Toyota Rolls Out New Prius Amid Hybrid Price War

[Ian David]

Toyota Rolls Out New Prius Amid Hybrid Price War

TOKYO — Toyota rolled out the revamped Prius on Monday, and said it already had 80,000 advance orders in Japan for the remodeled hybrid amid intensifying competition with Honda's rival offering, the Insight.

The world's largest automaker said it aims to sell up to 400,000 units globally a year of the car.

"We are resting the future of cars in this model," said incoming president Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company's founder, who drove the new model onto a stage at a packed Tokyo showroom.

<snip>

The new Prius gets a combined 50 miles per gallon, compared with 46 mpg for the 2009 model, according to Toyota.

More:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/18/toyota-rolls-out-new-priu_n_204603.html

I'd buy one, but then I'd have to buy all new bumper stickers for my 2001 Toyota Prius...

[jsamuel]

1. I think that is about 10mpg more than the insight

[jsamuel]

5. just looked more at the Insight

It is about $1000 cheaper. It gets about 10 less miles per gallon. It is also a lot smaller in the back. It has about 10 less cu ft. That is a pretty big deal for me because it is all in the back where I use the Prius the most.

[ananda]

2. Even at $21,000 hybrids are still too expensive.

They should be plentiful and cheaper.

[Xithras]

3. Not really. That's only about $5k more than a comparable gas burner of the same class.

Hybrids will never be as cheap as conventional cars, no matter how many are sold, or how efficient the manufacturing processes become. Hybrids require parts and equipment that simply don't have an equivalent on conventional cars, and those extra parts will always cost more money (someone has to make them, and that someone has to get paid to do it, so there's associated costs that are unavoidable.).

I think the $5k window is very good, and while it may narrow a little more, I wouldn't expect it to shrink much beyond that.

[Jane Austin]

6. I hold that if you can afford one and need a good car

that it is downright patriotic to spend the extra money.

Anything that gets us less dependent on oil imports seems important to me

Some days I have to drive 90 miles to go from our place to the best veterinarian, back to our store for work and then back home again.

That uses about 2 gallons of gas in my Prius, compared to five or six in a minivan or six or seven in a suburban.

Besides, I LOVE my Prius.

[NYC_SKP]

4. More than anything, higher fuel prices will make these sell.

When I bought mine in May 2007, the selection was so scare I flew to another city to buy the model I wanted.

Silver touring, package 7. :P