got an email from toyota a few days ago, rolling road test coming to a mall down the street. 'be sure to print out the email and bring it with you for a free gift.' i get there, there are 12 guys standing around a demo set up. looks like they came in from the local unemployment office. signs all around them say, take a test drive and get a $10. gift certificate to barnes and noble. they are begging people to come in, but not many takers. i hand them my email and they sign me in. i'm thinking, if they are giving ten bucks to people walking by, i wonder what i'll get for bringing my email? answer: ten bucks. anyway, they swipe your license, put a wrist band on you and scan that. we get in the car (they have to ride with you) and he asks me if i've ever driven a hybrid. i tell him i have an 08 and he says, "oh, what's that like?" we make a loop around the parking lot, and that's it. he couldn't answer any of my questions. he's telling me how they drove up from connecticut and you need the power mode on the highway "if you know what i mean" the whole thing was a clueless waste of time. i must say, as some others have, i really don't like the flying bridge. the cupholders and sliding console cover are ridiculous. the display information was better, couldn't tell much else from the 2 minute 10 mph test drive. on the way out, they give you a survey. 'now that you've driven a toyota, will you buy one? now that you've driven a toyota, will you recommend one to a friend? wow, how many hours of meetings did it take to come up with that brilliant survey?
A few weeks ago, I got an email from Toyota to come test drive the 2010 Prius and other vehicles at a Redmond, WA Whole Foods (appropriate audience). They had a 2010 Prius, an (unfortunately 09) HyHi and a TCH. I went for a spin in the 1st two. I haven't had much seat time in a 3rd gen Prius and had never driven the HyHi before. Had a TCH loaner for 1.5 days, so I've had plenty of time in that. We got $10 Whole Foods gift cards for our time and we had to answer a survey on some computers afterward. There weren't huge crowds but sometimes lines of a couple people developed. The guys weren't clueless but they definitely weren't at the knowledge level of some of the Prius enthusiasts here. I mentioned to one guy my other car is a 350Z and I recall he asked me about Nismo mods (so he's not clueless about cars).
ya, one guy told me he used to set up off road test tracks for tundra's. definately not hybrid enthusiasts.
The guys did mention that Toyota (not sure if it was these specific people) do these types of events w/different vehicles for other target audiences. IIRC, the example he gave was pickups at fishing related stores.
I got a test drive at the Green Drive Expo... it was a few blocks, and the babysitter just rattled off the same information from the display inside... same survey afterwards... oh, I got a Toyota water bottle as a thank you...
you're probably right, it's not the place for current owners. who else would sign up for their email news tho? it's just confusing.
Um, I don't actually know. It's an ALUMINUM bottle. Sheeesch. Talk about going cheapo. I won't use an aluminum bottle. I have it stashed with my keepsakes..
it's amazing what a nightmare it is to find something to drink water out of is these days. first, it was the water, now, it's the container. what next?
Hi All, And oh have you tried to N-Glide with an actual water bottle in that Gen III Cup holder! What a dumb layout!!!! The one thing I wont be doing, is allowing any of my passengers to put water container in that thing when I am driving around an industrial park, and might need to get into reverse fast, to avoid a semi!!!!!
i don't understand the progression from the genII to III. they should have left the cupholders where they were, filled in the space in front of them with a nice tray or something and still added storage underneath. i can't imagine how many man hours went into that nightmare. i'm hoping the phev has a completely new design.
i know, it's no big deal. i'll buy it either way, depending on what's available at that time. leaf, volt, hyundai, ford , whatever. but i still believe, it's not an improvement on gII.
Ya know.. I was thinking. Our 2002 Camry (I guess the Gen 5 in general) kinda blends the two Prius designs together. A horizontal dashboard means there's a nice large storage area beneath the climate control (covered on 05-06 models) and a low centre console gives a sense of airiness (if it wasn't for the large transmission shifter). The small tray for pens and smaller phones and a nice large dual side-by-side cupholders behind the shifter (XLE models only as shown. LE/SE models have a handbrake so the cupholders are in tandem rather than side-by-side)
that's a beautiful design, and hard to improve on. i hate to see change for change's sake. did you have the double trayed center console?
I received the Email from Toyota and attended the event in Northern California. I drove the Camry Hybrid since I already own the Prius but the surprise was the Plug-In Prius on display. They weren't offering test drives with that car
Yup. I thought all Camry models had two-tiered console. It had a separate compartment... not a tray like it is in the Prius.
unfortunately, they got rid of it in the mid 2000's? now, it's the same as the genII pri with cheap lift out tray. their interiors seem to be regresing for some reason. i test drove an altima around 2000 that had an adjustable height console. that was cool!
