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Featured Wards eulogy

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by bwilson4web, Dec 29, 2017.

  1. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Source: http://wardsauto.com/engines/groundbreaking-prius-hybrid-evolves-over-20-years

    The world’s best-selling hybrid car went on sale Dec. 10, 1997. Toyota sold only 323 of the bubble-shaped cars that year, enough for it to win the “Japan Car of the Year” award, although most models were not delivered until after the New Year.

    Since its launch, Toyota has sold 4.3 million units. Cumulative hybrid sales by the automaker, including 36 other Toyota and Lexus models introduced over the past two decades, have grown to 11 million, including 1.5 million this year. Of these, 220,000 are Priuses.

    No other hybrid model by any other automaker, including Toyota, is close. No other automaker is close. Honda, ranked second, has sold 2 million hybrids. The rest of the industry combined has delivered an estimated 2 million.

    Counting plug-in hybrids, Toyota accounts for nearly two out of three electrified cars ever sold.    ​

    Bob Wilson
     
    #1 bwilson4web, Dec 29, 2017
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  2. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    A Eulogy is for somebody that died.
    I thought Toyota was still actively making & selling the Prius line.

    Then again, Wards still thinks the 12 volt battery starts the engine.
     
    #2 Prodigyplace, Dec 29, 2017
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  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    engineering humor.;)
     
    #3 bisco, Dec 29, 2017
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  4. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Wards and the Autoline crew has declared the Prius dead or dying since nearly every year. Sales of the hybrid versions have softened and the plug-in has done well within the limited markets sold. IMHO, this summary is half wishful thinking the Prius is coming to the end of the line.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #4 bwilson4web, Dec 29, 2017
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  5. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    Reading their explanation of HSD operation, they never really looked at it either. In the Prius the 12V battery has never been used to start the engine, like in a conventional car.
     
    #5 Prodigyplace, Dec 29, 2017
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  6. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Interesting that hybrid sales are as soft as they are with oil north of $60 a barrel.
    I also expected a bit more of a PHEV bump from people who haven't been looped into the fact that the tax kickbacks didn't go away.

    Gas is still south of $2 on free soil, and consumers are on a spending spree....but I would still expect PHEV/BEV sales to be a little stronger than they are.
     
    #6 ETC(SS), Dec 29, 2017
  7. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    And oldie but goodie from Wards: http://m.wardsauto.com/engines/prius-best-days-rearview-mirror?page=2

    Jul 07, 2016
    Despite an all-new generation that debuted in January, sales of the sedan were down 10.5% through June. Are the best days behind the industry’s most popular green car?

    Sullivan says the biggest factor in the new Prius’ lack of success is “the styling, (which) has maybe gone a little too wild for some people,” especially the mainstream-vehicle buyers who now make up the car’s U.S. owner base.

    The new Prius’ look, described kindly as awkward thanks to its cow-horn-shaped headlights, has been decried by many in the industry.
    . . .
    Prius owners responding to a thread WardsAuto created on Priuschat.com, home to one of the Internet’s largest Prius forums, cite a variety of reasons why the newest iteration may not be seeing the early success its predecessors did.

    Some say the third-generation Prius sedan represented a bigger technological leap from the model it replaced. Others agree Tesla and other battery-electric vehicles may be luring Prius owners, long some of the industry’s most loyal, to other brand showrooms.
    . . .     ​

    This article was a couple of weeks after I rejected the 2016 Prius Level Two ECO because it did not have TSS P and Level Three with moonroof that did not have the mileage. So I went with a used, end-of-lease, 2014 BMW i3-REx.

    Bob Wilson


    ​
     
    #7 bwilson4web, Dec 29, 2017
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2017
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  8. Andyprius1

    Andyprius1 Senior Member

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    It’s good to know that there are smart consumers.
     
    #8 Andyprius1, Dec 29, 2017
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  9. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    They did not mention the lack of safety features as a reason. Who looks at that when shopping for a car? Apparently appearance and a top notch entertainment system are much more important.o_O
     
    #9 Prodigyplace, Dec 29, 2017
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  10. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yeah, there are some errors in there (Prius Alpha is the Prius v not the Prius c).

    Ward did give the 2004 Prius an award for "10 Best Engines".

    To put things into perspective, the 2004 Prius sold near... 47,000? It exceeded the initial sales target of 36,000 in the US

    The Prime is sitting at 18,500 units from Jan-Nov 2017 in the US. Both have/had production bottlenecks though one could argue that the Prime's bottleneck (rear hatch) is slowing down production more than the 2004 Prius' bottleneck (factory literally couldn't churn them out any faster.... some said it was also the battery production but I can't confirm).
     
    #10 Tideland Prius, Dec 29, 2017
  11. pilotgrrl

    pilotgrrl Senior Member

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    I bought TSS-P because I wanted those safety features, in addition to those included in the Advanced Tech Package. The moonroof is useless, as far as I'm concerned.
     
    #11 pilotgrrl, Dec 31, 2017
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  12. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    I bought my 2017 Two for TSS-P + spare tire. For me, the cost to move to Trim Three, the next level with a spare, was not worth the benefits that mattered to me.
     
    #12 Prodigyplace, Dec 31, 2017
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  13. pilotgrrl

    pilotgrrl Senior Member

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    I have a 2016. TSS-P wasn't standard then.
     
    #13 pilotgrrl, Dec 31, 2017
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