Is this new information or just another US magazine picking up the 19-Jan story by Nikkei? The Nikkei article printed 19-Jan said that the stripped down Prius was for "corporate users" and would only be sold in half of Toyota's sales channels.

I think Toyota is targeting taxi fleets not US retail customers.

I was wondering the same thing. From the way it is written it seemed to me it might be for US retail customers??

I wouldn't be surprised if this happened in North America too. I suspect that Toyota may do whatever it has to do to keep it's sales rolling. If they already have a line still producing (modified or not) G2 Prius then they may as well sell them wherever they can, espeically where there is already existing infrastructure for that model.

i thin there is just a Over stock now because gas prices are down again!
and this is a way to get that stock down.

Could the Iconic Prius become the VW beetle of the 2000s?
Could this shape live on for the millenia?

I would say that Toyota is replacing this:




With this:

Sounds like a really smart move on Toyota's part if it does come to retail. I personally just do not want to come down from 60 mpg and I don't think the Insight II is going to manage that level in general; but for people getting their first hybrid, having the choice of the G2 Prius or the G2 Insight for sub $20k would be great news.

Do you really think that Toyota would have two competing models in the same line?

Do you think they would screw over the resale value of other valued Prius owners when they trade in their vehicle by having lingering new Gen 2 vehicles being sold at a discount price?

I know Toyota is smarter than that.

They will get rid of the current inventory and maybe sell the remaining Gen 2's to fleets.

Honda Insight or not, Toyota would never have two year models of the same vehicle nameplate competing against each other.

Are your questions directed to me Gmailis ?
I think that if Toyota believes that the Insight II will carve out a low-price hybrid niche that includes stealing sales from the G3 Prius, they will find a way to compete. Your concerns make sense mostly from a consumer standpoint, but if the Insight II turns out to be a sub $20k winner, it is going to cut G2 Prius resale value anyway.

Unless gas climbs back to $4 soon, hybrids will have to come down in price to compete in the short term. Pricing becomes a more important issue in the marketplace with $2 gas. That means below $20K for a hybrid. Honda has the right idea pricing the Insight at $17K, if that's accurate.

The current price of the Prius in the US is $22000. I suggest that Toyota will price it at $20000 ($19999!) They may remove content to do that, though that would not be necessary. This does not screw over' the current owner. It will possibly drop resale values 10% (similar to the price cut) but will really steal sales from the Insight. Also pricing is down anyhow, with the bad economy Prius are being discounted now.

At $20,000 the Gen 2 Prius makes the Insight a rather bad choice.

If they are planning to offer a stripped-down version of the current 2G model, I hope that the first thing they take out of it (to reduce cost) is the damn bladder / gas tank....

Keith

Actually, I think that continuing the vehicle at a slightly reduced price might actually help the resale values. Almost always, when a new version of a model comes out, the resale value of the previous version falls significantly. If they continue to sell it as the "Prius Classic," then the pre-owned vehicles will not be seen as "the old model," but rather as the still-being-produced Classic model. (and if it is a stripped down version, the 2004-2009 models could actually increase in price due to demand/supply). This would not be the first time that an automaker has continued an old model. Automakers have done this many times before. Usually, they only continue production for about a year, but I think the G2 Prius is new enough and enough of a "Classic" (will always look attractive) style that it could continue for many years to come.

And let us not forget that with Toyota's previous announcement of a Certified PreOwned vehicle program, Toyota definitely has an interest in the resale value of the G2 versions.

Puts a torpedo amidships in the unsupportable theories that Toyota has been losing money on the G2 doesn't it?

Sounds like this might be a way of soaking up battery volume commitments while waiting to build a new Prius plant in the U.S. perhaps?

It's kind of smart to sell the older model cheaply so as not to dent the price of the newer model.

When did Toyota do this in the past?
The 2 cars are too similar.
Oh poo, I just remembered when.
When Toyota bought out the Tarago with the 2.4 litre engine flat under the floor they continued the old model as the Spacia with slight changes to tinware like rounding some corners.
These were very different vehicles and there was a significant increase in the price of the Tarago with the new bigger model.

I can't see Toyota stripping the interior. Any changes will require redesign work, and that costs money. They'll probably just build base models only. Possibly they could swap the cloth for slightly lower-grade fabric.

The UK might potentially get a 'T2' which is closer to US base model spec (i.e. 15" wheels, no leather on the steering wheel). The floor mats might go or become an option (standard in the UK). I shouldn't think they'll drop the alarm system or VSC, though, nor locking wheelnuts - the security features are absolutely necessary as we've historically had very high levels of car and wheel theft (I seem to recall someone reporting on the UK Yahoo group that all non-locking nuts had been stolen from their car, leaving it with one nut per wheel only). ABS is virtually mandatory and competitors largely already have VSC or equivalent. The Touring-grade suspension definitely should stay.

It's possible they'll stop fitting the thermos to the US model, unless that screws up the emissions certification (wouldn't want to pay for type approval again). And they might drop Smart Key (no UK models have it).

The bladder fuel tank will stay - it's part of the evaporative emissions system to meet US EVAP regs. Europe and Japan don't have it on any models at the moment as our HC emission regulations are virtually non-existent. Our fuel pumps do not make a seal with the car, and there's no system to return vapour to the pump when refuelling, so there's a fuel vapour haze over every filling station. Only tailpipe HC emissions are measured.

As I noted in the other thread the current Package No 1 is the stripped down Prius today. This package is not offered to the retail buyer, it's a fleet-only model. It doesn't have SKS or the backup camera ( stripped interior ). They could replace the alloys with steel wheels and save another couple of hundred.

But most importantly they've already covered their fixed costs on the Gen 2 so they can price this new 'strippie' based soley on marginal costs ( labor, materials and marketing ), reduce the price a couple of thousand $$ and still make a profit.

Those vehicles would not be in anyway equivalent to our current models except in functionality.