distant future yielding hydrogen power. I think that’s pretty evident at car makers like Honda too.

good one lambo, couldnt agree more. i own a prius for my business and have been very pleased with the results. as a gm man all my life (47 years) it was a hard pill to swallow switching to the prius, but it has exceeded all of my expectations. maybe i am just a lucky one, or maybe that i live in fla is a factor, but i have had 18 50+ mpg tanks in the 40,000 miles ive driven this past 9 months. the hidden surprise was that this car is OUTSTANDING in mountain driving!! i have a home in western nc and the prius takes the hills like a champ, effortless and WITHOUT the constant downshifting and upshifting normally associated with any other car in the mountains. now in northern mountains or out west, ice may be an issue, but in the nc mtns it is not. as long as my good luck continues, i will definately condsider the wagon. although the car is plenty roomy as it is, more room would always be better…..and i still marvel at the technology…..

@Brendino:
‘Prius’ is a latin modifier meaning before, prior, leading, or ahead.

Let’s see how these new bodystyles affect the car’s aerodynamics. The current Prius’ teardrop body has a drag coefficient of 0.26, which greatly contributes to the car’s efficiency

Prius is a great car for a mild climate. In northern states mileage is quite lower during winter, since batteries are much less effective. My guess is that just like RWD is reasonable in “lower” states so do hybrids.

priuses are the gayest cars ever

isn’t the gay-ass prius already a wagon?

CA36gtp was probably talking about the prius engine falling off its mounts in carpark collisions. This is very expensive to fix and apparently happens quite often.

It’s always refreshing to see all the useful conversations the internet provides us.

Prius may not be the most exciting car to drive or to look at, but it has qualities of hybrids that other cars don’t have: recapturing of energy. 2700-3000 lbs vehicle generates a lot of heat and kinetic energy when it slows down and it is transformed into electrical energy that is later re-used. There is certain technological “adoreness” about precision of this technology, like a nice mechanical watch.

I wonder how many Priuses it would take to counteract all the smoke that went into the air from the Southern Cal fires???

It’s ironic that A4 would refer to the Prius as a ‘gay’ car when the Audi TT is commonly referred to as a ‘hairdresser’s car’.

It’s too bad we have high schoolers posting on this site (A4, m6-500attouchofabutton, etc). I didn’t know a vehicle, an inanimate object, could have a sexual orientation. A4, I’m sure you’re comact Audi is the definitive statement of masculinity, isn’t it? I just think comments like yours are completely degenerate, lets do more thinking and less talking out of our asses here. The Prius meets the needs of many people, and does so without using as much fossil fuels as your average family car and with lower emissions. This is a positive thing. Lets not insult it.

none fletch they just add a smidgen more.
the fires produced enough greenhouse gasses for 3 years of all the cars in america, there is no counterbalance for that. any progress made has been voided, and somebody please go tell the ecoterrorists to stop burning ****. those weenies dont realize burning 1 hummer is as bad as ten thousand more that are on the road.

lamboz although i dont like hybrids much (yet) i agree.

cts driver: I mean I can see why you wouldnt like them much yet, and many people feel the same way you do. But i think whats necessary is an evaluative step backward. Realizing that other people might find positive things in it that you don’t, and that those positive things can be applied generally to a common consensus of something good. Such as the reduction of emissions. Even if you don’t want to deal w/ the Prius’ poor driving dynamics, you can, as a human being, appreciate a reduction in greenhouse gases, even if its a very small amount, at least it’s something. And with hundreds of thousands of hybrids on the road, each one helping a little, it adds up to the point where it actually does make a positive impact as opposed to no impact at all.

@LamborghiniZ
You take their proclamations in a negative light. I think they’re declaring their orientation by projecting it onto an inanimate object. A4 & company are hiding in the closet, just waiting for the right person to ‘liberate’ them.

The i prefer diesel over hybird, i think toyota is on to something, and will sell alot of cars here.

All kidding aside, if we run enough diesels (post 2007i emissions) around California, it would actually filter the air and improve air quality. Who would have thunk?

As for hybrids being the end-all of the movement away from gasoline, I believe they are not all that. But, once the technology improves the hybrid may actually be the way cars are designed from now on. Think about it - take the gas engine out of the equation and you can replace it with anything if the feel of the vehicle remains the same. Instead of driving the wheels with the engine, it is only used to produce electricity for the electric motors. Once that happens, the engine/fuel will no longer be an issue.

Oh wait, I’m thinking of the Volt concept from GM. Never mind…

Toyota will milk Hybrid tech for as long as possible. Future or not, it is available and cashing in NOW, unlike hydrogen and to a lesser extent diesel where they have to deal with emission standard.

i agree with that lamboz. if gm put a diesel hybrid dual mode in the h3t i would own it.the reason i am turned away from them rite now is there is not alot of models that really suit my lifestyle, i have no use for a compact car, dont like camrys and the escape hybrid 4×4 is not enough truck for me. the yukons and silverado hybrids are too big for me. by me moving 50 miles closer to my job i have cut my fuel consumption by 75% per month, that was a choice based on reducing gas emissions.But that was easy for me as a single male renter, homeowners are stuck with a long commute.

CTS DRIVER: Yeah I definitely see where you’re coming from. Hybrids have yet to encroach on the enthusiast market at this point. The only minor exception is the Lexus GS450h. Now I wouldn’t really call this an enthusiast car, but the difference is, it’s in a class of cars made for people who enjoy luxury and enjoy certain aspects of driving, be it more capable handling, or powerful acceleration, and the GS hybrid uses it’s electric motor to aid in acceleration, making it a different type of hybrid. This however, is a poor example, and can hardly be called a hybrid for enthusiasts. For most driving fans, a hybrid makes no sense, and I understand that, but if you’re a car fanatic, you should be able to see why people who do choose to drive them do so. CTS DRIVER clearly understands this, which is good to see. Also, the Silverado hybrid is a bad joke, it barely increases mileage or decreases emissions, and drives terribly. Not sure about the Yukon hybrid yet, guess we’ll see.

CA36, cd5: those “saftey ratings” aren’t really indicative of how safe a car is.

a4: Del Sols were much gayer

CTS driver: i’m thinking about moving closer to where I work, but my commute is Only 35 miles

I might as well get a big block truck for work since my commute is just a hair under 6 miles round trip =)