A proper ad

We need something to counter all those bogus hybrid battery ads here.
It seems they often occur when on my iPhone I think the ads differ depending on the client platform.

 

This does raise an interesting point (at least to me): I've heard from a couple different sources that the Prius has become a slow seller. While I understand that the car was never intended to be a volume seller like the Camry or Corolla, you'd think they'd do more advertising. Of course, to me (and many other here I strongly suspect), the car sells itself, but still, if they don't want sales dwindling, maybe they should push the product a little harder.

And of course, there's always the Toyota curse -- cars built so well they don't really need to be replaced for a very, very long time.

 

I never see Prius ads in local media now. Back in 2010 they were fairly common; seemed to just taper off...

 

True enough, but I hope that they don't lose sight of the fact that, irrespective of the "bigger picture" strategic issues, the Prius just happens to be a really good car. Apart from its obviously outstanding fuel economy, it's comfortable, practical and very reliable. I could go on and on. You all know that.

All of the "Big Three" auto makers and at least two import makers (Toyota and Nissan) have a small army of advertising geniuses working constantly to persuade literally millions of men (mostly men, but a few women too) that they "need" to drive a three-ton (6,000 lbs and up) pick-up truck to their jobs in air conditioned offices. Better still, make it with a trailer hitch whose chrome will never see a scratch. It's almost like a modern day manifestation of the "Marlboro Man" cigarette campaigns of years past. Just look at all the crazy ads.

Maybe if Toyota would put one-tenth of the money and effort into actually advertising and promoting the Prius (and its hybrid siblings), that goes into pointless pick-up promotion, Prius sales wouldn't be lagging as they are!

 

prius advertising has been so poor in the past, they may have given up. their ad agency is horrible, but must have a long term contract

as far as hybrid sales are concerned, after 20+ years, toyota has failed to get the hybrid version price close to the non hybrid version. rav4h is a good start, they need to be more aggressive.

in the end, it is all about gas prices, nobody cares.

 

Right with you on the ad agency piece. As for the gas prices, yes and no. A couple years ago, I was waiting around a car dealer for an hour or two, and noticed that their used vehicle section was well stocked with 2-4 year old pick-ups, prices marked far below what they had cost new (just look at what they cost new now!). That lot, like many others, was a carpenter's and plumbers paradise. If you actually work a job that calls for one of these, you can get a three-year old version, virtually untouched, AND with "bonus" "dude ranch" comfort and convenience features, all for half the new price! There's really only one explanation for the presence of all those late model trucks, priced low -- the cost of ownership, mainly fuel, finally burst the bubble of the dude ranch delusion that Madison Ave, at Chevy's and Ford's and Chrysler's behest, had worked so hard to develop.

As has been the case in the past, when fuel prices again start rocketing up, the guys who need 'em will get near-new trucks for cheap, and our cars will again surge in popularity.

 

I don't see why you need to fill such big shoes. The hybrid Prius is is miles ahead in mpg; I hope they continue make it. And rein in the weirdness.

Ahem: if they were giving gas away, I'd still care.

 

yes, but you and i aren't buying new pri. if toyota has to depend on their current hybrid drivers, they won't be making them much longer.

 

I was pretty much set to buy one in fall of 2015, then the pictures started coming.

I wouldn't be suprised if the next gen (if it happens) brings more zaniness. Ah well...

 

maybe toyota made them ugly on purpose, to discourage sales of an unprofitable product

 

Passive-Aggressive marketing.

 

Awww, c'mon -- the car's sorta like Limburger cheese. A bit strange at first, but tasty after you get used to it!

Just think of what the used Prius prices, especially CPO are going to look like if they do end production!

There simply has to more to this picture that we're not seeing. Toyota is not a poor or struggling company. If they wanted to launch an advertising frenzy, they could, and I'm sure that such an effort would be effective by itself, at least for a couple years. Madison Ave has millions convinced to buy horribly over-priced, horribly overweight and horribly inefficient trucks to use as commuter vehicles! How hard can it be to convince consumers to buy a conveyance that might actually serve their own best interest??????

 

you got me

 

I try to think, but nothing happens, lol.

Seriously, which way do used prices go, if a model's discontinued? Down, due to an increasing lack of confidence in the model? Up, because they're getting rarer?

 

If they promoted it at all, let alone effectively, it might actually turn out to be a profitable product. . . You just don't spend untold millions upon millions to develop a product, put it on the market, and then say nothing at all about it. Even the uneducated snake oil salesman from the wild west knew that!

 

Somewhere around 2012 the ads dried up, around here.

 

must be toyota top secret then. personally, i think they've been after carb credits all along, and we've been taken for a ride

 

In this case, my money is on UP, and QUICKLY, especially if there's even a hint of a whiff of rising gas prices in the air. Look at how many used and CPO buyers we have right here. I bought my first one CPO, and probably would have done so again, had my back not been against a wall. One of the ironies of a car being built so well, and being a strong concept is how well it sells used. As I suggested in an earlier post, beyond being an iconic symbol vehicle (which the uninformed love to pick on...), the Prius also just happens to be a really good, solid car. Even with Limburger cheese looks. . .