You know what I just realized?

This is true...see CR's recent blog: 2011 Annual Auto Issue: Stuck in reverse

I had a 2005 Corolla. Although the new Corolla is cheaper inside, i can tell you that the ride, noise, and overall driving experience is better in the new Corolla. But, yeah, you're right about some of the newer car designs.

Therefore, you can see how hard it is to make a car appeal to the masses AND be successful at doing it. With the Prius, this is very hard to do. How can you get more people to buy it and at the same time make happy the older customers who value hybrid efficiency? Look at Honda's fumbles with the Insight. Honda tried to make it cheaper to appeal to everyone, but failed in making it a better car. Sales suffered. Would the 2nd gen Prius be enough to kill the new Insight? I doubt it. And as noted before, 2nd gen sales were dropping near the end of its cycle. In other words, its popularity was limited...and the competition was catching up.

Toyota did not go the safe route...they went the extra mile IMO to make a car be more appealing while making it more efficient. They went and improved every flaw of the 2nd gen and all the while making it even more efficient. See link in my signature.

With the exception of Li-ion battery (which is coming soon in 2012), what were you guys expecting?? I doubt that Mr. Pig pictured before would have achieved 0.25 Cd. Concept cars often don't bother with crash test scores nor practical concerns...this is why rarely do you see concept cars go straight to production with minor changes.

Again, just look at Honda's attempt to improve on their hybrid cars. See what a disaster it can be. Now, take a look at the 3rd gen. Look at the sales. Look at the fact that it is #1 in hybrid sales by a wide margin DESPITE very strong competition (that the 2nd gen NEVER had to face)!

Now, yeah, you guys (2nd gen owners mostly) can nitpick the 3rd gen minor flaws, but you guys are looking at it the wrong way. In the grand picture, in the future, the 3rd gen will be viewed as the generation that brought hybrid technology and the Prius to the masses...a car that everyone/anyone can drive comfortably and drive efficiently without having to resort to extreme driving methods. This is about as revolutionary as you can get when it comes to designing a car. Honda would give its left nut for a car this revolutionary!

 

It is an annoying opinion that does not have much logic behind it. Again, i think that this post would be great in a 2nd gen forum. But here, in a 3rd gen forum, this kid should expect some feedback on his opinion, right? This kid is all over the place...sometimes literally!

First, his parents buy him a 3rd gen (sure seemed spoiled in that thread), then he literally runs around his car with a camera in his garage to find nitpicks with it (http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...-what-ya-think-buyers-remorse-going-away.html). Hilarious stuff...another member even made a spoof about it!! Hell, the kid did not even drive it much before posting his complaints...his 3rd gen still the dealer window sticker on it!! He sold it or something.

Then, recently, he gushed and were as excited as a kid on Christmas day when he ordered a 3rd gen V/Five (http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/92870-ordered-2011-prius.html). Why did he decide to buy it again? Your guess is as good as mine. He was so excited too about potentially owning a 3rd gen...did not even mention his previous "window-sticker-still-on bad experience" with his previous 3rd gen...and then i think that there was delay in his order due to recent disaster. So, now, we're back at this point...because he did not get the 3rd gen V and apparently recently bought another 2nd gen, this kid is back to badmouthing the 3rd gen...maybe to justify his recent purchase...to make him sleep better at night??

So, either this is kid is immature (probably) or has bipolar disorder. I hope for the former. So, no, i am not going to cut this kid any breaks. Trust me, i am taking it easy on this kid...if he posted these crap on a truck forum, he would be torn to pieces by now!

 

Lets also not forget:

Toyota put some 200 engineers when it came to redesigning the third generation Prius and Toyota has over 1,000, YES ONE THOUSAND, patents on the Prius and for the price, the Prius contains the densest concentration of engineering virtuosity on the road today.
These are reasons why for every 7 Prii sold, there is only ONE Honda Insight sold

 

Everyone just "Simmah down nah!" , "My car is better than your car", "Gen 1 vs Gen 2 vs Gen 3", "II vs III vs IV vs V", "my 15" rims give me 2mpg more than your 17" rims", blah blah blah! This being a public forum I know you can't expect people to hold hands and sing "Kumbaya", but I think we can all agree that we're all thankful for the little car that could and how much it's changed the way we all drive and think of the environment.

Just tonight I had to go to the store to buy a gallon of windshield wiper fluid and while refilling it in the parking lot, this Security Guard drove by in a truck to see if everything was ok which of course I was. He then asked if my car was the new Matrix which he realized it wasn't. I told him it was a Prius, and then he asked if I had to plug it in. I told him that it charges itself while braking and coasting, which he then asked if I liked it which of course I said yes, not to mention the 50+mpg which impressed him a lot. It's a great feeling to know that I may have converted a new driver.

 

Gonna change my post ....

There were just some things I wasn't convinced about with the 3rd gen ... didn't like the little wheels, plastic covers, nor the wheels underneath. Wasn't going to pony for the V and wasn't gonna eat it on new wheels and tires.

Exterior 3rd gen design is a'ight, but I actually like the overall look and to me, more aggressive front end look of the Insight II (except for its diminutive size).

Maybe I was convinced one should drive a Prius about 15k miles a year to take advantage of the hybrid battery warranty (at least in CA). I drive much less than 15k / year. Some mechanics commented the Prius could become very expensive to repair electronics many years down the road, out of warranty. Just didn't feel it was quite the right time, and after reeling over the 2nd gen fiasco, passed up on the 3rd gen. It would be nice to only be pumping in about half the gas to refill. I'll give it that.