Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Toyota
Next-gen Prius coming in January with more power, efficiency
by Dan Roth on Apr 29th 2008 at 11:29AM 
The current Prius is baked from a refined recipe that results in a roomy, practical and efficient vehicle lurking under an eco-statement exterior, or at least we thought so. Five years on, it's still the most popular way to conspicuously consume under the guise of saving the planet. Toyota hasn't been resting on the success of its green badge of targeted consumerism, so we're going to see a new Prius at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in January, according to Toyota President Watanabe. The 3rd-generation Prius will grow in size, and engine displacement will be bumped to 1.8 liters to increase performance. Despite the increase in size and sprightliness, weight will reportedly hold steady. Further changes are in store after the launch, with plug-in and Li-Ion updates to come.The nameplate will also move beyond a single model and become a sub-brand during the reign of Prius the III. More body styles are coming, and if you think the Prius is a roachy-looking thing, the concept hints Toyota has given us are possibly even weirder. The sub-1,000 pound 1/X might offer a glimpse at another type of Prius, though more realistically, the sad-eyed Hybrid X vannish concept suggests the way things are headed without the ridiculous pronunciation of its featherweight companion. If things go according to Toyota's plan for world domination, the Prius will become one of the pillars upon which the marque is built, next to the Corolla and Camry institutions.
Gallery: Review: 2007 Toyota Prius Touring
[Source: Auto Observer]
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 4)
Frylock350 2:16PM (4/29/2008)
The 7 super big? LOL. You don't know what big is good sir. Go sit in a Lincoln Town Car if you want big. The 7 is simply mid sized. 79" wide is the price of entry for big.
Toledo Guy 2:25PM (4/29/2008)
The technology of a hybrid interests me. There, I'll admit it. But when it comes down to a final decision, I won't pay a premium for a hybrid. From everything I've read, you have to drive the car longer than the batteries are warrantied to last just to break even.
I would be more interested in an '09 Pious, uh, Prius, if Toyota had addressed the cost issue over making it bigger and more powerful.
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RobAFromNC 2:26PM (4/29/2008)
The Prius is a great way to make guilty liberals feel good -- and bump up their CAFE numbers at the same time so they can make more gas guzzling Tundras and Sequoias...
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MajorGeek 2:26PM (4/29/2008)
If you must LOL in a condescending way, please use Google. The Continental is no longer made, you must have meant the Town Car. The Town Car is 4 inches wider. He is correct, BMW has made all of their cars larger. I guess since it is 78.5 inches wide, it falls under the 79" you tried to quote as "big". BTW, BMW somehow made the 7 series 400 pounds heavier then the huge Town Car. Thanks for playing. And LOL.
http://autos.yahoo.com/lincoln_town_car_signature_l-specs/?p=ext
http://autos.yahoo.com/bmw_7_series_760li_sedan-specs/?p=ext
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Frylock350 2:40PM (4/29/2008)
Maybe you should exercise reading comprehension skills. I never said Continental I said Town Car. The last true big car sold here was the 1996 Buick Roadmaster Estate (how I miss that car). Cars in the 60's were routinely over 80" wide, which is wider than my Suburban.
Why is the 7 400lbs heavier? Because its an overpriced poorly designed car. There's no way it should be heavier than a physically larger body-on-frame vehicle designed in 1979. Forgive me the 1/2" in width. You know what I meant. The Camry is about the width of a 7 and its a midsizer through and through. Width is what makes a car able to accommodate more passengers, which is what makes it a big car. Width is what drove me to trucks. Width is what the Prius lacks and I imagine Toyota is adding.
Yes BMW made their cars larger but they still aren't large. The current Town Car is a shadow of its former self.
DZine 3:23PM (4/29/2008)
OK, this may be the last comment to go here, but I figured I would say this anyway since I didn't find ANYONE mention it in the comments. I work in the industry and do a lot of consulting regarding this stuff. When looking at "Green" Cars a lot of things need to be taken into account. One needs to ask themselves what does "Green" mean? If you take the entire life cyle of a Toytoa Prius, and put it next to the Hummer H2, which one pollutes more? For most you would swear the H2, or any Hummer for that matter would pollute more than a Prius. Well, over the life cycle of the vehicle, this is just not the case. Hummers use a lot of parts from the GM parts bin-- platforms, suspension, panels, interior elements etc. Thus the cost of production could be brought down, but the development ( proto-typing, design phases etc) were minimal. The hummer uses relatively crude materials-- steel, cast iron, that can be re-melted and re-used. They are materials that are easily available--- steel and cast iron are in high demand, thus the Ore is being mined and steel being created in large volumes. The mines already exist, the steel that goes to GM is crude, and is simply morphed into the shapes it needs to be.
The Prius on the other hand is a huge success in marketing, and taking advantage of consumers biggest concern: MPG and gas prices. So, yea, you may save a few bucks driving one of these things. But thinking you are greener, and are better for the environment--- well stop right there.
Prius's have to employ a large amount of heavy metals, and precious metals, that have to go through special mining techniques, and be shipped all over the world. The batteries have to be created requiring Cadmium, Nickle, high density plastics, and a whole slew of chemicals. The electric motor employs a significant amount of copper, that has to go through a refining process and be chemically treated. The platform has to employ lighter metals. The car had to go through a unique research and development process, requiring more designers, more desiginging, more prototyping, more research etc. When the car is disposed of, the batteries, precious, heavy, and rare and light metals have to go somewhere, and nearly all of it will pollute more if it is "recycled".
THe prius is made in one factory, requiring specialized parts to be transported around the world, creating a huge carbon footprint.
I am not opposed to the Prius as a vehicle--- it has changed the mindset of a lot of people around the world, and convinced them to start paying attention to what we drive and how we drive it. And it's not your fault for thinking that you are being green when driving a Prius--- The media, Toyota, and just about everyone else has told you that, because there is a tiny bit of truth to it. If you measure uniquely what comes out of the tailpipe during the 300,000 mile life of the Prius and the H2, the H2 would look like a horribly bad vehicle for the earth. But cars and product lifecyles are much more complex these days.
So next time you look into wanting to be green, think about the Cradle to Cradle lifecycle of the vehicle. Do some research. Increase you MPG's by keeping the revs low, or driving diesels--- look at the europeans. Try and escape the media hype, and really find out what it is to be green.
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MarcT 7:00PM (4/29/2008)
Do you believe you came up with your info on your own, like you have some new clarity and insight? You are just posting the rhetoric from the thoroughly debunked CNW dust to dust report.
I will not attck each fabrication, lie and misstatement of facts line by line. It has been done plenty already. Suffice it to say that even CNW no longer believes that the Hummer is more efficient than a Prius; they have since amended their conclusions. You might consider doing the same.
Mallory 10:47PM (4/29/2008)
Good gawd, will the "Hummers are greener than a Prius" urban legend ever die? Just when you think everyone finally caught on up it pops like a whack-a-mole.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/10/05/oh-so-a-hummer-is-not-greener-a-prius/
Zane 3:19PM (4/30/2008)
You may be a consultant but judging by your post, you sure don't have the skills of one.
MarcT 7:16PM (4/29/2008)
Smug, thats original. In fact it just further validates my points when someone throws that one in. And then there's the, Oh I dont drive as much so I should be able to commute in my Hummer, I dont need no stinking hybrid. And the good old toxic battery, yeah except that nickel only amounts to a fraction of the nickel in the rest of vehicles components. Ever heard of stainless steel? Ever heard of receycling batteries?
No compromises. I'll say it again. Based on facts. Most fuel efficient. Lowest emissions. 10 second 0-60. Mid-sized. Keyless stop-start and touch screen nav/audio/climate. These are facts about the car.
Call me names too all you want. Thats always a good strategy when you cant craft a simple argument.
And my other observation (may not be quite enough evidence to move it to the fact column) is that the haters come out first on Prius (and Tundra) posts. And the comments are usually trite, lack any new info, and are just spewing lies and hate. It takes a few posts before somebody (usually not me as there are plenty of other thoughtful posters on this site) who tries to have some actual facts, insight and thought out opinions gets a chance to chime in.
So really if you are going to criticize or attack me, be original, thoughtful, and throw in a few facts of your own. Until then, you're not going to change my point of view. And you're not going to make yourself look very good either.
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MarcT 7:17PM (4/29/2008)
that didnt post where it was supposed to.
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Snowdog 8:31PM (4/29/2008)
The most efficient car on the road is getting more efficient and we get hate. Geez. Laying on the sour grapes a bit thick.
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flychinook 10:18PM (4/29/2008)
Better efficiency is nice, but I'd like to know in what way it is getting larger. The 1st gen Prius appears smaller on the outside than the 2nd gen, but I simply cannot sit comfortably in a new Prius (knees in steering wheel), while I remember test-driving a 1st gen comfortably.
Big car on the outside does not equal big car on the inside.
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ct 12:31AM (4/30/2008)
Why all the hate? This technology has opened peoples minds to all kinds of possibilities.
I like driving my F-250 but it is a particulate emitting diesel consuming beast. Plus the price of diesel is 4.50 and up in northern CA. My Prius on the other hand gets great mileage, uses regular gas, has room enough for my surfboards, is not creating smog (remember smog? before global warming people talked about it as the emissions problem) was reasonably priced, and is made by a company that produces reliable cars.
$35.00 to fill the Prius, $150.00 for the F-250 end of argument unless you need a truck for work!
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bepsf 12:54AM (4/30/2008)
One would think that Autoblog would have posted a pic of the 2009 model...
...I mean, if POPULAR MECHANICS could get their hands on a pic:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4212545.html
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stan pun 4:19AM (5/14/2008)
Great find. It looks a little meaner. If you lowered it and squint it might look like a Lambo ....but with 4 doors! It needs a high spoiler though. LOL.
When the second generation Prius came out, I really thought it looked way better than the 1st one. It is different, but heck I think it has grown on everybody. There are much uglier cars out there these days.... like the new Focus. Or even the new Matrix.
The Prius shape isn't that off the chart unique. Does anyone remember the Phoenix or Citation?
Jon 1:03PM (4/30/2008)
I always get a hoot when a publication that heaps praise on SUVs and muscle cars tags the $21k Prius with phrases "the most popular way to conspicuously consume." Lots of attitude and not much thought going on there.
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Gargamello 4:22PM (5/04/2008)
I love that argument as well. Hmm, paying 1 or 2k extry for a hybrid wouldn't be prudent.
Not gonnna do it. Don't wanna spend the extry money.
NOW GIVE MY 40K F150 FULL SIZE PICKUP! YEAH BABY!
AND I'M GUNNA GET ONE O DEM 35K MUSTANG GT'S TOO! WOO HA YEP BUDDY.
Jon 1:21PM (4/30/2008)
The fact that the Prius makes you all feel guilty and self-conscious isn't the fault of the Prius, you know. It's just a car.
Every post on Prius here gets slammed with a hundred posts calling it a fake marketing gimmick for poseurs. Meanwhile it keeps racking up kudos for quality and reliability, and sales that grow at a substantial clip. But of course, that's because everyone who buys it is an idiot. And if they are, why is that such a problem for you all that you need to pile on at every single mention of the car to say so? Why is it so important to you? Why does it bug you so much more than other stupid cars with stupid buyers?
At the risk of being tagged a snob (what the hell, I'll get tagged that anyway just for not whacking on the car), here's a Shakespeare quote for you: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."
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John Brendel 4:10PM (5/01/2008)
As long as fuel economy meaningfully improves with every re-design, it's fine if Toyota increases the size/weight of the vehicle a bit.
Besides, once we switch to lithium-ion batteries (per the Chevy Volt), we'll be able to achieve fuel economy FAR better than the 3G Prius, even with vehicles a bit roomier than the Prius.
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