11/02/2006, 4:22 PM

Toyota News

Toyota mulling Prius wagon, other body styles

Toyota is considering turning its Prius car into a line of vehicles, according to a report by Bloomberg. The automaker is looking at expanding the nameplate in an effort to reach over half a million hybrid sales in the United States.

“For us to do 600,000, there will probably have to be Prius and derivatives of Prius that are selling in the neighborhood of 300,000 to 400,000,” Lentz said in an interview at SEMA this week. “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.”

 
 

11/02, 4:34 PM

posted by:

Ricardo Head

Isn’t it illegal to clone abortions?

11/02, 4:37 PM

posted by:

Togo

lmao they barely sell 100k of these rolling abortions a year and they want to sell 500,000?

Not without kickbacks from the government.

All those batteries are great for the environment, not to mention the well below APE fuel economy you’ll see with it.
lmao.

11/02, 4:46 PM

posted by:

bepsf

I’d like to see a 4/5-seater Prius convertible - I think it would sell well.

11/02, 4:53 PM

posted by:

Random Jerk

Batteries in electrics/hybrids, like the lead acid battery in every other vehicle (and most every part of a any vehicle) can be recycled.

11/02, 5:09 PM

posted by:

A4

id like to see a mile deep pit filled with prius’s but that wont happen either bepsf

11/02, 5:16 PM

posted by:

Stuart

Funny thing is the only people that will buy them are americans and they hate them the most lol.

11/02, 5:25 PM

posted by:

The Stig

Someone please stretch a Prius. Limo companies are waiting.

11/02, 5:29 PM

posted by:

bepsf

What’s wrong w/ Prius’?

Sure they’re not exciting to look at or drive, but they’re perfect for people who really don’t care what they drive and want to save fuel for when they’re putzing around town getting groceries, running errands or commuting to work in stop & go traffic.

Not everyone needs or wants a twin-turbo, 500HP V8 AWD SUV or Euro-lable car:  it pains me to see folks driving late model BMW M-Series, MB AMG’s, Audi RS’s - even Aston Martin’s and recently a Bentley Continental covered w/ dents, ubangee bumpers and covered with filth - they should be driving Accords or Prius’ instead.

11/02, 5:54 PM

posted by:

davebo

I need wagon or suv size space for equipment, but I’ve been getting by with a big trunk and fold-down seats for a while, waiting for someone to make a hybrid wagon. I’d rather subaru do it, or stick hybrid in the magnum, or make a wagon version of that 260hp hybrid accord? Eh, I guess if there was a Prius wagon it wouldn’t hurt to test drive it.

11/02, 8:36 PM

posted by:

lanapat7

Isn’t this car kind of a wagon? The hatchback arrangement allows for extended space in the rear.
If they wish to expand the brand, I recommend a small SUV, a midsize sedan(Camry size), and something like a Scion tC.

11/02, 9:26 PM

posted by:

autonutt

Toyota put itself in an unusual position offering the Prius only as a hybrid, where Honda and Ford (and now Toyota too) offer hybrid versions of their more mainstream models. Since the next-gen Prius is rumored to be moving to the new Corolla platform, it would be interesting to see how much cachet the Prius brand holds if they expand the hybrid option to the Corolla sedan as well. Perhaps by 2010 Prius will be nothing more than a Corolla hatchback?

11/03, 12:00 AM

posted by:

LamborghiniZ

I agree with bepsf, and I think that offering new body styles for the Prius is a billiant idea, the Prius is a genius car, its great, it changed the automotive scene forever, and for what it does is amazing, think about it, you get a car that costs the same roughly as a comparable say, Ford Fusion or even Hyndai Sonata, etc, companies that don’t offer hybrids, and you get a car that drives decently for a midsize car, its not exciting, im aware i’ve driven both generations many many times, but its no worse than many other midsize sedans, and you get the benefit of having a car thats extremely dependable, helps the environment, and gets better mileage. adding new body styles is a great idea.

11/03, 1:47 AM

posted by:

spider

they should do a 4×4 V-8 off-road turbo Prius. With dubs.
that’ll sell.

11/03, 8:50 AM

posted by:

WEKS

No, spider, it wouldn’t.

11/03, 9:59 AM

posted by:

1c3d0g

Hahaha…and who is always accusing other makers of badge engineering? Oh the irony. LMAO. :p

11/03, 10:30 AM

posted by:

Piablo

The Prius actually does not have lead acid batteries, they are Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries, or very oversized cell phone batteries.

Now, I see alot of questions regarding, ‘Why can’t people drive more economical vehicles????’. This discussion is a great example of why. Why make the Prius any bigger??? 99% of the time there’s a single driver in a vehicle. If we really want economical driving, then we should be looking at SMALLER cars, not bigger. Car pooling does not work all the time especially in less dense areas. Asking for a bigger Prius is simply the ultimate irony to me. And I’m not even a greenie weenie!

Instead of a wagon Prius, how about a 2 seater?

11/03, 10:59 AM

posted by:

MyGodBeatsYourGod

Eco-friendly?

Ride a bike or walk…we don’t need a bunch more self-important drivers hoggin’ the left lane and doin’ 56mph.

Said it a million times: Honda can’t seem to sell it’s hybrids (cause they look like a normal Honda)…most of the Prius drivers bought the car because it SCREAMS “I am an eco-weenie and you are a gas-wasting idiot”

Nuff said about this car. And where exactly do they recycle NiMH or NiCAD batteries? Bangalore? Delhi?

11/03, 1:37 PM

posted by:

Renton

Whatever they build, Larry will be driving one in “Curb Your Enthusiam” next season.

11/03, 2:05 PM

posted by:

Piablo

^^ My question exactly. I am sure there are recycling centers somewhere in in North America. But who exactly does one expect to take those baterries to the facility? So you buy your Prius new, and you sell it in 6 years (once the car is now getting 25mpg because the electrical system is no longer efficient by any means…) and the car get’s sold to fool. The fool drives it for a year or so before they simply can’t take the repair bills. By this point, the Prius is widely known as a money pit due to the inherent short lifespan of it’s electrical components and the fool can’t sell it again. They sell it to the junk yard for $200 and sits in the lot for years and decades. Does some guy at the junk yard take the batteries out for recycling? Did he for every other battery in the lot? No. So there they sit, all 1000lbs of them, rotting, leaking, and completely negating any type of eco-friendly purpose it ever had to begin with.

11/03, 3:34 PM

posted by:

A4

just a hunch, WEKS, but i think spider was being sarcastic

11/03, 3:35 PM

posted by:

A4

way back to DAVEBO, wait for the VW Jetta GLI wagon… it sounds perfect for what you need, and its fun

11/03, 7:43 PM

posted by:

Phil

The new Jetta is stupid and boring, davebo. Don’t get one. I drive the previous-generation Jetta as a daily driver, and without the 1.8L turbo I have, it’s just a car.

11/04, 11:45 AM

posted by:

LamborghiniZ

MyGodBeatsYourGod, you’re not entirely right here. The Civic hybrid sells fine, and the reason the Accord hybrid doesn’t sell as well is it costs a hell of a lot, near $30K, and it doesnt get that much better mileage as the hybrid powertrain is used to increase power rather than increase mileage. THe prius sells not because of you’re bull**** theory of “IM ECO FRIENDLY WAHHH”, but more because it was the originator of the hybrid ‘movement’, if you will, and toyota it is the most devoted to creating eco friendly vehicles, if you notice that the first generation prius which didnt look sci fi AT ALL sold well also, you will see that your point has lost much of its validity.

11/06, 9:02 AM

posted by:

gilby7

Wow, once again, what a bunch of hairy-knuckled rednecks (not all, but most). Not every stinkin’ car has to be a friggin 9000 horsepower monster. It’s not any hybrid vehicle’s fault if the EPA gets the MPG numbers wrong in real-world conditions. Hybrids DO get better mileage than “regular” gas-powered vehicles, and they DO chug out less poisonous emissions as well. That’s horrible isn’t it? Uuuu… I must be “gay” for wanting anything other than an Amera’kun made, Tobie Keith-loving, redneck, bolt-rattling, shiny plastic interior car/truck/SUV. I am an American but I don’t blindly buy “American” just because I was born and raised here.

11/11, 6:45 AM

posted by:

J.A.N.E.

Gilby7,the Prius is fitting in a ‘Logan’s Run’ type cold impersonal enviroment.Better,yet the early Lucas sci fi movie(the title being some numbers only or something /FHX 1038?).Yikes.That’s cold.Right now,there are still a few fun vehicles to operate.Why destroy that?

11/11, 6:57 AM

posted by:

J.A.N.E.

THX 1138…that’s cold.

 
 
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