The interview was from 2009 when the yen was around 102 per dollar so they were shooting for around 30K then.
It seems a lot of info posted is from 2009 or the pre-production PHV rather than the real deal production model It will be nice next week to see the real car and current info Mike
The problem with the web site was some data was updated last week while some of the older data was there as well.. The specs for for the PHV seem to right as are the photos. One can tell the old from the new based the hatch back window. The new ones don't have the support bar in the middle of the window!
It looks like the debate over the final plug-in port location can finally be settled (at least for the European version). Photos from Frankfurt are starting to show up on news sites, showing the car being charged using a port on the rear passenger side of the car (appears to be about 6 inches forward from the brake lights). I haven't made enough posts to let me include the URL to the photos I'm looking at, but they are in the "Gallery: 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show" at windsorstar dot com. Also, on YouTube the user "ToyotaEurope" posted several new videos showing the Prius Plug-in in the past 30 minutes.
Here are the link he pointed out... Gallery: 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show Here's the pic: http://www.windsorstar.com/5389352.bin?size=620x400s Here is a video: Great finds ClaySacramento!
Another video... a little footage of the new Prius at the 6 minute mark... I can't understand most of the video.
That video shows 4 Lithium battery sub-packs. The prototype had only 3. This would mean more EV range. It also shows the regen back into PHV sub-packs once the HV pack got full. There is also the HV <-> EV button!
WOW! EV City button!!! In that mode, I would assume the ICE will not turn on even if you floor it. I would guess HV <-> EV mode will switch between the two modes. This is the blended mode that can prolong the battery operated range by ICE supplementing high power demand. EV City mode is the charge depletion mode. Now I get it.
Cool beans! I like what I see so far, but my wife would want her Power mode when ours arrives (in 2-3 years). Perhaps there's a secret mode, like when two or three buttons are pushed at once?
And more details on toyota-europe: Toyota Plug-in Hybrid. The greenest, most advanced Prius yet (among other things: explanation of the HV/EV and EV-City modes, a sale date [for Europe], and available options)
Taillights: Interior, special badge on dash to the right. And the MID display does seem a bit more graphical in this small image. It also looks like the cup holder in the center armrest is different in this photo:
And in this photo you can see LED parking lights replacing the current incandescent parking bulb atop the headlights... Looks nice! Also, it seems they did get rid of the 3rd led floodlight which was above the two projector beams. I wonder if they figure what we have been assuming are LED daytime running lights will fill in the up close area the led flood light achieved?
"Prius Plug-in Hybrid offers three driving modes. HV mode delivers the same Hybrid Synergy Drive® experience as Prius. EV mode draws on the full battery for zero emissions electric-only driving, while EV-City mode permits greater use of the accelerator before the engine is started." Quite from Toyota Plug-in Hybrid. The greenest, most advanced Prius yet Uhm, what?