Third generation Prius will be unveiled at the January 2009 at the Detroit Motor Show.
Earlier we have already seen a first sneak peek of the Prius. It is now confirmed that the image was released by TMS (Toyota Motor Sales, USA) marketing boys to PriusChat forums.
A second teaser image has been released as earlier this week, it's nothing much and your guess is as good as mine as to does this button do?
Good thing that no further teaser is required, now that another PriusChat user posted some supposedly "leaked" images of the third generation Prius. Unlike the first two teaser images, these did not originate from Toyota, not officially at least. But do I smell some one-upmanship after Honda revealed its uber-cool Insight 2?
Don't you think it's a bit Scion TC-ish at the front?
I believe the "SOS" function will only be available at USA / Europe / Japan where the necessary infrastructure to support vehicle telematics services are available.
More higher res images are available at PriusChat.
Update : These images have been confirmed by Toyota to be the real thing.
We thought we’d take a moment to confirm that the car shown in theseEarlier, this blog have mentioned that the Prius nameplate will be a sub-brand within the Toyota group. But now with more details coming in, it seems that this will only happen in USA / North American markets. The idea of a Prius branded range of models is floated by Toyota's American subsidiary Toyota Motor Sales. The idea is still currently being considered by the principal company TMC. At least a 3-model line-up is being proposed - the standard "Prius-Prius" you see here, a smaller than the "standard" Prius model (how much difference / better can it be from the iQ?), and another larger higher performance "Prius on steroids" that is speculated to wear a crossover type body. But I am also hearing a different story from other news sources saying that the crossover hybrid will be an exclusive Lexus only model, sitting below the next generation RX (450h), which will also be unveiled by 2009. All these doubts should clear up by January 2009 as the Lexus brand specific crossover hybrid will be launched together with the 3rd generation Prius.
unauthorized photos – at least the ones we’ve seen so far - is indeed the new
Prius.
Sorry, we’re not able to provide details. Those will be forthcoming
when the car is formally introduced at the North American International Auto
Show in Detroit in January.
What we can tell you, however, is this: This new
Prius will retain all of the virtues of the model that precedes it. It’s about
the same size as its forebear, but with more interior room and better fuel
economy. But you expected nothing less, right?
Tune in January 11-13 for more
information.
- Jon F. Thompson, Editor, Open Road
More about HSD here.There is a logic behind TMS' initiative. Thus far Prius have overshadowed all of Toyota's other hybrid models, which is not really a bad thing. But when Toyota embarked on its hybrid model expansion plan around the world, the idea was to unify all Toyota hybrid models under the Hybrid Synergy Drive umbrella (Lexus has Lexus Hybrid Drive). All its current marketing plans are structured and budgeted along that line. But despite Toyota's best efforts to push the HSD brand, consumers have not associate hybrids with HSD the way Toyota wants it. Instead they associated it with Prius. Sales of Toyota's other hybrid models are also nowhere near as good as the Prius, proving a long held believe that people buy hybrids for image reasons as much as it is for fuel economy. Having a distinctive bodystyle is crucial, which is also why Honda's Civic Hybrid never really caught on.
Image from GoAuto.This is also a reason why I have some nagging doubts as to how well will the Camry Hybrid will catch on in Australia and Thailand without any serious discounting or incentives, either from the government or Toyota dealers. Toyota went ahead after being aggressively wooed by the Thai and Australian government, but will consumers catch on? It is easy for Toyota to roll back on its plan as all of the hybrid components are shipped in from Japan, thus there is minimal local investments and tooling redesigns to commit to. Excess allocation can be easily diverted to other markets. But its not so easy for governments to explain the results of their policies.
But back to the HSD plan, promoting the Prius nameplate as a sub-brand is just a reaction to consumer habits, a wise decision I must say. The Prius will be built in Japan's Tsutsumi plant, China's Changchun plant and by 2010 Mississippi plant in USA. Prius will face-off with Honda's recently unveiled sub-zero cool Insight 2 and Chevy's highly anticipated "Prius-killer" Volt. Honda promises the Insight 2 to be among the most affordable hybrid in the market, and it will form the core of a 3-model assault which will also include the Jazz hybrid and CR-Z. GM unveiled the Volt at its 100th anniversary celebration and is banking on the Volt to ensure GM's survival over the next decade. The Volt has been confirmed by GM to go on sale in Europe under the Opel badge and also in Australia under the Holden badge.
Unconfirmed rumours is hinting that the Prius will be making its way to Malaysia by 2009, possibly during the 2009 KL International Motor Show.
Related link :
Honda Insight 2
2 comments:
Know you are a big fan of Hybrid cars, but there are reports that says that in a long run electric cars will cause more environmental harm. Mostly deal to the matirials that they use to create the batteries.
Besides, I also just got to read a report in Forbes that they are running low on the some stones to make the chemical for it. And about 90% of them are in China. With political and economical reason, china is not letting big cars makers in to get it. There are a small group is also worry that mining all these stones will cause hugh eco change on the area.
Just some thoughs to consider besides Co2 in the world.....
Of course you are right.
I have also mention before that no hybrids or electrics or even diesels for that matter are the solution.
The solution cannot come from car companies. Many of these fancy batteries require rare earth metals to manufacture.
Sustainable change has to come from people redesigning society and how we consume things.
But having said that, I also know that there are many dubious reports on such matters, especially one very popular one stating that Hummer is more eco-friendly than a Prius - that report has been rubbished by academics many times over to be based on poor research.
Drilling of oil and disposal of petroleum based waste is just as based as mining for rare metals. But proponents argue that batteries are easier to recycle. The debate continues.
Me? I am a believer if you really want to make a do your part - get a bike, walk, take the bus, train, etc.
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