The always-reliable About.com has this hot automotive scoop today: Toyota announces non-hybrid Prius V6
From the article:
“Our research shows that many people buy a Prius because they want to project the image of being environmentally friendly,” says a Toyota spokesperson. “The Prius V6 bestows the same ‘green chic’ while delivering the performance and acceleration of a conventional mid-size sedan.”
This could have significant ramifications.
Discuss.
0 responses to “Toyota Prius to go Non-Hybrid”
I want a 400 hp version.
“EPA fuel economy estimates for the Prius V6 will be 17 MPG city/25 MPG highway, compared to 48 city/45 highway for the Prius hybrid.”
Okay, that is just pathetic. The actual Prius race car does far better than that.
I’ll be the first to suggest this is an April Fool’s joke. That last quote in the article alone sounds too unprofessional to have ever come out of any company spokesperson’s mouth. And HY6RID? This has “gag” written all over it.
Totally an April Fool’s joke. ^_^
For those concerned about what the V6 Prius will do for Toyota’s CAFE rating (corporate average fuel economy), don’t worry. The new Toyota Tundra Crew Max pickup now comes equipped with a 1.5L 4CYL Atkinson cycle engine, which will make up for the MPG difference.
Perhaps we should fact check before we post? Or are you in on the joke?
Trace –
Of course I fact-checked the article. See my comment (#4) in the original article if you have any doubts. I can assure you this has been thoroughly checked in advance of publication here, and it’s just as valid now as it was when I first researched it.
I just read a few days ago –it’s in Popular Mechanics–that Volvo is working on a 160 mpg hybrid. And this is why I don’t think we need to go pell mell into super expensive rail transit systems. Cost effective ones, yes—but I am not in a hysterical panic for just any rail transit system. I told METRO personnel at an open house on the CRC almost two years ago that we are never going to get people out of private autos. Not as a huge trend anyway, although I hope there is considerable progress.
There are so many high efficiency projects in the works—I think the personal vehicle is still here to stay. But I do hope we can solve the congestion problem w/o expensive highway projects.
Different strokes for different folks. One size does not fit all. A diversity of car and truck choices is good for the economy. A V6 Prius may be an April fools joke, but it is not as far fetched as the transport mafia dictators who expect everybody should ride a bike, use transit or even drive a hybrid.
transport mafia dictators
LOL, Terry, thanks for the April 1 self-parody. :-)
You’re right – one size does not fit all and a good selection of car and truck choices, as well as bike, transit and ped options is good for the economy.
“I just read a few days ago –it’s in Popular Mechanics–that Volvo is working on a 160 mpg hybrid.”
Auto companies are always working on something like that. Some of it is real research, the things they find out from trying to make a very high mileage car can sometimes carry over to their other models, but a lot of it is simply hype: If they tell the media that they are working on this thing, then the public (and therefor congress) are less likely to regulate them into actually doing it…
I think it is very informative to notice how much money the car companies spent fighting the new mileage standards: If any company was actually close to mass producing cars that ran on hydrogen, or 160 mpg, or whatever, then they’d be lobbying for higher standards because those standards would put them at a competitive advantage over the other automakers who were not close to mass producing those cars…
Here’s a modified Prius which hybridizes both impulse and warp drive technologies:
The Enterprius
Add a flux capacitor and I’d buy one. :)
Add a flux capacitor and I’d buy one. :)
Sold.
The official semi-resurrected Delorean motor company web site actually listed one for sale in early 2007, but it’s no longer on their web site and the Internet Wayback Machine is broken tonight. :-(
It’s officially true. You can buy ANYTHING on the Interwebs!
Morgan Auto Research of Sheboigan Illinois predicts the non-hybrid version Prius will have an increased potential for accidents. “Drivers will want to ‘floor’ them, rather than soft pedal them as many Prius hybrid owners do to save on gasoline. It’s fun to race cars until you hit a tree,” said Morgan analyst Charles Hayburton Killifurthwaddle.
Charles Hayburton Killifurthwaddle is a well-known hack and a fraud. I’m surprised you even mentioned him in this discussion, given his track record. It seems that some people like to drag his intellectual carcass out once each year to counter some this-or-that claim, and then put him away again until the following spring.
http://www.crystalair.com/content.php?id=31200803013
Ron, re the CRC,
you don’t have to get everyone out of their cars, just the 20% or so who want to but can’t because there is no MAX line and no HOV lanes. Add a couple of local arterial lanes and decent bike lanes and you get another 10% off I-5. Problem fixed.
Lenny; that looks good in theory but it is highly doubtful that 20% don’t “want” to drive but are forced to because of lack of transit.
Ctran has a highly successful express bus system that pays for itself with premium fares. Light rail would only serve to replace those lines with a slower moving trolley that stops at every stop. If there are people who don’t want to drive, they would already be on those buses.
Bikes? Your kidding, right? There is already a sidewalk on the Interstate bridge that can be used for bicycles. Don’t expect to see more with a capacity increase. “If you build it, they will come” doesn’t work like that.
HOV lanes? Maybe if we had a real HOV system that added capacity [not steal a lane during the peak periods]. That would mean a 4th or 5th lane on I-5, with restricted on/off ramps at key locations and flyovers to similar HOV lanes on our other freeways. Trimet and METRO already said it would be impossible to get federal funding for such a project since the lanes would parallel existing MAX lines.