4th generation coming 2015!

I just want to say, if Toyota doesnt hurry up and come out with something exciting and better suited to hedge all of the (new) competition, I dont know if I cant wait much longer!! Volt 2.0 is tugging at my pants leg. I need Prius IV, I need it to be amazing, and I need it SOON!

 

welp, apparently it's going into production in December so that seems to put it here ....
about 1 year from now!!!

 

regarding Volt 2.0, I wouldn't be too upset about the small MPG bump, given that the need for running the ICE in the first place has just dropped by 30%!

 

I am with you on this, Toyota should keep pushing the boundaries of PiP with the same rigour and determination as with the non-plugin - I suspect they will.

I don't think we need to worry about the Mirai design making its way into the Prius, actually I am pretty confident the Prius design will be kept well away from the Fuel Cell car design - at least till they become mainstream. Put yourself in Toyota's shoes, imagine a shiny new Mirai on the road, those who see the car for the first time will go "WHAT IS THAT CAR" to mean they don't like the design, others will react this way to say they do like the car but either way the critical point is that it will make an impact and that is what Toyota would want at this introductory stage. Now on the other hand, suppose Toyota's Fuel Cell car looked similar to a Prius or a Camry Hybrid, those who see the car will go "REALLY, THAT'S A FUEL CELL CAR?" and I don't think that how Toyota would want this revolutionary technology to emerge. Going by the same logic, it is not in the interest of Toyota to make another (non-Fuel Cell ) car borrow that design language - it would blur the image.

Having said all that however, I do believe there are other car companies turning out fantastic designs these days and I am not particularly a fan of how the latest Toyota Camry and Avalon hybrids look . Over here in Europe however, we have the Toyota Auris and Auris Touring Sports hybrids - to me these are better designs, don't know what others here think? Could just be personal/regional preference.

 

UHmm...source? A source at toyota I believe said that the 4th gen would be released (maybe seen?) this year.

Look. The 4th gen was supposed to be revealed in the fall and production for a 2015 spring release. 6 month delay is like a fall 2015 release which would fit the usual prius release schedule

When will it be revealed or teased is the question .m.

 

A guy who works at Caldwall Toyota in Conway, Ark, told me today that the 4th generation Prius should be out July or Aug. 2015 as a 2016 model. Didn't have any pictures yet though.
Any sense if this correct?

 

Seems about right for a 6 month delay - but...it's odd there is no announcement whereas last time it came out in the summer and was announced at the Detroit show.

Heck, Honda is announcing new EVs, plugin hybrids and a fuel cell even though some are at least 3 years from release! Honda Will Have An All-New EV And Hybrid By 2018

Seems like everyone wants to stir the market but...you know who.

Where's the NS4 I wonder.....I hope Toyota reconsiders EV and plugin hybrids. Less KWH per 100 miles please

 

Toyota is too busy bending over for hydrogen. May the initiative fail hard (why do we want to create an energy source requiring an entirely new delivery and storage infrastructure and yet another middleman in our quest to save the erf using energy capture methodologies that still pollute the atmosphere?).

 

One word answer: GREED...(1) Corporate GREED to be exact and (2) because EPA/DOE says too (mandated).

 

What's the mandate, something about CAFE compliance? Why not just push more EV to achieve the same goal?

I suspect stubbornness is another reason on the part of Toyota.

 

California's CARB and Federal EPA are *throwing* millions of tax money at the automobile industry in *hope* (but no certainty) that future vehicles might become more fuel-efficient and *tree-hugging* friendly...ie: "...FREE MONEY..."

 

Right, the lack of discretion when it comes to public monies is criminal.

 

Gooberment mindset = "We're gonna make this Square Peg fit that Round Hole...or else."

 

Google

Google

 

Give me the exact article where it says it's being put in production this December and therefore will be released in 2016 instead of 2015..

 

"The start of 2016 Toyota Prius production will be delayed about six months to December 2015 ..."

Read more: Report: 2016 Toyota Prius Delayed 6 Months To December 2015
Follow us: @AutomobileMag on Twitter | AutomobileMag on Facebook

Report: 2016 Toyota Prius Delayed 6 Months To December 2015

 

Okay, I said it above, but I'll say it again here.

Utilization of SiC can be done in a two-stage process. Converters need two types of switches - two terminal and three terminal. The two terminal switches are diodes. The three terminal switches are either IGBTs or MOSFETs. The big hype on SiC is the MOSFETs because MOSFETs are really, really great compared to IGBTs. We only use IGBTs because we can't build efficient high voltage MOSFETs (500V MOSFETs stink). SiC fixes that (10,000V SiC MOSFETs rule).

However, if you use Silicon IGBTs and SiC diodes, the hybrid (!) system can have something like half the losses of an all Silicon system. The SiC diodes not only have lower losses on their own but also switch faster and store less energy thus allowing the IGBTs to run more efficiently as well.

SiC MOSFETs really aren't ready for prime time yet. SiC diodes are.

This is how they could be using a new semiconductor now (in the form of diodes) and also have that new semiconductor not ready until 2020 (in the form of MOSFETs).

 

Lee Jay,

I'd bet there are not many readers that can question what you have said ..... let alone understand it.

I'm not making fun ... I am grateful there are smart people that can work with these concepts. I do respect, and appreciate those that can and do.

"You are doing a good job here." (A line taken from the movie Airplane.)

 

I'll simplify.

G1-G3 have Silicon IGBTs and Silicon diodes in their power converters.

It's possible that the G4 power converter will have SiC diodes but regular Silicon IGBTs.

It may take until 2020 until the Silicon IGBTs can be replaced by SiC MOSFETs, thus creating an all SiC power converter.

There are actually more stages after that. SiC isn't just more efficient and higher in voltage capacity, but it's well-suited to cars because it can handle very high temperatures and thus be cooled by engine coolant instead of having to have its own lower-temperature cooling loop like exists in the Prius. However, we really don't have packaging technology to take advantage of that capability yet, so that one could be at an even later stage.