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TMC Launches 'Prius α'

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by ken1784, May 13, 2011.

  1. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    TMC Launches 'Prius α'
    Five and Seven Seat Models Aimed at Meeting Needs of Diverse Lifestyles

    Toyota City, Japan, May 13, 2011—Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announces the launch in Japan of the "Prius α" (Prius alpha).

    Read more

    TMC aims to enhance and expand its range of hybrid vehicles around the world with more Prius derivatives, such as the five-seat Prius α-based "Prius v" planned for launch in North America this summer and the seven-seat Prius α-based "Prius +" planned for launch in Europe in mid-2012.

    Ken@Japan
     
    #1 ken1784, May 13, 2011
    10 people like this.
  2. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Interesting... the below seems to indicate they've decided to "bell" this hybrid.
     
    #2 cwerdna, May 13, 2011
  3. Rybold

    Rybold globally warmed member

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    There's some good data on that link. Thanks! :)
     
    #3 Rybold, May 13, 2011
  4. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    The price difference between the 5 and 7 seater (same G model) is 200,000 yen. That's about $2,500.
     
    #4 usbseawolf2000, May 13, 2011
  5. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    oh great . . . . . . . . . . . . another letter labeled vehicle . . . the bizar marketing continues.
    :D
     
    #5 hill, May 13, 2011
  6. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    It will be very interesting to see how the supply/demand plays out.

    I had the chance to check one out on Tuesday, with the camera of course. There was a lot of compelling features. I ended up taking over 700 photos, including the opportunity to put my bike inside. There was easily enough room in back to lean the detached tire against the car wall upright! The sliding rear seats sure offered a surprising amount of leg room too... or back room, for those wanting to lounge with the seat reclined.

    We need something to ponder while waiting for deliveries to begin. Hopefully, the photos will help. Stay tuned.
    .
     
    #6 john1701a, May 13, 2011
  7. GasperG

    GasperG Senior Member

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    Does this mean that you can chose that the engine doesn't rev up that quickly?
     
    #7 GasperG, May 13, 2011
  8. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    Not only that, but it seems like the same thing is known by different names in different countries. It's getting Priuser and Priuser. :cool:
     
    #8 hyo silver, May 13, 2011
  9. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    No, the reduction gear is for the MG2 (traction motor). It is the same as Gen3 Prius.
     
    #9 usbseawolf2000, May 13, 2011
  10. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Any idea if the towing capacity on the alpha is still 0? It might give us an idea for the v.
     
    #10 cwerdna, May 14, 2011
  11. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    JP owners manual (Japanese language only) page-345 says "no towing capability".

    Ken@Japan
     
    #11 ken1784, May 15, 2011
    1 person likes this.
  12. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Is it true the 7 seater version with Lithium battery has a 1 kWh pack instead of the 1.31 kWh for the NiMH in the 5 seater version?
     
    #12 usbseawolf2000, May 19, 2011
  13. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    It seems the answer is yes.
    The Li-ion max capacity is 56(cells) X 3.6(V) X 5(Ah) = 1008Wh
    The NiMH max capacity is 28(modules) X 7.2(V) X 6.5(Ah) = 1310.4Wh

    However, we know the usable capacity on the NiMH is 40% (40-80% SOC range), and Toyota says the Li-ion will be used wider SOC range than the NiMH so that the usable battery capacity will be same.

    Ken@Japan
     
    #13 ken1784, May 19, 2011
    3 people like this.
  14. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Thanks for confirming. I couldn't find that information in English. If the Lithium pack has 52% SOC range, it'll have the same usable energy. I believe Toyota is using about 70% range in the Prius PHV Lithium pack.
     
    #14 usbseawolf2000, May 19, 2011
  15. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    I'm still trying to figure out how the OP typed the Greek letter 'alpha' into his post. Or was it a cut&paste job? My iPhone's built-in Greek keyboard certainly doesn't have that character.

    Maybe you need some software like MS Word where you can "Insert" symbols and such? Same goes for proper Roman numerals like IV or V?
     
    #15 zenMachine, May 21, 2011
  16. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    On Windows XP I'd run the Character Map (Windows-R charmap or Programs->Accessories->Character Map, I think), find it and then copy and paste.

    When you find it it'll, selecting or hovering should show a number. If you hold down Alt and type the number on the numeric keypad (at least I always used the numeric keypad to do it) it'll type that character.

    Supposedly on the iPhone, you press and hold a similar letter on the keyboard and it pops up a list to choose from. Alpha might appear under a, but maybe not.
     
    #16 ItsNotAboutTheMoney, May 21, 2011
  17. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    I see. Sounds complicated. Perhaps the Japanese keyboard has these characters built-in?

    Ah, found it! It's in the iPhone's Greek virtual keyboard after all. The problem is that only capitalized character symbols are displayed whether you press Shift or not. So α is hidden but is actually displayed when you press Α on the virtual key.

    ps. just now realized that even though the 'alpha' character is displayed correctly on my iPhone it doesn't show up as such in this forum! :-(
     
    #17 zenMachine, May 21, 2011
  18. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    still no 7 seater for US market? that is a fail in my book
     
    #18 DaveinOlyWA, May 21, 2011
  19. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Good stuff. A few differences in the v for those that aren't aware (and a few that I picked up from that link)

    - no driver's knee airbag
    - no Touch Tracer
    - new EV Mode indicator on HSD (to indicate when the Prius is in EV mode. Different from the EV Drive Mode indicator that we already have by pressing the EV button)
    - Updated suspension setup to smooth out bumps (Pitch & Roll??)
    - We (possibly) have a name for the light blue colour - Clear Stream Metallic
    - Better packaging of the HSD system to reduce space
     
    #19 Tideland Prius, May 21, 2011
  20. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    It was copy&paste.
    The JP Unicode 'alpha' from my keyboard is like this "α".
    The title one of copy&paste is "α".
    It looks same. :)

    Ken@Japan
     
    #20 ken1784, May 21, 2011
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