is toyota already showing it in jan 2009?
i was expecting 2010 or so

:gossip:

I came up with Jan 12 also .. counting on the calendar ..

All-New Prius - The Third Generation Prius

Maybe they won't have a look but don't touch display for the public. Still gotta sell those 09's.

Just a month away...

Apple has faced a similar problem with their Macintosh computers. They'll announce or 'leak' information about the next model and the current ones have to go 'on sale' to move them out of inventory. This can lead to some very nice bargains for the buyer but hurts the bottom line of the seller.

A 2009 model Prius will be a good price-performance buy. I've noticed that the last vehicles of a model are often the best. The operational problems of that model are often fixed as manufacturing improvements. By the end of a model, other than fundamental design limitations, all of the annoying 'warranty' type issues have been silently fixed.

In contrast, the first year of a model and sometimes into the second, some of the latent manufacturing defects show up and then bedevil the owners for years. For example the NHW20 MFD loose connection problem or the accelerator problems of the 2001 NHW11s. Toyota has been unusually good about addressing some of these problems.

In part, Toyota's excellent response to out-of-warranty failures has been thanks to some of the well versed owners in the Yahoo Group Prius forums who have offered reasoned suggestions on how to approach Toyota. "Frantic," "panic," and "anger" are not effective ways to deal with a technical problem.

IMHO, the first model year of any vehicle should have a unique, extended warranty, and the second year a shorter warranty. The third year should be back to the regular warranty. If not offered by the manufacturer, it is a wise thing if bought from the dealer and manufacturer supported. So how would this work in practice?

Looking at the NHW20, it ran 2004-2009, roughly 5 years. So if we look at this in light of the standard 3/36000 mile warranty and project it on to the next model:

• 2010 - 5/62000 miles
• 2011 - 4/49000 miles
• 2012+ -> 3/36000 miles ...

I love pioneers because of the risks they take but a lot of them 'get killed' by the unknown. For the risk adverse, buying a manufacturer supported, extended warranty makes sense. Best of all, it provides direct feedback to the manufacturer to find and fix weak parts and fix them before they show up in future models.

Bob Wilson

we have known for a year at least that it will be shown in Jan... and for 6 months that it will go on sale in April.

Following is the press release from Toyota.
Toyota/Lexus/Scion Pressroom: All New Toyota-Prius To Make World Debut At 2009 North American International Auto Show

Ken@Japan

on sale in april already
thats soon.

when i read the link posted by ken@japan

" A video clip of the press conference will be available for viewing following the event on the Toyota.com website."

i looking forward to seeing that video online

Yes, I and others were "bedeviled" with easily fixed problems (including the accelerator), unlike the oil sludging in the Camry which was far more painful experience on a much more mature car. Since I'm still driving my 2001, I would be hard to convince that I should have waited for another year or two, and it would be surprising to find someone who thinks their 2001 was a premature purchase.

The other alternative would be to have a long running warranty that does not get shorter with later models. Again, on the 2001, the MFD reported a problem, took it to the dealer and got the HV battery replaced under warranty....six years later. That's pretty dang good already. It's obvious to me, that if I suffer hybrid costs to keep the 2001 running, it will be after most all the other more "mature" vehicles have long since died. (Still have yet to replace the brake pads.)

HS250h??
thats from lexus?

edit

The third unveied one will be Toyota 2.4L hybrid sedan for Japanese market only.
It used to be called SAI in Japan.

Ken@Japan

Maybe, 1AR(2.5L) is used instead of 2AR(2.7L).
However, Japanese magazines are saying both HS250h and SAI are 2.4L, which means 2AZ will be used.

Ken@Japan

So, we know that the 2010 Prius and Insight will both be unveiled in January at the Detroit Show. I'll bet there are going to be many more surprises. We have focused mainly on these two cars, but I'll bet news has leaked on other websites of other new hybrids that will be unveiled at Detroit also. I think this years Detroit Show is going to be awesome.

I think Toyota have another hybrid to show the US market.

It was part of my decision when in 2005 I bought a used 2003 Prius instead of a less expensive 2001-02. I knew I'd have some hybrid warranty to at least 100,000 miles and the early problems would have been worked out.

Certainly after many 2001, gas-only vehicles have wandered off to the salvage yards. But our NHW11s have a few weak areas that have been fixed in the NHW20:

• non-contact accelerator and other sensors - using Hall effect devices
• improved transaxle electro-mechanics - relatively low failure rate inspite of a higher working voltage
• eliminated HC converter - primarily a corrosion linkage problem

Still, let's keep the NHW11s running as long as possible and send CNW Marketing a Christmas card photo of our odometer readings. <GRINS>

Bob Wilson
625k Inc.