2009 / 2010 PRIUS RUMOR -or- TRUTH ??

Toyota may offer the plug-in as an option but it makes no sense to force people to plug their cars in as it would limit their appeal.

I do believe that the next Prius is going to make America buy it like crazy...

 

For over a hundred years, people have been forced to plug in their cars...to a dirty gas station pump.

Today, how would that be different with electric cars? You get to plug it in at home (while sleeping), at the mall (while shopping, taking in a movie)...it seems a no-brainer, but with all the "hype" (or propaganda), plugging in seems to be advertised as bad. Hmmm, think about the simplicity.

I don't get it. NEVER plugging in at some remote gas station, instead, refueling my car while I do something else...sign me up!

Toyota may rue the day it advertised the "best part of a hybrid? not plugging in". I'm just saying...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(finman @ May 15 2007, 10:52 AM) [snapback]442405[/snapback]</div>

The thing about a PHEV is that you don't HAVE to ever plug it in. Toyota would just have to market it the right way- you can plug it in if you want to, or never plug it in if you don't want to. I don't like the idea of encouraging people NOT to plug in a PHEV, but if that is the price we have to pay in order to make the car marketable so that we can get our hands on it...

 

My stance on "plugging in" will depend on how long it will take to charge and how much juice it will use (cost of electricity from wall vs. gas).

 

I think its a really dumb idea. The whole reason I chose the prius over a PHEV is because I dont have to plug it in. What about the people that live in apartments?

 

The best option is multiple options. Meaning getting power for best price AND more environmentally friendly.

A great option, if you can afford it, is putting solar panels on your house (or yard or ...) and charging up batteries which you then connect to at night where it can charge while you are asleep. Sure that costs money, but doesn't everything? Nothing is free. Note that the price from the grid is going to keep going up. That's the only sure thing. That and the price you paid for the solar panels and batteries will have been already set at the time you bought them.

I haven't done that yet. But we are planning on moving in the next couple of years. Once we do I fully expect to once we move.

 

I'm looking forward to the PHEV Toyota Prius. Plug-in to by-pass gas stations on the local level. Earn part of the charge via photovoltaic panels - further reducing my carbon footprint. Toyota bring PHEV on and teach the world!

Science News has a report this week than ethanol is equivalent to oil regarding emissions. Ethanol is a short-term gap solution. PV & PHEV are a better short-term solution. PV, PHEV and light rail are better long-term solutions.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ May 15 2007, 01:47 PM) [snapback]442549[/snapback]</div>

I've got to agree with that statement. Besides, what if - a few months after you buy your PHEV Prius - something comes up and you wound up moving into a house anyways? What if you had a PHEV then? Then, when you had moved to a house, you'd be able to utilize it.

 

I was under the impression that you HAD to plug in a PHEV in order for it to work correctly like a hybrid. If you didnt plug it in, it was a normal ICE car. I liked the prius because it charged the battery off wheel movement and the ICE, so you didnt ever have to plug it in.

I was under the impression that you HAD to plug in a PHEV in order for it to work correctly like a hybrid. If you didnt plug it in, it was a normal ICE car. I liked the prius because it charged the battery off wheel movement and the ICE, so you didnt ever have to plug it in.

Sorry, I'm all new to this hybrid/PHEV stuff so bear with my noobness.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Slair @ May 15 2007, 02:37 PM) [snapback]442598[/snapback]</div>

That's OK- a lot of people have that misconception. Just like many people out there still think that you have to plug in a Prius, when of course you can't. We just need to make sure that we can inform everyone that's here, because obviously the people on PriusChat are more intelligent and more tech-savvy than the average person. SO before we can hope to educate the general public, we have to make sure that everyone on PC gets the scoop.

So repeat after me, You don't HAVE to plug in a PHEV- only if you WANT to!

 

so what are the benefits of plugging it in or not. If you dont HAVE to, then why do?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Slair @ May 15 2007, 08:38 PM) [snapback]442877[/snapback]</div>

Why? Because, if you drive a PHEV and plug it in at night, and you have a 7.5 commute like I do, you can drive to work entirely using the electric motor- essentially, you have an EV. It takes less energy (and costs less than the gasoline to drive the equivalent distance) to charge the batteries using an outlet. If you get your electricity by solar panels, that's even better. It's not really an option for my house, but I pay to get my electricity from renewable sources (or, more precisely, to produce the equivalent amount of electricity from renewable sources), so in essence I'd have a non-polluting car, at least fro commuting. For longer distances, it functions just like a conventional hybrid (i.e. the current Prius).
Now, if you don't want to plug it in, you don't need to. But then, you would be using the ICE during that 7.5 commute and hence gas.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ May 15 2007, 01:00 PM) [snapback]442499[/snapback]</div>

Here here! I'm with you on that one Evan!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusFTW @ May 15 2007, 06:26 PM) [snapback]442911[/snapback]</div>

Shouldn't it be "Hear, hear"?



:lol: