Click above for high-res gallery of the Toyota Prius
If the Prius went mainstream when Toyota bumped production to 280,000 worldwide units per year in 2007, the fuel efficient hybrid is now primed to kick project green to the next level. When Toyota begins producing the next gen Prius, it'll do so with more factory space than ever dedicated to the universal symbol for fuel efficiency, making it possible to produce 480,000 vehicles per year. The Japan-based Tsutsumi factory, which currently builds five different vehicles, will stop making the JDM Wish minivan to allow for more Priuses. Even more Prius capacity will be available beginning in 2010, when the Japanese automaker's new Mississippi plant comes online and begins to produce more of the hybrid.
With the meteoric rise in gas prices, the Prius has gone from a yuppie green statement for politicians and suburbanites to a means for the masses to travel around town without breaking the bank. $4 per gallon gas and a continued lack of competition means Toyota could probably double production again and still sell every Prius it makes.
[Source: Automotive News - subs. req'd]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Ethan @ Jul 25th 2008 10:05AM
For whatever it's worth, gas prices have dropped to about 3.60 here and show no signs of stopping (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN)
Vintage @ Jul 25th 2008 10:26AM
The Prius is NOT a green solution! REPEAT! HYBRIDS ARE NOT THE ANSWER.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooN9INJxxy4
Mobius_1 @ Jul 25th 2008 10:35AM
@ Vintage
It's either that video (which I can't be bothered to watch) or that damned louver IS-F pics. I am very bored of you.
(although, yeah, Prius isn't the way to go)
P.V. @ Jul 25th 2008 10:35AM
@Vintage:
Do you really LIKE trolling Prius/anything hybrid posts?
Farris @ Jul 25th 2008 10:48AM
First, @ Ethan: I'm sorry I had to reply to you to get this point across.
Second, @ Vintage: I hate it when people use foul language on the blog comments, but seriously take that damn video and shove it up your ass. You post it MULTIPLE times on every Prius article and every time there is some mention of "green" tech. We get it. You don't like new cars. Now stop that.
axiom @ Jul 25th 2008 4:14PM
"Nope, sorry, I'm not going to stop. Ever. I'm sick of rich white people pretending they're saving the world by purchasing a car that uses more resources than most vehicles. I'm sick of the smugness of prius owners, who believe they are doing something "good" for the environment by getting a new Prius."
And where do you encounter all these "smug" Prius owners? Do you wash cars for a living? Otherwise it sounds like a weak excuse from a shill troll who's targeting hybrid cars and getting called out for it. This guy is either a GM-paid troll or an oil lobby troll. Just flag all his posts.
Vintage @ Jul 25th 2008 8:50PM
Yep. GM is paying me to tell the world to drive used cars longer. That's their business strategy. Getting people to post about how buying new cars is bad for the environment.
START THINKING.
PJ @ Jul 26th 2008 4:59AM
Vintage, I agree with the basic sentiment against a disposable culture, but you're stretching it into a fallacy.
Number one, you can't have used cars without someone buying new cars. Would you rather those new cars be more sparing with fuel, or less?
Number two, you don't keep a used car running for decades without eventually replacing enough worn parts (whose replacements are built *new* for your mechanic) that--combined with the used car's higher emissions--you've effectively canceled out the environmental advantage of hanging on to your clunker.
Number three, most people who drive used cars don't maintain them meticulously, and a few gross polluters spew more crap than a few hundred new cars would in the same trip.
CarbonBlack @ Jul 26th 2008 7:26AM
vintage, you give us prius haters a bad name.
Vintage @ Jul 26th 2008 10:56AM
Obviously some people will continue to buy new cars. What I am suggesting, is that people do not do so AS OFTEN. Right now cars are overproduced at an alarming rate, which causes rapid depreciation in the value of used cars. When these used cars have a simple problem, like worn suspension bushings and a failing transmission, they are junked. That is extremely wasteful, to throw away/recycle a car with a decent interior, body, exhaust, engine, electrical system, cooling system, etc. What I am suggesting is that people buy new cars LESS. This would decrease the demand of newer vehicles, which would allow automakers to make higher quality vehicles that would last even longer. This would also increase the value of used cars so that people would repair them instead of junking/scrapping them.
There will ALWAYS be used cars available, because we have so many of them. If people quit buying new cars entirely, then my position would change, but I doubt that will happen, it's not a very realistic outlook. Reducing the rate at which we consume new vehicles, however, is reasonable, realistic, and would be a huge plus for our environment.
Vintage @ Jul 26th 2008 11:02AM
Also PJ, you can keep a car on a road for a few decades without replacing a whole lot. I know, because my daily driver is an 89 Accord, which is 19 years old and has 267,000 miles. It's gone through one transmission (before I owned it), 2 sets of struts, 1 set of springs, 3 sets of rotors and pads, 1 exhaust system, 1 set of factory speakers, 1 radio, 1 set of suspension bushings, and 6 axles. You do not need to manufacture parts BRAND NEW in order to have your car fixed. Half the time, I purchase remanufactured units which means they take an axle, redo the U-joint, check everything else, repack it with grease, and resell it. Also, second hand parts are available for almost anything...used exhaust systems, used cooling systems, whatever you want. I rarely buy anything truly 'new' for this car unless it is in the braking system.
If that seems like I've replaced a lot, here's what's stayed the same for the past 19 years: The chassis, the interior, the glass, the engine, the cooling system, the ignition system, the wheels, the calipers, the electrical system, the paint, the trim, and all the suspension components with replaceable bushings. It still gets 30-35mpg, and still passes emissions.
carbuzzard.com @ Jul 25th 2008 10:11AM
But oh the fickle public. What happens when the price of gas comes back down?* Will they be sitting on capacity like the Usta Be Big 3 are are now?
*Never come down? That's what they said about house prices.
Seoultrain @ Jul 25th 2008 1:31PM
Well, then Toyota has plenty of SUV's that people will start buying again, and they can convert Prius production to something else. They've got their bases covered. Detroit - not so much.
Kumar @ Jul 25th 2008 2:55PM
Well, the real reason gas came down this week is that China is making half of the drivers in Bejing park their cars during the Olympics. ;)
Disgruntled Goat @ Jul 26th 2008 9:40PM
RE: "*Never come down? That's what they said about house prices."
I don't remember anyone saying that. All I remember is nonstop talk about a housing bubble that was due to eventually burst but no one knew when. All I hear today from just about every business that hinges on oil prices in some way or shape is that expensive oil is here to stay. Will there be dips? Sure, but the days of filling up for $1.42/gallon are gone.
carbuzzard.com @ Jul 27th 2008 4:30AM
Mr. Goat, yes, yes there were those who said it was a bubble, but judging by the behavior of the market, few believed those voices crying the wilderness. Until too late.
I think the question is not whether the prices will fall--not just "dip"--the question is "how far?" Note that the price of oil went up when money was being pulled out of housing. Where did that money go?
Certainly if demand continues to grow while increases in supply are prohibited, prices will climb, and certainly demand will increase. But no one in his right mind would suggest that the recent overnight spike in oil prices is the result of the linear increase in demand from India and China. They didn't just discover petroleum products overnight.
Indeed we could see your $1.49 prices for gasoline again...if the "peak oil" panic subside, and as alternative sources of energy develop, demand for petroleum won't necessarily increase even if all domestic US oil production were to banned.
cameron42985 @ Jul 25th 2008 10:14AM
To hell with Prius. If 49mpg is all the American oil companies will let slip by, we're all doomed. We deserve better than this.
BlackCanary @ Jul 25th 2008 10:39AM
So now it not just a oil company conspiracy but an AMERICAN oil company conspiracy? What about Shell and BP? I guess those two are not included in your idiotic conspiracy theory.
axiom @ Jul 25th 2008 4:13PM
Dam right its a conspiracy to raise prices. I guess these idiots are saying a 150% increase in a year is normal??? I say we water board the oil execs and their families.
mk @ Jul 25th 2008 10:18AM
Great, huge new clouds of 'smug' on the horizon.
mmmkay...