So much for toyota going green

Yeah... it was hard enough having to go from the EV to the Prius... and now this.

But take heart. High-ranking officials have confirmed that this truck will be "bad nice person."

 

Just because toyota manufactures some vehicles that are not "green" does not mean that the company is not concerned about the issue. Despite what many people say the prius or other hybrids/fuel efficient vehicles do not meet the needs of some users. Example: a friend of mine is in the construction business and the equipment he hauls plus the sites where he must drive to don't allow him to have anything other than a large gas guzzling truck for his work related travel. Toyota is just trying to fill another niche in the automobile industry. I think they should just stick to pushing the envelope on new fuel saving technologies but oh well.

Mike

 

This seems like a good spot to reiterate my original post. Toyota's move into hybrids was a way to 'green' Toyotas media image as it prepared to launch a sales assualt into the gas-guzzler market. Amazingly to this point it has worked just as planned.

If you believe the Prius was developed solely as an 'altruistic' attempt to end Americas thirst for oil and to lessen greenhouse emisions I have several bridges I would like to sell you.

Toyota has built a great vehicle in the Prius and I am quick to admit that, but to think that the Prius was not part of a master plan to amke a pile of money selling gas-guzzling trucks? Yeah right!

 

This reminds me: did anyone else see the article in the New York Times yesterday? My boss felt compelled to throw this "anti-hybrid" piece in my face, and much of it I really resented. The one line especially, which inferred that, due to the CAFE guidelines, my purchase of a Prius gave someone else the right to buy a gas-hooging SUV, because it offset Toyota's CAFE requirement! :angry: I think that is totally BS speculating, that MY buying habits somehow resulted in someone else deciding to buy an SUV. Some of the twisted logic coming off the presses really steams me! :angry:
Oh, and did you know that LOTS of hybrid owners are disposing of perfectly good Corolla's, in favor of their Prius? :blink: I wonder if they can even find ONE person who did that? :angry:

 

Wasn't this guy quoted as saying Toyota just "does the right thing" when it comes to the environment. How does this quote line up with that?

"WE SET OUT TO BUILD THE BIGGEST, BADASS TRUCK IN HISTORY!" said Jim Press COO of Toyota North America.

 

But isn't that what is so important in this day and age? Bad assed-ness? :huh: :angry:

 

I'm with Malorn on this one... For the most part anyway... They've set themselves up for winning in BOTH scenarios: high AND low gas prices... The malarkey hits the fan in the mid-east, we've got the best hybrids, gas prices plummet, hey, we've got the best trucks...

Gotta hand it to 'em...

 

Hopefully this announcement will finally get the media to question some of Toyota's claims:

Toyota is green
Toyota creates jobs
Toyota is an altruistic company
Toyota's quality is #1

Time to see who the wizard really is!

 

I have mixed feelings. I have no problem at all with Toyota using "American rules" and the US market to make money. No matter how many of us are personally into less-conspicuous consumption, we're never going to make a dent in the consciousness of those who want and will own the "bigger toys"---boats and ATVs to pull and/or carry. Then, there IS a "bad-nice person truck" sub-segment, but I doubt it's big enough in and of itself to sustain the whole segment. I may be wrong.

OTOH, the way I rationalize it, Toyota has given the world the gift of the Prius, with relatively low (for now) profit margins. I can't afford a loaded Prius now, and won't even be able to afford a new stripped one in a couple of years. And there are plenty of others like me, judging by the numbers of folks in the poll who are buying packages 0-3. We're the ones who otherwise would have no choice but to buy Corollas or Scions or Civics, but would not be able to savor the delights of this breakthrough car.

Yes, Toyota's having its cake and eating it, too. It's promoting a sea change in attitudes about sustainable resources (and not just through high-MPG cars) while happily taking the money of the heavy-iron crowd. In the process, for a feather in its cap, Toyota will probably end up making big pickups that will beat the pants off the Fords, Chevys, Dodges and GMCs. I briefly sold Toyotas in '99 right after the
Tundra was introduced, and it's a hell of a truck. Nissan and Honda wouldn't be competing in this segment if they didn't know something. Ford and GM have got hell on their hands.

 

I love my Prius, but if I could only have one vehicle it would not work for me. It would be a V8 Truck that can tow. Prius is still #2 in my world, although I really love it.

 

it is according to the commercials I see on TV <_< ...and it makes me feel like such a weenie for owning our little cars :lol:

Well, Detroit should counter this Big, Bad-A** truck with a BIGGER Bad-A** truck,...and so forth. Isn't this how it all started?

 

Hey, don't rag on bigger-bad-assedness too much...

...I tell you, if Toyota had a huge f150-esque truck that got at least 45mpg, I'd go for it...

h34r:

 

Toyota is doing what it is best at...listening and watching then planning. They know that there is a huge segment of our population here in the states that is never going to give up their big trucks. They are going to make Toyota Trucks so appealing that even the Big Bad Boys (Girls) are going to have to try them. All the while Toyota is selling Prius and Corolla, etc to folks like us here and in Europe because they can't park any big nice person trucks over there and they don't have so many toys to haul all over.

 

I just checked out the pics., can you say, "Ford-clone".... :lol: I wonder if it's pure coincidence it looks remarkably similar to the F150? :lol: I wonder if that was part of the deal, "Hey, we'll sell you our HSD idea, and you give us some F150 info..."

h34r:

 

I may be a little dense, but I don't see how Toyota building a hybrid Prius is going to help them sell trucks. How many current trucks buyers care about Toyota building hybrids? Or really care about fuel economy anyway? Toyota already had several fuel efficient vehicles before the Prius, so I'm not sure how it helped much.

What I do understand is selling "professional grade" trucks will allow them to sell hybrid trucks (and not mild hybrid trucks with 1 mpg benefit). I am aware of only one manufacture that has expressed a possiblity of hybridizing their entire lineup of vehicles. If this does turn out to be a huge plot to began mass marketing gas vehicles, I will be the first one to call out Toyota. In honesty though, that seems pretty stupid to do, considering where focusing on gas guzzlers has gotten GM.

 

Yeah! I'm pretty sure we all would... and if that could happen, a Prius-class vehicle could see about 100mpg. I'm in!

 

They have skillfully used the media to create momentum for the other vehicles in the lineup. I can tell you factually that nobody thinks a GM truck gets better mileage than the current Tundra, because of the image most people assume that all Toyotas are the most efficient in their segment.

GM's financial problems come form their legacy costs. Saddle the same per vehicle costs on Toyota last year and they lose money too.

 

throw in a little pinch of ill repute also...

 

Man you've got to get off this "media creates momentum" kick. First, nobody spins the media like the Big Two. Second, no company wins by spinning for long, without delivering the goods. Period.