Changes in 2005 Prius

The gas tank is already fairly small, in my opinion. Many Prius owners want to go a fairly long distance before fillups, even longer than currently possible. I think the tank is fine where it is, and would suffer from getting smaller, especially if people ran into trouble with the bladder.

 

Given a choice of smaller or larger than the current 11.9, I vote with Christopher! Make it 13 or 14 gallons. Wouldn't add 15 pounds to the car.

 

I think taking anything off the car will destroy it's market value. All the options it has are very important. To take any away would change the class of the car. We don't want our prius to be braught down a level.

I was already suprised to see that the car weighs 3000 pounds. I guess with all the options on it.. computer.. more cables.. little things here and their, it adds up. But i would have thought it to be under 3000 pounds. If this car were to weigh lighter by 500lbs or so.. it's mpg would be a lot better. :mrgreen:

 

What adds a lot of weight is the fact that the Prius is a midsize. They could cut it down to Insight size, but then that would give us only two seats. I think the fact that the Prius's EPA numbers are better than that of an automatic transmission Insight show that if the HSD were put into an Insight-sized car, the MPG would be pretty good :mrgreen:

I personally like the Prius just where it is, size-wise. With the hatchback and folding seats, I get a great amount of cargo room, plus I have seating for five (assuming they're not too tall). It's so much more functional than the Insight, so the MPG drop for the extra weight and length is really irrelevant.

Cutting the weight further, perhaps with more advanced construction materials, would just put this out of a realistic price range.

 

Assuming that there actually is an issue of weight and the EPA, it would not be the weight per se, but the difference between the fleet average weight, and the weight of the tested (base) model.

Gas tank size is always a trade-off. You could tow a 500-gallon tank and only fill up once every two or three years, but your mileage would suffer! Given the mileage of the car, the present size is a good compromise. Maybe they need to offer a larger tank as an option for long-distance drivers. A 1,000-mile range would be possible for a moderate increase in weight, and maybe a compromise in cargo space.

 

I think they should release the Mini Prius... http://www.priusonline.com/viewtopic.php?t=910

We all know the 2005 Prius is not going to be any differnt than 2004.
They won't change anything for a couple years.

I like the mini prius.. check out the link....
This car proves that Honda does not stand a chance against toyota. When compairing the prius to an insight, the car is twice the size in every way. The engine in the prius is a 4 cylinder.. the insight is a 3.. but the smog emissions are the same.. the drag coeficiency is only differnt by .01 point. The mpg ratings are almost he same. The insight isn't all that impressive unless you only want two seats.. then ok.. you get a little better gas mileage. And, the prius is faster.

Now.. with this mini Prius, Toyota basically build a car the size of a insight... but... drag coefficiency is .16 ... and it gets EPA ratings of 140mpg. I'm sure the emissions are cut too. I would also guess it to be faster than the insight.

 

Yeah, I think it's pretty good as is too, really. I mean, I'm gonna figure that Toyota did a heck of a lot of research on the Prius, right? :mrgreen:

And weight-wise, if they tried to add some extra aerodynamic features to the car by creating special devices for the wheels...well I'm gonna figure they cut down the weight as much as was sensibly possible too. :mrgreen:

 

I think I have to disagree with this statement a little, although I will also start out by stating that my perspective is slightly different from many here.

I view many of the options that get loaded into the Prius as being truly optional.

The NAV system? Nifty idea. I'll probably become seriously addicted to it if I wind up with it. But I've spent the last 15 years road-tripping without it, and am quite content.

Smart Entry? Smart Start? Honestly, I don't care if they go back to using a regular, manual key, for both! My current car (Forester) is the first one I've had any kind of remote on. It's nice, but hardly necessary.

HID lights? Stability Control? Never had a car with either. Still alive and kicking.

Even the side-curtain airbags, which are the one feature above base that I'm requiring, are more a peace-of-mind issue than anything else.

The main feature of this car is that it's a comfortable, mid-sized hybrid that drives like it means it. As long as that continues, I'll still be jonesing for the day when one of my own arrives!

 

All those options are really pretty luxury stuff, and they make the car appeal to people who might not otherwise be interested, thus driving up demand. I, for one, know that without all the crazy gadgets, I might not have been as interested. I could have very well gone with another car.

So, with such things keeping demand high, they keep the market value of the Prius high.

 

I agree with all your statements.. but what i'm saying is... and this does not apply to you.. if you take away the optional luxurys... then -x- amount of people will no longer look at the car. For many people, those options make them ok with the car. The prius is designed to change people to look at the better car for the enviroment. If you have some people ( hundreds of people that live out by me ) who drive there BMW.. and Mercedes.. Infinitys... so on.... who like those luxurys. If the prius didn't offer them, it wouldn't be in there class. Now, when i go up to them and they ask about my little hybrid "aww.. it's cute" type of respose. I tell them that for less than 30k.. i get the HIDs.. the Navigation.. auto climate control. voice recognition.. and it's always the same response.. "really?.. no way" it's what appeals to the people who don't normaly look at a prius. The idea isn't to sell yourself to the people who like the prius.. in marketing.. they could care less about us, we like it already. They want to appeal to the ones who would normaly not give a second glance.. well.. when purchasing. Most people glance at it several times when on the road. :mrgreen:

 

lol... thanks for the post LeVautRien .. this is what i've been trying to say all long. It keep the value of the prius up. Not purchase value.. but appeal value.

 

I have to agree with you, unless Honda gets on the ball (which is possible). I was a die-hard Honda man. For 15 years I drove a Civic station wagon and never had any trouble with it at all. It was the best car on the road, at any price... until the 2004 Prius came along. I didn't want to switch from Honda to Toyota. I considered the HCH (though I couldn't see one 'because the Honda dealer didn't even bother having a demo on the lot). Honda always treated me great, I trusted them, and even the salesman was solidly upright. But Honda's IMA just doesn't have any imagination, it can't run in golf-cart mode (sorry - stealth just sounds too militaristic for my taste) and even if real-world mileage is close enough to make no difference, HSD is just too totally super-cool. I've got two motor-generators, no alternator, no real transmission, and no clutch of any sort. Sorry, Honda, but you'll have to do better than IMA if you want my business back.

 

Yep, that's the whole idea. The Prius could be stripped down and made smaller and many other things...but then it would be a Toyota Insight. It takes some pretty big devotion to make that step. Throwing in all the extras and options whets a whole 'nother aspect of someone's car-buying appetite. They get the MPG increase, they get the emissions controls, they get the size (relatively speaking), they get the unorthodox styling, they get a spread of luxury options, they get some options and standard features that don't even otherwise exist.

Every single thing in the Prius is designed to overwhelm the potential buyer on many levels. To have so much for only around 26,000...it's the biggest steal on the market. Steals are always in demand, and that demand helps push the Prius message, helps keep our skies clean, keeps the value of the Prius up aftermarket (I enjoy being able to drive out of the dealership with my net worth up a bit, even if it won't last forever :mrgreen: ), and makes us some of the first people able to take one of the first steps in an automotive revolution.

 

About my mini prius comparison... there is one flaw.. the mini prius seats 4!.. the insight still only seats 2... and take a look at the pics.. it has awesome doors. :mrgreen:

 

Honda has always been a little more spartan than it's competitors, though I will admit I'm a Toyota person. When looking at cars recently for my sister, I just couldn't make myself a fan of the Honda spartan nature. It's truely a utilitarian car. The designs arn't, in my mind, as bold. The interiors arn't quite as well-designed and appointed. Hondas are well-built cars, don't get me wrong, but they don't have nearly the kind of upper-market appeal that Honda competitors like Toyota and Nissan have.

Even if Honda does manage to get it together, I really can't see a Honda Prius-style car having nearly as much appeal as the current Toyota Prius.

 

Awesome doors? Am I missing something? Hehehe

 

mini prius thingy... yeah.. awesome doors http://www.benerridge.freeserve.co.uk/ufe31.jpg :mrgreen:

 

Ohh yes, absolutely, gotta love the gullwings.

I personally do wish Toyota had granted us that little pleasure of exotic doors...I wonder how it would affect interest in the car. Just one more way to stick out, I say. :mrgreen:

 

considering my car didnt come with hardly any options, i wonder what i could get for it?

 

You could certainly still get above the sticker price, but, in my mind, a huge part of the reason you could still get above the sticker is because of the huge demand that the higher package numbers generate. The options don't really have much to do with who's willing to wait, however, so if someone wants the basic Prius but doesn't want to wait, they'll pay above sticker. That doesn't mean the higher options didn't have anything to do with establishing the high demand and subsequent waiting list.