Prius family to add SUV & sports coupe by 2014?

I know that this has been bandied about for quite a while, but I do not see Toyota splitting off the Prius nameplate into its own brand for a few reasons.

Cost - I know that it cost a great deal to launch Scion and there was talk that Hyundai looked at doing this when they launched the Genesis - the number that sticks in my head is a billion dollars.

Scion has not exactly lit the world on fire - I think that Toyota might re-think the decision if they could have a mulligan and go back in time.

There would be a huge amount of confusion - if you though that the whole V versus v thing was bad this would be far worse - what would they call the original Prius - the O (original) i (iconic) or something else?

Dealer pushback - I have been in a couple of delerships that have the Scion brand - that portion of the showroom seems to take up about 1/3 of the floorspace - how would you add another brand? I would imagine that Toyota would not want some dealers to opt out of either Prius or Scion. Most likely if they needed to choose they would dump Scion which would not be in the interest of Toyota. Of the two new Scions that are to hit the market you have 2 cars that seem cool in the IQ and FT, but both are going to have very limited markets and are not likely to big volume sellers.

But to me the biggest reason is that recently it was announced that Toyota believed that the Prius would become their volume leader and surpass the Camry. I just do not see how having it be its own brand really helps Prius a great deal, but I do see it hurting Toyota.By splitting off Prius right as it is becoming the most popular nameplate in the company could do great harm to the Toyota name, not immediately, but over time it could surpass Toyota in many areas that the company is trying to market to. I just do not see how having it be its own brand really helps Prius a great deal, but I do see it hurting Toyota. They have done a pretty good job with the Gen III of taking a quirky, niche car and making it a great deal more mainstream - this just adds to the niche nature of the nameplate.

 

I think so too.

 

Highlander Hybrid

 

He said "good mpg". I take that to mean 40mpg+ without having to hypermile.

 

I suppose you are looking for a V then because if you want 40+mpg you will lose your sport and your utility.

 

Sorta. Something like the V but with more ground clearance. The Vensa would be pretty awesome if it could achieve the MPG of the v.

 

I meant V as an Vehicle since you took the SU out of it.

But yeah, that too.

 

I agree with this.

I've even thought similarly about Toyota and Scion. Why Toyota thinks it needs to branch off and dillute Toyota to make separate brands? I don't understand.

Oh, it's aimed at youth? It must be "Scion"?...And I guess...if it's a Hybrid in the future it must be "Prius"?

Well I don't want a "separate" dealership experience. Why not sell Toyotas....(here's a novel idea) as Toyota's?

Why apply the definition that either young and hip MUST be Scion...or Hybrid product...must be "Prius"...and separate them from the parent Brand?

And I agree with the above statements. Making Prius a separate "Scion" like brand? Reverses much of the work Toyota has done sucessfully in working to mainstream Prius. Part of the laudable success of Prius, IMO has been the very fact that you can drive onto a Toyota dealership lot, and purchase a Prius, right next to Camrys and Corolla's...

Why make new off-shoot Brands? Why not just work to keep Toyota...THE BRAND...on top?

 

you need to realize that Toyota came up with Scion and Lexus brands to avoid US import limits and paying higher tariffs. Up until resent the Lexus models were sold as Toyota in Japan.

Prius would make perfect sense as it has name recognition and identity; no need to invest money into brand advertizing as they did with Lexus and Scion. And need to worry about Toyota brand as Toyota Camry is still the best selling sedan and Corolla is the best selling small car

 

Hmm...that's an angle I never considered. So you're saying these "Brands" are being created primarily to create a US imports limit and Tariff loophole?

That's kind of sad if that is the primary reasoning.

As far as "no need to worry about the Toyota Brand"? I think within the automotive industry there is always reason to worry. Competition is fierce.

Have you read the latest Consumer Reports review of the redesigned Honda Civic? Devastating review for what is one of Honda's flagship, class leading vehicles.

My point being? Sure Camry, Corolla, Prius...are all class leading products BUT within the automotive industry, you are constantly compared against a moving and usually improving competition..and you are only as good as your latest product. As Toyota considers the "next generation" Camry..they better look at the Re-Designed Honda Civic..and avoid Honda's mistakes. You can't bank on staying ontop..simply because you've been ontop or even are ontop.

 

Maybe the S but not the U. Dare I saw the Tahoe or Rav4 does not deserve the S either?

I consider my GenII Prius am FESUV (Fuel Efficient Sport Utility Vehicle) as evidenced by the pictures below.

I have the Sport, Utility, and Fuel Efficiency!

 

Me too. It's a great looking car and has the ground clearance I need.

 

Me three.

 

How much more clearance do you need? I'm sure you can someone willing to do a lift. Your Gen2 should have plenty of life left, and lift should cheaper than anew vehicle. Maybe install a removable air dam so the road fuel economy doesn't drop too much.

 

It would look horrible though.

 

Nobody will notice that once you put on the truck balls

It's being phased out, but what about the Escape hybrid? While its economy is worse than a Prius, the Prius wagon (I refuse to learn what is the proper case v for it) will likely drop to the high 30's when lifted. If Toyota follows the 4WD only as with the Highlander, take off another 1 mpg, at least. The Escape does have a two rating to go with its larger ICE, and it's an assumption that Toyota will stick with the 1.8L in a Prius SUV.