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No, really: Toyota won't create seperate Prius brand

The idea of a separate brand for the Toyota Prius has gone from "seriously considering" to "not a 'go'" to, now, "Um, no." That's the word from Miguel Fonseca, Toyota's managing director in the UK, who says that there won't be a Prius sub-brand.

However, Fonseca did say that the stork would be visiting the Prius factory to drop off other body styles, making a Prius family of vehicles. He wouldn't say what the body types were, but AutoCar speculation centers on an estate and an MPV to be unveiled in 2010, along with a coupe debuting the following year. As reported before, when the larger, frugal-er next gen Prius sedan arrives in about a year, it won't be packing lithium-ion batteries -- Toyota engineers say they're still not yet ready for prime-time.

posted : 11/28/2008 @6:00:42 PM
Current Prius rumored to get price cut to compete with Insight

According to AutoExpress' Japan correspondent, Peter Lyon, when the 3rd generation Prius goes on sale in Europe next year, the current model will continue to be sold at a discount along side its modern counterpart. The rumored decision by Toyota is in response to the release of the new Honda Insight hybrid, which will start at around £15,000 when it goes on sale this March. In the report, Lyon contends that Toyota wants to woo people into showrooms with the current Prius' lower sticker in an attempt to compete with its cross-town rival. We're interested to see how this will play with consumers and wonder if Toyota will use a similar tactic when the next generation Prius goes on sale in the States around the same time.
posted : 10/22/2008 @11:08:03 PM
This is the 2010 Toyota Prius

Jalopnik is reporting this morning that images published last night on the web of what appeared to be the next-generation 2010 Toyota Prius are, in fact, the real deal. Toyota PR reportedly confirmed to the website that what we're looking at is the same car that will be revealed in January at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. We've also included some spy shots in the gallery below that would seem to corroborate this. As Damon pointed out last night, the new design is an evolution of the current model that incorporates some recent favorite styling cues of Toyota designers like the bulbous badge housing up front. The interior, however, is a marked step away from the current model's spaceship controls, and thankfully eschews that car's dash-mounted shifter for a new one properly placed on the buttressed center console. Mechanically speaking, the new Prius is expected to arrive with a more powerful gas engine, bigger electric motor and, despite continuing to use nickel-metal hydride rather than lithium-ion batteries, improved fuel efficiency. It is the Prius after all.
posted : 10/17/2008 @5:19:45 PM
Rendered or Real? 2010 Toyota Prius

We're far from convinced that the image above is the 2010 Toyota Prius, but judging by the front detail pic and the interior shot, it could be the most accurate portrayal we'll see before it's unveiling in Detroit this January. The pic, published over at PriusChat by bossdowner, shows a restyled front end that takes a few cues from recent ToMoCo offerings, including the bulbous badge housing, deeper air dam and recessed fog lamps. The headlights are a nice touch, but we still haven't warmed up to the L-shaped design originally shown on the new Maxima and forthcoming 370Z. As for the interior, it's a sea of bland in a dark gray plastic that would make the Germans proud. However, we dig the raised center console with an integrated pass-through to access the 12-volt outlet.
posted : 10/16/2008 @6:13:38 PM
Toyota seriously considering separate Prius brand

This isn't the first time we've heard that Toyota might spin off the Prius as a separate brand much like Scion. But we now have the most concrete news about the automaker's plans we've seen yet. Micheline Maynard of The New York Times talked with James E. Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. recently who said he was actively lobbying Toyota for the Prius brand spinoff and that the company was working on future models to expand the lineup. Lentz said he was pushing for a Yaris-sized Prius and a "Prius on steroids." He wouldn't comment on rumors of a Prius crossover, however. Lentz also said the new line would be sold alongside Toyota vehicles instead of separately like the company's Lexus brand. When might this new Prius brand be approved by Toyota? Lentz would only say that he has a meeting in Japan next month. Maynard writes that in all her years covering Toyota, "...I can say that executives rarely talk this much about an idea unless it is under active discussion, so the chances of a Prius brand are probably pretty good."
posted : 10/15/2008 @9:07:47 PM
2010 Toyota Prius steals font from Michael Knight

Toyota's marketing team has released the first image of the next-gen Prius, and it's not what you think. The shot shows what appears to be the welcome screen that will appear on the car's in-dash screen upon startup, and the font looks curiously like the same one used by the new Knight Rider series on NBC. We doubt this means Prius v3.0 will have Turbo Boost built in, but it will have a larger four-cylinder gas engine and more powerful electric motor. Unfortunately, the new Prius is expected to carry over its nickel-metal hydride batteries rather than going with new lithium-ions, at least for now. The 2010 Toyota Prius will be making its first public appearance at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show in January, and we'll be there to greet the new green king in person.
posted : 10/13/2008 @9:14:57 PM
Toyota considering Prius sub-brand, dealerships

There could soon come a day when you waltz into a local Prius dealership to purchase your next hybrid car. As Toyota did with the Scion brand, the Japanese giant is still said to be considering making an entirely new brand just for hybrids out of its popular Prius hatchback. We are certain to get a redesigned Prius after it debuts in Detroit in 2009, and after that, the rumormill indicates that a smaller hybrid model is on the way that would more closely compete with the new Honda Insight, which will undercut the standard Prius by a scooter-sized chunk of change. Toyota previewed a hybrid model powered by a smaller gas engine when it introduced the world to its 1/X concept at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. With a bit of mild speculation, we could envision a slightly larger model than the current Prius as a replacement for the Camry hybrid, giving Toyota a three-pronged answer to the likes of the Volt from GM and the Insight from Honda.
posted : 9/24/2008 @10:24:12 PM
Toyota to build hybrid batteries in North America

Even with the $5,000 difference between the Prius and non-hybrid Toyotas, there was a time when Toyota lost money on the car. Even when the car entered the black, and even though they halved the cost of the hybrid system from one generation to the next, Toyota still didn't make the margins on it that they did with their go-to sedans. Yet with plans to start making batteries for the Hybrid Synergy Drive in the U.S., Toyota says it should be able to halve costs again, and bring the next-gen Prius profit to near parity with the Corolla. Toyota doesn't know where or when it will start building batteries in the States. The company says "it's difficult to make the main parts of batteries outside of Japan," but didn't explain why that was the case. From 2010, the Prius will be manufactured in Toyota's Mississippi plant, however, that doesn't mean the battery plant will be nearby. Toyota moved up the date to offer the plug-in Priuses to government and fleet operators to the end of 2009. Right now, Toyota says the Prius gets 13 miles on battery power alone. If the plug-in Prius does arrive in a year or so, and with a substantially higher range -- and that is a ginormous "if" -- then it has a chance of upstaging the Chevy Volt, which appears to be what Toyota is aiming for.
posted : 9/22/2008 @10:59:46 PM
Maximum Bob: No plug-in hybrid race between GM, Toyota

The attention of the hybrid technology universe has been focused firmly on two vehicles: the Chevy Volt and the plug-in Prius. On the surface, these two vehicles are primed to be big-time competitors in the battle for mpg-conscious buyers. Not so, says the king of quote, Maximum Bob Lutz. According to Mr. Lutz, the two vehicles are very technologically different. Toyota also says that a plug-in Prius will be in production in 2009, a full year ahead of the Volt. Lutz hypothesizes that the Prius plug-ins will be available only to select fleets and not in large scale production, and the GM Vice Chairman says that the Volt will be available as part of a large test fleet in late 2009, as well. We agree that the Volt and Prius are technologically different, but we're pretty sure the two vehicles will be competing for the same buyers. After all, Americans are calling for more fuel efficient vehicles and don't care if one's a plug-in parallel hybrid that runs on nickel-metal hydride batteries and the other is a series hybrid with lithium-ion batteries and a "range extender". They just care about whichever one can go further on a drop of fuel.
posted : 9/14/2008 @4:06:08 AM
Cheap, stylish ride: Oxymoron or attainable dream?

Is it possible to buy a car that's both inexpensive and ultra cool? Can a $22,000 Toyota Prius really get you the same respect from the valet as a $70,000 BMW? That's what "Wired Magazine" wants to know, and they're asking readers to decide which of five relatively cheap cars they would feel coolest driving. So far, the most expensive of the bunch, the Prius, is in third place with only 18% of the vote. Behind it with 11% is an early-'90s Volvo and a 25-year-old Mercedes 300 SDL. In first place, with a big lead over a used Ford Mustang, is a 1995-1997 Jaguar XJ6. Really? Those are the only choices we get? For the price of that 2005 V6 Mustang, you could get yourself a real tire-smoking, V8-powered 1966 Mustang. Sure it'll need some paint, probably some fresh Bondo and maybe a transmission overhaul, but that builds character in both owner and car. Or if you're not into power, don't even think about that wheezy Volvo. Go German instead, and get a classic VW Beetle. You'll pay more than what that boxy sedan cost, but the cool factor of the Bug will more than make up for it. So what say you, Autoblog fans? What cheap transportation would you choose for its cool-boosting properties? Or is "Wired" right on the money?
posted : 9/13/2008 @5:50:29 AM
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