Sneak Peek of the New Prius - #3

[Flying White Dutchman]

Originally Posted by efusco

Now I've got something...
Recent (10/16/08) Patent submitted by Denso Corp..

toyota is stuffed with denso parts.. soo yes maybe your right!

[Paradox]

A previous poster just posted a pic with the exact description I had for it... You can see that honeycomb effect on the lens which looks to be a speaker grill, probably reflecting off glass above it or very closeby. My guess, and im biased since I posted about eh HUD yesterday, is that it is the projector for the HUD.

IF this is the projector for an HUD do you guys think there is a chance Toyota was reading the posts about it from yesterday and said the heck with it, make that the next pic? Ok, leave me alone, I'm still hoping for an HUD lol

[hyo silver]

Thank you, Prius Team, this is more intriguing.

Looking at the 'bracket' the lens is mounted in, there appears to be a slot that would allow for movement. Hmm. An HUD projector would need to move to accommodate drivers of different heights, wouldn't it?

My hunch about the area labelled 'reflection from the top glass layer' is that it's an inner ring of material with round perforations to allow for cooling, and nothing to do with a speaker, or even a top glass layer. Is it possible the lens moves up and down? Also, I think the 'reflection from the lower lens' are the reflected perforations, elongated by the curve of the lens.

And if that is a 'camera flash' reflection, why is there a shadow just below the outside of the black ring? Could that reflection be light through the windshield?

Can anyone take this image and blow it up for a better look?

Is there a prize for guessing correctly?

[EZW1]

You guys are better at this sleuthing stuff than Charlie Chan! I hope the Toyota team endows us with many more pics at a rate of 1 or 2 a week.

[zenMachine]

It would be ironic (and extremely idiotic) if the Gen 3 Prius has a HUD that shows the speedometer but no tachometer or other useful data. Or worse yet, it can only show data in metric or british unit of measurement but the user cannot select any preference.

[Mormegil]

Originally Posted by usbseawolf2000

The first glass reflection seems to be from a speaker with circular holes.

The second layer lense reflection seems to be a mystery. It looks like a fabric.

Hmm. I was trying to analyze the reflections too.

If it's at knee level below the dash, as Fruz suggests, then the top reflection could be a fancy accelerator, and the second reflection could be the pattern on the floor / rug.

If it is a HUD, then the reflections could be the exterior set.

[TonyPSchaefer]

I pulled the photo into a graphics software and hit "properties". Here's some of what I got:
Manufacturer = SONY
Model = DSC-S60
Last Modification Time = 2008:10:20 10:55:35
Original Create Time = 2008:09:22 13:21:07
Digitalization Time = 2008:09:22 13:21:07
Flash = Flash fired, automatic mode, return light detected
Focal Length = 6 mm

This seems to agree with the speculation that it's a flash reflection. I also did something else: I flipped it over to see if that triggers any new thoughts.

[06prius]

As others have guessed, I vote for a HUD. This type of option fits right in with this car.

While I have never had a car with a HUD, I think it would be nice. It could be really nice if they allowed you to display different things.

[apcpa2000]

Maybe its just a light for the floor.

[spwolf]

Originally Posted by zenMachine

It would be ironic (and extremely idiotic) if the Gen 3 Prius has a HUD that shows the speedometer but no tachometer or other useful data. Or worse yet, it can only show data in metric or british unit of measurement but the user cannot select any preference.

HUD is completly optional, it does not replace your mph/rev/etc gauges...