2014 Prius Plug-In defies skeptics with sales leap as California HOV lane stickers run out

I think EV purists see the Prius as just wasting the world's petroleum resources at the very lowest rate.

Some folks (Hybrid, Diesel, EV, does not matter) wish to mandate that everyone has the same usage as they do and could use their car.

(Tomorrow I will drive 92 miles, use a 17 foot ladder, and then drive 92 miles home. My car makes this easy, but it is not everyone's use for a car)

 

In another thread, it was mentioned that at least one dealer still has green stickered PPIs for sale. So their influence could still happening on sales.

 

People with short commute will buy PiP. They are greener because they live close to work and drive less miles.

I don't care what fuel you use to drive. Every mile need energy.

So, why people with long commute look down on those with short commute?

 

I also guessed that PiP sales would plummet without the HOV perk. Have the cars been discounted ?

Car price aside, the people who trash the current PiP range are ideologues who miss the point. Consider a PiP that is used for 40 miles in a day, 12 of them EV, 28 miles with petrol at 50 MPG. The overall petrol use works out to 71.4 MPG.

What regular Prius owner would turn up their nose at that ?

 

It is an assumption that only people with short commutes are buying PPIs. The article is in reference to sales in California where commutes of up to 70 miles one way aren't unheard of. HOV stickers were adding $4000 to the price of gen2 Prii there.

"The Census data show that the most extreme commuting in the country is in California and the Washington, D.C., area. The four longest commutes in the country are in California, involving commuters heading to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Three of the top 10 worst commuting times belong to towns in Southern California and four are in northern California."
America's Worst Commutes - Forbes

There are people that have admitted to buying the PPI or Volt in California for the HOV access, and have no intention of plugging in. The better fuel economy and no loss of cargo space may make the PPI more appealing to such people. Without knowing an individual's specifics in regards to their commute and choosing a car, we can't know the PPI is only bought by short commuters, or if the commenters have long commutes.

Good question. Another is if all the HOV stickered ones have been sold? It seems dealers could have pre-bought them for cars, and some may have stock piled them for the eventual expiration of the availability.

 

Or a 1000 or so people in California were misinformed that month
We'll see what June brings in the way of sales.

 

Or maybe they double this. ~ 50 miles each way, 10-12 on EV, net "mpG" in the 70's.

 

I'm one of the harshest critics of the PiP.
It certainly isn't because I don't think it is a good car. Far from it, it is better than any ICE out there.

The reason I am so disappointed is Toyota had been a leader, rather than a follower.
So now, rather than broadening the market for efficient vehicles, they are sitting on their advantage and grasping onto it with both hands.

Leverage the advantages of the electric drive and stop running adds that throw FUD at plugin vehicles.

 

i feel there is a disconnect between marketing, product planning and engineering. perhaps that's why they moved to texas. i also get the impression that they believe toyota and lexus models have very different target markets. that may or may not be true, it's tough to judge by the people commenting here vs the general buying public. time will tell, i guess.

 

yep