The Toyota Prius: The Little Car that Could
The world will never be the sameA few years ago on the blogosphere, the disdain for the Toyota Prius often seemed to out-weigh the support for the Prius. It seemed you either loved or hated the Prius, and the haters were just as vocal, if not more, than the lovers.
These days Prius haters are much more silent, or they've changed their focus. Instead of calling hybrids a niche technology, or an over-rated technology, many have instead begun to support the hybrid vehicles of their favorite automaker.
For example, some of the biggest hybrid haters have been GM fans, probably because many fans of GM have enjoyed SUVs and seemed to feel that the Prius was a threat to their SUV lifestyle. And, let's be fair, many Prius drivers do hate SUVs. So, the attacks seemed to become almost personal. Read more....
Labels: Chevy Volt electric vehicle concept, hybrid suvs, Hybrid Vehicles, toyota prius
posted by Dahcredyns at
8:53 AM
9 Comments:
Full Story
A few years ago on the blogosphere, the disdain for the Toyota Prius often seemed to out-weigh the support for the Prius. It seemed you either loved or hated the Prius, and the haters were just as vocal, if not more, than the lovers.
These days Prius haters are much more silent, or they've changed their focus. Instead of calling hybrids a niche technology, or an over-rated technology, many have instead begun to support the hybrid vehicles of their favorite automaker.
For example, some of the biggest hybrid haters have been GM fans, probably because many fans of GM have enjoyed SUVs and seemed to feel that the Prius was a threat to their SUV lifestyle. And, let's be fair, many Prius drivers do hate SUVs. So, the attacks seemed to become almost personal.
Today, GM is converting those gas-guzzlers into hybrid SUVs and, suddenly, hybrid technology isn't so hate-worthy anymore. Instead, Prius haters have become hybrid fans now claiming that hybrid SUVs make more sense than hybrid cars because they offer a much larger fuel savings. Moreover, GM fans are also gloating in the idea that the Chevy Volt is a Prius killer, a Toyota killer, a foreign car killer.
For GM fans, their beloved GM is alive and kicking and they are proud.
Suddenly, clean and green technologies are no longer talking points occasionally displayed in some never-will-be-built concept, they are the focus of a competitive race to the future.
Still, it was the Prius that really set this competition in motion. The Prius made consumers realize that change was possible. Coupled with Iraq, terrorism, high oil prices, etc. the Prius made consumers believe that change wasn't just possible, but absolutely required, and now - with the Prius as proof - there were no excuses.
And automakers have listened. GM debuted the Volt as a way to electrify the E Flex drive into mainstream America. Honda is increasing its hybrid efforts and striving for fuel cell hybrids within the decade. Pretty much every automaker is now actively pursuing hybrid technology, fuel cell technology, clean diesel, etc. while rethinking the Internal Combustion Engine with direct injection, turbochargers, and HCCI technology.
Largely because of the Prius, whole new generations of automobiles, using unusual combinations of technologies to achieve efficiency, are being explored and produced, and the best is yet to come.
Some day soon the significance of the Prius itself might wane, but the wave of change started by the Prius will be rippling through the automotive world for decades.
GM will never make a car competitive with what Toyota makes. Are people that dim to think that while GM is developing the "Volt" that Toyota is just standing still?
GM is a stupid company that has made garbage, sub-standard products for the last XX years...honestly too long to count.
Toyota and Honda will embarrass GM and Ford and Chrysler in ways that they never thought they could be embarrassed. And it serves them right. While they are too busy making garbage SUV's that have no purpose whatsoever other than feeding back fat American egos, Toyota and Honda having been developing cars for the future.
People who think GM is doing well by turning 12 MPG turds into 18 MPG turds are just plain retarded. What a joke that is. No ifs, ands, or buts. People who get offended by this, TOUGH...get your heads out of your asses and start thinking less about yourselves and more about the world in general.
The next generation of Toyotas, Honda's and probably Mazdas will make cars like the Chevy Volt look obsolete before it even comes out. Honda's FCX is coming out this year...a REAL, WORKING, FUNCTIONAL fuel cell car.
So while GM is paying artists to draw up flashy GM future products that don't exist, the rest of us will have the privilege of driving a Honda Fuel Cell car that also has the reliability of which GM can go wish it had and never has.
nozferatu-
In some ways I agree with your statements, but I do believe that GM realizes that the past several decades were full of SUV-driven mistakes, and they are committed to change.
Still, while I'm not an SUV fan, I still advocate that SUV drivers buy a Tahoe hybrid instead of a Tahoe. In urban driving the Tahoe hybrid can achieve the same city fuel economy, according to the EPA, as some Mini Coopers. That is at least a step forward.
Also, I've talked to dozens of executives and engineers involved with the Volt program and the Volt program is real. Of course, Toyota isn't sitting still. Neither is Honda. Still, the Volt isn't important, it's the E Flex Drive, which is also the drive of GM's fifth generation of fuel cell vehicles.
As for Honda's FCX Clarity. It's an absolutely amazing car.
Being English, I have watched the sad demise of both the motor car and motor cycle industries in my country. I have to tell you that the same thing is happening in your country now. If you don't believe me, let me ask you how your domestic manufacturers' export sales are going?
Being American, I hope you will see what is happening and invest in Toyota and other companies that are innovating, and so help the capitalist system to continue to prosper :-)
Jerry,
If I'm not mistaken, GM's European division is very profitable and their Chinese operations look good. GM's problem is the American market.
Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive has been the sole highlight of the automotive world in the last decade. Still, Toyota is focused on selling more large, gas-guzzling pickup trucks than in selling hybrids in America.
When all factors are considered, Toyota really isn't that green of an automaker. No automaker is really green.
The race to the automotive future is still wide open. If I had to make a wager, I'd put my money on Toyota and Honda, but GM still has a chance.
Recently I drove the Malibu hybrid and that's a fantastic car - mostly because the newly designed Malibu is a great car that for once has the ability to truly compete with the Camry and the Accord. That's a big step and it's exactly the kind of momentum that GM needs.
I keep saying it, but I firmly believe that if GM rolled out a unique dual mode hybrid to compete with either the Prius or the Camry hybrid, it would sell like hotcakes and completely change the perception of GM.
Of course, such a program probably wouldn't be profitable for years after the Volt is launched, which is probably why GM will never do it.
Dach....
I think if GM could make such a car, they would have....they simply cannot. They don't know how and they don't have the know-how. It's one thing to make a car like a Camry...with tight tolerances, quality materials, etc...it's another thing to make a new technology. GM just doesn't have the talent...and if they did, they are still years behind.
You know why? Because their emphasis hasn't been on quality, innovative products...it's been about making SUV's and large, turd-like cars....cars that have 1950's technology in them. And they have the benefit of feeding them to an even more backward-a%% public.
I admit, Toyota's ridiculous paradox of making a Pruis and then coming out with a stupid vehicle like a Tundra, or Sequoia, or Highlander, etc...is just plain retarded. I respect Honda more than Toyota for those reasons. Because Honda seems to not give in to much (yes I know...they have the Pilot and that retarded looking pickup).
I honestly hope companies like GM just disappear...they are a drag on the industry and waiting for a company like that to turn around and get it right...WHY bother? We already have companies that are light years ahead.
Noz-
You make some great points, and you might be absolutely correct. Moreover, I also believe that GM made a huge mistake with its over-reliance upon SUVs, and they still seem to be having a hard time letting go of SUVs.
At this point in time, however, I respectfully disagree with your belief that GM can't develop a technology like the Volt or a fuel cell vehicle.
I've driven GM's Chevy Equinox fuel cell vehicle which is based on GM's 4th generation fuel cell, rather than their new 5th generation fuel cell which is 1/3 lighter than the 4th generation, but it was still a fantastic car.
Yes, Honda's Clarity is better than the Equinox that I drove, but if the Equinox I drove utilized GM's fifth generation fuel cell, then I'm not so sure.
As for the Volt, no one is building such a car, at least not a production-ready car. The battery technology just hasn't been there. It might be close now, but we'll have to wait and see.
I still have hope!
Well I hope for everyone's sake you are correct in some level....we need cars like these regardless of who makes them.
What all of this is pointing to is the need for flex fuel vehicles. As we transition off crude oil as a main fuel source we can look at hydrogen, methane, turpine in addition to more advanced battery technologies. HHO, Joe Cells and ZEV's are what we should have spent all this wasted war money on chasing after oil which has already reached it's peak. Rather than using an adversarial war model we need to focus on clean solutions that the best and brightest innovators can create. Let's all work together to come up with solutions where cars could run off of water or review the Tesla patents to see if there is a way to transmit electrical power through the air which was Tesla's dream. I doubt if big business has much interest in low cost solutions to these problems. The creation is going to happen at the grass roots level because large corporations mainly have an interest in perpetuating the kinds of technologies that can be controlled & lock people into transportation solutions where people can be easily separated from their money. http://www.calcars.org has plug-in Prius conversions which are proof of concept and have been on the road for several years. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnYE4doj9Js
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