[nadepalma]

SOURCE: AutoBlog.com

Separate brand, 80 mpg, 3 different models

An "insider" at LLN has it on good authority that the oft-rumored Prius brand is, in their words, "a go." According to their source, the goal of the spin-off is to create cheaper hybrid models that would command a marginal premium over their standard, hybrid-free counterparts.

The rumormill pot gets stirred a bit more with the claim that the 2010 Prius could achieve up to 80 mpg. Combine that with the rumblings about a Prius price cut and it's starting to look like the Volt will have it's work cut out for it.

MORE HERE

 

[nadepalma]

GM has more than there fair share of problems right now and their future direction regarding Chrysler is cetainly leaving things up in the air.

But if that wasn't the case, then you almost have to wonder if GM should have done/could do something similar to this?

I know that some have said that Saturn should be turned into a "tech/hybrid" type brand since they have a small footprint and attract different types of customers.

Putting Chrysler out of the picture, its no secret that GM has a problem rationalizing their lineup right now. Overlapping models, fuzzy brand values, and boring marketing have taken their toll on many of these brands - and maybe this could have been a way to bring some order to the mish-mashed brand management strategy.

I wonder what kind of sucess Toyota will have with this moving forward...?

 

[Kennyboy]

Boring....

I got tired just reading that stuff. However, Toyota will be successful on the left coasts of America where driving a hybrid makes a political statement.

 

[stevecmh]

Boring....

I got tired just reading that stuff. However, Toyota will be successful on the left coasts of America where driving a hybrid makes a political statement.

Bingo..

 

[genjy]

Interesting. I wonder if Scion will get hybrid models, too?

Prius = affordable hybrid vehicles
Scion (and Daihatsu) = affordable gasoline vehicles
Toyota = hybrid and gasoline vehicles
Lexus = hybrid and gasoline vehicles

That's the way I think it's going...?

 

[PhishPhood]

SOURCE: AutoBlog.com

Separate brand, 80 mpg, 3 different models

An "insider" at LLN has it on good authority that the oft-rumored Prius brand is, in their words, "a go." According to their source, the goal of the spin-off is to create cheaper hybrid models that would command a marginal premium over their standard, hybrid-free counterparts.

The rumormill pot gets stirred a bit more with the claim that the 2010 Prius could achieve up to 80 mpg. Combine that with the rumblings about a Prius price cut and it's starting to look like the Volt will have it's work cut out for it.

MORE HERE

For the Gen 3 Prius being shown now all over the internets the physics and the mechanics just won't allow it to achieve 80 mpg. It can't happen. 55-60 mpg in real world driving is a very good estimate right now for the new model.

But ... if there are other models to be debuted including a smaller, lighter one with a smaller ICE then possibly it could happen for that model only.

 

[logansowner]

While they will be sucessful with it, I think they're soon going to realize that adding more brands and the associated marketing budget for them is going to be a bad thing.

This is one place they can learn from GM...too many brands is bad. They would be best off with just Toyota and Lexus. Scion is ok I guess, but they could have been marketed as Toyota's just as easly.

It took GM 90 years to hit the top and near the bottom again, and I suspect Toyota will meet the same fate but with only a 60 year time line. They are already showing signs. They reached the top faster than GM but will likely enjoy less time there before the fall.

I'm not saying this as a Toyota hater, but it's how I'm seeing it.

 

[GG_TECH]

Yea, but the Prius Brand is a hybrid brand and that part of the market is growing immensely. I think Toyota has a shrewd marketing department to where now when a customer shops for a hybrid all they need to do is look at the Prius brand.

You really can't compare the Volt to the Prius as the Volt is an all electric driven vehicle while the Prius is not. Now if Chevrolet marketed their electric vehicle as a Volt brand think of the likely results. Now customers will identify the Volt brand as an all electrical driven vehicles. End result, lots of sales.

Now on the other hand GM may be taking on Chrysler, well that brand name is not really synonymous to a winner. So that brand name to GM will eventually lead to layoffs, debt, and lackluster sales.

 

[ponchoman49]

If Toyota is claiming 80 MPG then real life MPG would translate to 50-55 MPG or so. Kind of like the current ugly blob that stickered at 61 MPG but really gets closer to 41.

 

[zete]

I highly doubt the 80mpg figure. It might do that on a small circuit of 10 miles, especially if it can go 7 miles on an electric charge and if you keep it at a lower speed and control your gas foot. But 80 on the EPA circuit? I doubt it.

And why do I think Toyota might be toying with a Prius brand? Simple: to offset the Volt. GM will have THE halo car for the green movement so Toyota has to do something to maintain a perceived lead. Thus, a hybrid brand. It's just marketing.

 

[Cortazzo]

This is a poor idea. If Toyota focuses hybrids on a new brand, and if the buying public moves more into hybrids than traditional ICEs over time, the the Toyota brand will rot from within, and the Prius brand will just cannibalize sales. And you'll have an oldsmobile on your hands. Just have a full lineup of hybrid cars in the Toyota brand and have Prius derivatives, the Prius 1, 2, and 3 or something like that.

 

[CJ Thunder]

I just want that 50 MPG jeep Wrangler. Of course I would like motors at all the wheels but still if its a 4x4 with an electric motor than that awesome. Chrysler has some advantages over GM even if they don't get the recognition they deserve.



Anyway, a new hybrid brand is risky with gas falling, a new brad is really risky with everything else falling. I assume they think it will help those falling sales.

 

[Sal Collaziano]

This is one place they can learn from GM...too many brands is bad.

Only if all the brands sell the same vehicles...

 

[PhishPhood]

If Toyota is claiming 80 MPG then real life MPG would translate to 50-55 MPG or so. Kind of like the current ugly blob that stickered at 61 MPG but really gets closer to 41.

You need to do more research. There is data all over the internet where you can see what the real world numbers are, the EPA website in one place.

The real world driving expectation day-in and day-out after millions of miles of driving - highway, city, suburban and rural - is 47-48 mpg which is right in line with the revised EPA numbers. That's why this new Gen3 can't get 80 mpg. It's physically impossible given the current configuration, weight and engine. However 55 - 60 mpg for the Gen3 is very likely.

 

[PhishPhood]

I highly doubt the 80mpg figure. It might do that on a small circuit of 10 miles, especially if it can go 7 miles on an electric charge and if you keep it at a lower speed and control your gas foot. But 80 on the EPA circuit? I doubt it.

And why do I think Toyota might be toying with a Prius brand? Simple: to offset the Volt. GM will have THE halo car for the green movement so Toyota has to do something to maintain a perceived lead. Thus, a hybrid brand. It's just marketing.

This idea was floated 3 yrs ago to see if it could cash in on the public's perception that 'hybrid=Prius'. What the article is apparently confirming is that the decision has been made to go with it.

Prius A will be the Gen3 seen all over the auto sites now.
Prius B will may be a smaller 4 door sedan with a smaller ICE that might very well get 80 mpg. It would be a competitor to the new Insight II.
Prius C could be
..a hybrid pickup ( A-BAT concept );
..a larger hybrid MPV such as a minivan ( one exists in Japan already )
..a hybrid CUV to compete with the Escape hybrid.

 

[johnny smallblock]

Toyota will be successful on the left coasts of America where driving a hybrid makes a political statement.

And giant trucks will be popular in states where they make a political statement.

Hey, I know, why don't we tell everyone we know to run down to their GM dealership right now and buy the vehicle that gets 48mpg.

Also, Toyota doesn't mean "brand" in the way Pontiac is a brand. More like the way the Dodge Colt was a "brand".

 

[vcs2600]

^^ Right, it will be a sub-brand housed in Toyota dealerships just like Scion. (Or Chevy-Geo, if you remember that.)

That makes it cheap to shut down if the experiment fails. Just take down the signs.

 

[nadepalma]

^^ Right, it will be a sub-brand housed in Toyota dealerships just like Scion. (Or Chevy-Geo, if you remember that.)

That makes it cheap to shut down if the experiment fails. Just take down the signs.

Yes, that is their aim. But again, it makes me wonder if they should do the same with Saturn or something to gain more attention and trade on an established name.

However, who knows if GM could do/would do something similar with the Volt. Since the Volt is coming in a Sedan thus far, could there be a crossover or wagon at some point?

Will be interesting to see how this pans out.

 

[FStephenMasek]

Why can't people even pronounce it the way it is spelled. The say "preus", but it is spelled "Prius?"

As a car, it is pathetic, the only good feature being the hatchback design.

 

[Chaz_23]

If nothing else, this is great marketing at the right time. While GM is stopping R&D on everything and is ready to sell its mother for a buck and get in bed with whomever it needs to for another buck, Toyota comes up with more great green solutions to save the universe.