Images courtesy of MotorAuthority
Looking at the set of pics, it doesn't seem to be very much different from the current car. In fact, I have some doubt as to is this even the real thing? But come to think about, maybe it shouldn't be that much of a surprise if the 3rd generation Prius will retain much of its current styling.
One of the main reasons why people buy a Prius is because of its quirky, distinctive design, which appeals greatly to greenies who are keen to shout their "green" lifestyle.
Moreover, Toyota's growing pains of becoming the world's largest automaker have been widely documented. It is suffering from a critical shortage of manpower and its highly touted product quality have taken quite a bit of beating lately - with the automaker having the largest number of recalls (by both volume and percentage of sales) in Japan.
Three cases of karoshi (Japanese for working to death. Yes they actually have a word for that. Says a lot about their messed up culture...) among Toyota staffs have been reported by the media. Among the three is the chief engineer of Camry hybrid, who died of heart attack.
Its high-profile launch of the Tundra truck in USA have been setback by multiple recalls - including a possible camshaft failure that could cause serious engine damage and a rear propeller shaft problem that could cause the entire assembly to seperate.
So I won't be surprised if exterior design matters have been put in the backseat, as Toyota had to focus its resources into developing the next generation of hybrid powertrain, including a plug-in hybrid version (to be introduced by 2011 onwards).
Moreover, looking at the current Corolla, it too took a very conservative design direction with relatively minimal changes from the previous model.
Also, there is a good possibility that the next gen Prius will be finally made available officially in ASEAN countries. Currently only Singapore's Borneo Motors sells the vehicle officially, while Thai parallel importers have been selling the Prius along with other Previa / Estima and Alphard hybrids. The Malaysian government too have made some announcements in recent days regarding proposal for special tax incentives for hybrid vehicles in Malaysia. But I shall not keep my hopes too high for Malaysia as Malaysian ministers have an amazing ability to make a fool out of themselves in announcing their ignorance of the automotive industry.
Today, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi urged Proton to introduce hybrid Proton models. He thinks that anybody can build a hybrid car. Including one like Proton, who till today is barely able to design their own engine and transmission from scratch. For the record even companies like Ford and Nissan has to license its hybrid technology from Toyota, albeit more for cost(Nissan) and legal (Ford) issues but nonetheless it just shows how difficult it is to roll out hybrid vehicles.
Image from AutoBlogGreen
Technically, Proton's subsidiary Lotus Engineering does have the capability to design hybrid vehicles, as shown in their Gen2 EVE prototype in the 2007 Geneva Motor Show, featuring a strong/full hybrid powertrain. However the intention was to sell Lotus engineering consulting services to other manufacturers rather than for actual sales of a hybrid vehicle. Building the actual car is an entirely different matter which till today only Toyota is able to do it at a profit. Not even Honda or GM is able to pull it off smoothly.
Related post
More details of next gen Prius
Next Prius to have solar panels
UMW Toyota displays Prius at IPTC
1 comments:
"Says a lot about their messed up culture..."
Xenophobic little prick.
Post a Comment