Toyota to cut hybrid weight and cost by 2009
When it comes to saving cash at the pump, one of the best ways to improve fuel economy is to avoid lugging around unnecessary pounds. We've already lost a few odd ounces when we replaced our CDs for an MP3 player, and when gas prices begin to rise again, it might be a good time to consider that diet you've been putting off.
Toyota has the same idea for their hybrid vehicles, so when the next generation Prius rolls of the line, its hybrid drivetrain will have its weight cut in half. The automaker is in a race with Honda to significantly reduce the weight of these systems, and in doing so, will also reduce the cost of the vehicle overall.
It's estimated that the current Prius has a price penalty of about $4,000 dollars due to its gas/electric setup. ToMoCo wants to bring that figure down to about $1,900 and plans to do so within the next three years. The same goes for Honda, who intends on only charging a $1,700 premium for its hybrid-equipped whips by 2009.
[Source: Financial Times via Inside Line]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Stargleam 1:45PM (5/06/2008)
I made a mistake, and let someone pressure me into buying an "American" car. I wanted the Yaris. I'm looking at the Prius now as a hopeful in '09. In a complaint blog I read about problems of sudden, uncontrollable, acceleration. Anyone had any experience with this....has it been addressed by Toyota?
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Sgt. Hulka 7:42AM (10/04/2006)
Good. And then cut the sanctimonious vibe the drivers give off when they drive the damn thing.
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Steiner 8:03AM (10/04/2006)
Too true Sgt. Hulka.
In the UK and Europe this is even worse. Never mind that but I find the Prius pot ugly and would not like to be seen standing near one let alone drive one.
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dreesemonkey 8:08AM (10/04/2006)
Good on both fronts, cheaper and lighter! If there was a hybrid like that civic si concept posted a few days ago I'd really think about ponying up the extra "$1900" for a hybrid car. No doubt :)
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Stoneman 11:07AM (10/04/2006)
I would buy a Hybrid if the price wasn't so high. It's cheaper to buy a diesel than a hybrid right now.
Stoneman
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Jeff the Baptist 11:20AM (10/04/2006)
Toyota also has to deal with their hybrid tax credit shrinking away to nothing. They could afford a $4000 premium when the government was essentially paying people to buy the car. But now that the Prius is successful and their tax credit is shrinking rapidly due to sales, they need to cut that price differential in order to maintain those sales.
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MikeW 9:42AM (10/04/2006)
So the new prius is a MY 2010?
Prius: worst HID headlights in the United States.
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Alvin Pettit 10:00AM (10/04/2006)
The sanctimonious vibe the Prius drivers give off is better than the obnoxious vibe most SUV owners give off.
I love it when you got a guy who buys a 4x4 and it never sees anything but pavement.
Whats even better is those guys who buy hummers and try to act all tough. I'm not a soldier, but I want to look like one with my Hummer.
Lets not forget people who "pimp" their ride or add way to many stickers because they think it will look faster.
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yes_I_am_american 10:08AM (10/04/2006)
They have every right to be sanctimonious. Esspecially when they pass you on the road dumping $40 into your gas tank.
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karlInSanDiego 11:48AM (10/04/2006)
Sorry but without stating what the current drivetrain weight is, this is meaningless. If they're halving a 200lb engine mated to a 100lb electric motor mated to a 65lb trans they're dropping < 190lbs and they're doing it from the stuff that needs to be robust. Better to pioneer lightening efforts on the rest of the car than to lighten an already light drivetrain. Insight was 800lbs lighter than Prius and though that car was less practical and much more expensive to produce, it yeilded MUCH better mileage.
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Todd 11:43AM (10/04/2006)
I'll tell you one thing. I wish Toyota would limit the darn things speed.
A woman was driving one up Interstate 80 through the Sierras, and she was doing at least 90mph, and what did her license say? HY60MPG. I doubt she was getting that driving the way she did.
What they need to do to lose weight is get rid of the radio, air conditioning, leather, and navigation so that people who buy these things to be trendy would steer clear of them.
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Corey W. 12:52PM (10/04/2006)
Todd,
Funny you say that, I see the same thing in Detroit, puling are hauling @ss in these things!! Uh, aren't you suppose to be saving gas??
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icerabbit 12:53PM (10/04/2006)
And, maybe they can put the gauges in front of the driver? Instead of the middle.
I can't stand the centered gauge cluster in a mini, prius, ... and would otherwise most gladly drive one.
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Glenn 12:56PM (10/04/2006)
I "think" the weight differential is probably referring to the battery pack, which in my Prius is said to be 135 pounds. The Hybrid Synergy Drive system is probably no heavier than a conventional car's automatic transmission, or if so, only a few pounds. No torque convertor, only one planetary set, no bands or clutches (to go wrong) in the Prius...
Now, if you look at a Euro-spec Toyota Avensis diesel with similar power to the Prius, and similar interior space (let's compare apples to apples/hatchback to hatchback), the Prius is LIGHTER (despite the battery/the Avensis diesel engine obviously is heavier than a smaller all-alloy Prius engine), shorter (thus easier to park), gets better mileage and may be used in London without paying the horrendously expensive London Congestion Charge on a daily basis. The CO2 for the Prius is significantly lower than the Avensis diesel, I might add (thus, the MPG is better on Prius).
By which I mean to say that by the time the terribly expensive Honda style diesel catalysts, or the "pee in the tank" urea emission system for diesels are brought into production (with something like $1400 to $1800 price increases), a gasoline hybrid will still be cleaner, cheaper and the fuel will cost less (gasoline is generally cheaper to buy than diesel in the US). Not forgetting that the $1400 to $1800 price increases will be on TOP of the already higher cost of diesel cars compared to "conventional".
Thus, once hybrids only cost $1900 to $1700 more than "conventional" cars, there will be even fewer excuses for people to avoid the obvious.
Which is: why are we wasting kinetic energy, instead of tapping it with hybrid cars? Diesel cars have no regenerative system, unless they are of course, diesel hybrids. Let's see.... $1000 diesel extra cost, plus $1900 hybrid extra cost plus $1800 pee in a bottle urea system extra cost = no way in hell will diesel hybrids ever be practical unless fuel is maybe $20 a gallon....
Otherwise, why would people pay $4700 extra on a new compact or mid-sized car to obtain (maybe) 80 mpg using fuel costing more than gasoline, compared to $1900 to $1700 extra for a gasoline hybrid obtaining (maybe) 60 mpg?
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Glenn 1:05PM (10/04/2006)
Sorry for the double post. Forgot to mention, the Atkinson cycle engine as used by most Toyota hybrids (not all) is inherently much more efficient than the Otto cycle "conventional" gasoline engine - it is nearly as efficient as a Diesel cycle engine under certain conditions, in fact.
I can attest to this re: my own 2005 Prius.
How about a steady 65 mph, 80 degrees F., air conditioning ON, flat and level, 50-65 mpg (US)? I've seen it.
Or how about a steady 45 to 50 mph, between 50 and 75 degrees, a/c on or off makes little difference, very fractionally slightly up and down to flat and level, 60 to 99.9 mpg (US) WITH the Atkinson cycle engine running? I've seen it.
Current tank (I've noticed a slight decrease in my overall MPG already this fall - winter gas already being sold in Northern climes?) 49.9 (US) MPG over 200 miles. That's 62.375 MPG Imperial, for you Brits and Canadians. Better than a SMART ForTwo diesel, plus I have room for 4 (or 5 in a squeeze), and TRUNK SPACE.
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Jamie 3:43PM (10/04/2006)
5. The sanctimonious vibe the Prius drivers give off is better than the obnoxious vibe most SUV owners give off.
I love it when you got a guy who buys a 4x4 and it never sees anything but pavement.
Whats even better is those guys who buy hummers and try to act all tough. I'm not a soldier, but I want to look like one with my Hummer.
Lets not forget people who "pimp" their ride or add way to many stickers because they think it will look faster.
Posted at 9:59AM on Oct 4th 2006 by Alvin Pettit 0 stars
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Care to share an ORIGINAL THOUGHT?
Or is that all you have to say about people with more money than you.
Whatever I think of SUV buyers (not me), I have the tact to keep to myself.
Maybe it's that psychological need to look down on others that's getting the better of you? Huh?
I think that's what the Sargeant means by "sanctimonious" (although in your circles, the root "sanct-" is probably barely understood).
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Marc 4:31PM (10/04/2006)
On behalf of Mother Earth, I wish to thank all current hybrid owners for paying the premium to make a difference. I will join you all once the next generation is released. But thanks to you all purchasing hundreds of thousands of these amazing vehicles, Toyota and Honda now have the ability to come out with cheaper, more efficient engines. I cant wait. (And I cant wait to be sanctimonious about it, a right deserved by anyone who believes in buying cutting edge technology to save our planet.)
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Tommy 4:21PM (10/04/2006)
2009 Honda Fit Hybrid 55/55MPG, here I come!
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doglet 5:51PM (10/04/2006)
hybrid owners think they are better than everyone else. the car is a giant save the rainforest sticker.
suv and truck owners usually just dont like to climb down into a car.
the amount of money that leaves the country to buy over priced hybrids is more than the amount of money that is kept here by the gas they save.
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G. Snyder 8:06PM (10/04/2006)
The gauges are in front of the driver in a Prius. They are just closer to the windshield.
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