09 Changes?

Guaranteed change you will find on the 09:

It will cost more!

 

seriously how much more do you all think it will cost? I was just sitting here thinking trying to figure it out, because I'm going to get myself a Prius, Let's think together how much did a Prius cost in 2001 then how much have they increased up till today. Can you even use that as a guideline to figure out somewhat of a trend to take a guess at this year's increase?

 

As for the cost of a 2008 Prius, I just got what I thought was an excellent deal of only a couple hundred dollars over invoice price as seen on Edmunds, Carpoint, etc. I had a very low relative value trade-in that may have complicated things, but I think I ended up just ~200 over invoice. With the economy now, dealerships may be very eager to "deal."

 

At least here in NJ, Toyota is already selling "2009" Camrys. In April, 2008. And they're the same as '08's.

So, regarding insurance costs, re-sale values, etc --

• What does this mean for the perception 'out there,' of what is a "genuine" 2009 car (sold from 10/08 - 9/09) -- vs. --
• A "promotional" 2009, sold now, to make the buyers think that they are cruising into the future, or some kindabogus-baloney ...?...

 

Spoke to a Toyota Fleet Manager who said no one knows what the '09 changes will be, but he's heard from an inside Toyota source that there will be solar panels. For the battery, I guess?

 

Solar panel?

Somehow I feel that would be one very low improvement

At a hardware store I saw a mid-size solar panel that would fit on a typical car roof. That panel's spec was 12 watts under full mid-day sun.

at ten cents per kilo-watt hour it would take 83 hours of full sun exposure (160 hours of daylight if we assume an average of 6 watts) to generate ten cents of savings.

I hope they're working on better value-added features than a solar panel (snow traction issues, cabin heating issues, fuel tank bladder, telescopic steering wheel, adjustable seats, etc).

 

The only thing a solar panel would be good for would be to power a fan when it's hot out to keep cabin temps more reasonable and lessen the load on the AC. I guess if there is extra juice available it could trickle charge the battery, too, but to do anything significant you'd need a large panel which would be expensive.

 

Actually, a solar panel designed to trickle charge the 12v aux battery would be a worthwhile addition in my opinion. The 12v batt is one of the few weak links in Prius.

 

If they can do what these guys did, only slightly better integrated, I think it would be a great optional upgrade.

Solar Electrical Vehicles