Who killed the electric car part II Toyota

[Mitchellsprius]

Just watched You Tube video of the electric Prius at the Frankfurt auto show with Car and Driver logo at the bottom of screen. They said after plugging it in for a few hour charge it will do 12 miles using no gas. Said Toyota will not market car only lease due to the fact it is to expensive to be viable. Therefore Toyota killed the electric car.

Probably more like this is the start and through evolution this may in the future become worthwhile.

[Omni-TaG]

Hi Mitchellsprius,

I do not think that Toyota Motors Corp is killing the electric car. On the contrary i think that, since 14 years now, they try and tend to REACH the electric car. Hybrid cars will be more and more present in toyota's catalog plus, gas engines will be less and less usefull in toyota's hybrid cars until, one day, they'll desapear completely !

Hybrid technologie is a technologie of "passage" between gas powered vehicules and clean energys of the futur.

[JimboPalmer]

Originally Posted by Mitchellsprius

Said Toyota will not market car only lease due to the fact it is to expensive to be viable. Therefore Toyota killed the electric car.

If trying to learn to build one is 'killing the electric car' then yes, Toyota is guilty as charged. I am unclear how you expected Toyota to make any car without first learning how to make it, but in your mind this seems to be so.

GM has 80 Volts they made in pre-production so they can make the production car better. You can't buy a Volt yet, so GM must be 'killing the electric car', too.

Any chance you could link the Youtube video so we could see what they REALLY said?

[Tideland Prius]

He's just referring to the PHEV Priuses that'll be on lease at the end of this year.

[DanCar]

The one minute video doesn't say much besides what was send in the first post.

YouTube - 2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In @ 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show - Car and Driver

YouTube - 2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In @ 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show - Car and Driver

[Omni-TaG]

Is'nt the conclusion of this video a bit premature ?
I'm gonna be buying a "plug-in-pack" as soon as it's an availiable toy genuine part !

[Rokeby]

Originally Posted by Omni-TaG

...I'm gonna be buying a "plug-in-pack" as soon as it's an availiable toy
genuine part !

Omni-TaG,

I think you've raised an interesting point, a Toyota OEM after market
"plug-in-pack."

In addition to a larger HV battery and probably heftier MG1, it would
of course include a HSD software/firmware update by the only folks
who know all the ins and outs of the Prius. No potentially dangerous,
warranty busting hacks or work-arounds, but fully integrated
operating algorithms and safety features.

At present, Toyota is in the business of making money by building cars
and trucks. Would it be too much to ask or expect that they could also
be in the business of making money by making and installing PHEV
plug-in-packs? Or is it only dreaming? I'm not in a position to know.
And Toyota is understandably secretive about its business.

But it would be interesting to speculate on what size or sizes of
batteries would be most likely, and...

It would also be interesting to ask which Generation, II or III, has the
potential for the most, or perhaps quickest profitability:
*There are far more Gen IIs on the road.
*On the other hand, for all we know, the Gen III may have some of
the software/firmware already resident in the New HSD.

[Omni-TaG]

Hi Rokeby,

You know something Rokeby ? The only thing i would need is a second HSD-Battery-pack (exacly like the one i already have) PLUS a "plug-in" apparatus attached to it, AND know what, i'm shure that these aftermarket parts are already on drawing tables at Toyota USA research & developpement center in California !!!

Let's just wait for it. One day it will be as simple as buying new floor mats !

The only inconvenient is that that day i will lose, in the trunk, most of my black plastic sub-compartement that i find so practical and usefull.

You're right on that one : Effectively TMC is veeeeery secret about it's new products. Industrial spying maybe. You know with all these new technologies araising so fast recently, it is quite a game that is being played out there ! TMC is, for now and since 1996, the most important player.

Let's cheer we made the right car choice for now as well as for the futur ! Since i'm convince that all that IS upgradable.

[bwilson4web]

Originally Posted by Mitchellsprius

. . . Therefore Toyota killed the electric car.

Toyota sold over 1 million hybrid electric cars. Assuming 15,000 miles per year and 10% of those miles are using electric power, that would be:

1,000,000 * 1,500 ~= 1.5 Billion electric miles per year

Bob Wilson

[antiflash]

i would think they would definitely need firmware/programming changes to tell the car to take advantage of the extra battery storage vs having it assume that the capacity was the same as before...maybe they would let the car go faster or accelerate faster with the electric motor before turning on the ICE or something like that to optimize the car.