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Trendy Japanese Flock to Hybrids

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by Tideland Prius, Aug 1, 2009.

  1. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    SHOPPERS who stop into Toyota dealerships here and across Japan generally have just one thing on their minds: buying a Prius.

    After years of indifference toward hybrids — in part because many gas-only models that got excellent mileage were already available in showrooms — drivers in Japan are lining up for the Prius, the Honda Insight and other models powered by gasoline and electricity.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/automobiles/02hybrid.html
     
    #1 Tideland Prius, Aug 1, 2009
  2. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    Holy crap. His summer house must be straight up the side of a mountain if he uses a quarter of a tank to go 75 miles. :eek:
     
    #2 dogfriend, Aug 1, 2009
  3. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    As I suspected: the Japanese version of the Prius has a 5 gallon tank.

    (just kidding)
     
    #3 TonyPSchaefer, Aug 1, 2009
  4. Tamyu

    Tamyu New Member

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    It`s pretty possible. Remember, Japan is mostly mountains. And usually, distances are measured in a straight line, not the length of actual road travel... When you`re going over mountains, it is anything but straight.
     
    #4 Tamyu, Aug 1, 2009
  5. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Here's the part of the NY Times article that caught my eye:

    " ... Nissan and Mitsubishi have also announced plans to leapfrog hybrids with new electric vehicles. ..."

    I believe it was GM's posturing/threats to build hybrids, in the first place, that originally caused Toyota to panic ... and not want to be left behind in the hybrid game, that caused them to hurry the Prius to original production.

    Wouldn't it be great if Nissan & Mitsubishi's saber rattling had the same effect? And who knows ... maybe it already has.

    ;)
     
    #5 hill, Aug 1, 2009
  6. bluetwo

    bluetwo Relevance is irrelevant

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    I think it's cool, and here recently I've wondered a lot if even here in the states we might find ourselves in a world where there are a lot MORE small cars running around. Not that we'll stop seeing gargantuan SUV's and pickups any time soon but that with new models coming out and/or coming over here... how might it be to see cars like the Yaris, Mini, Smart or really any car that seems smaller than most to a lot of people in the new world as it could potentially be, knowing that these cars were smart from the get-go?
     
    #6 bluetwo, Aug 1, 2009
  7. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    if you want to know how that looks like, visit the south coast of B.C.
     
    #7 Tideland Prius, Aug 1, 2009
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