Toyota Breaks One Million Mark with Prius Sales

WmHPowell

Fri May 16 19:42:27 -0700 2008

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Gee... A MILLION of them?
Guess I need to trade #3 in on an SUV! :-)

Not really,
Bill Powell "HALFGAS"

multiples

zogger

Sat May 17 09:09:20 -0700 2008

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I was looking at the used market for priuses after I did this post and man they hold their resale value, ain't no cheap ones out there yet short of total wrecks and by *cheap* I mean just looking at rides in general you can go out any day of the week and find a completely functional car or truck for a grand (used to be hundred bucks when I first was driving). Not any of the hybrids though, not yet anyway, 5 grand seems around the cheapest for anything functional, with 10 to over 20 grand being a normal used price. I was also looking at reliability, they seem to work really well until they don't, then you get nailed on some pretty expensive costs, like the parts are made out of platinum coated unobtanium. Have you had much problems with any of yours?

multiples

TykeClone

Sat May 17 10:35:45 -0700 2008

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most hybrids on the road aren't old enough to be in that price range yet.  There aren't many other cars or trucks (that are serviceable) of the same age range that would be in that price range either.

multiples

WmHPowell

Sat May 17 10:44:52 -0700 2008

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Zog,

On my 3rd Prius and, outside of tires and "consumables" I have had absolutely NO problems except those caused by me. I drive w/ lights on and when normally shutting down and exiting, opening the driver's door shuts off the lights. Not true though if you reach thru the driver window to turn it off OR exit via the passenger door: the lights stay on and you flat the small 12V battery. As the kids say: "my bad".
Oil, Filters and gas - that's it.

My 04 is at 90k and ready for typical maintenance: belt, hoses, coolant and the like.

Re: "platinum coated unobtanium", I haven't seen that unlike my spark coil and oxygen sensor eating Furd. Or my Isuzu Impulse where ANYTHING other than wiper blades went for $400 (fuel pump, mirror...)

I'm in a bit of a quandry... Buy an 08 Hylander Hybrid or wait for the one or more 09 "mystery" Prius models.

Bp

problems...

mengel

Mon May 19 08:37:55 -0700 2008

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My dad has a problem with his -- if it sits in the garage for more than a few days, it won't start.  Apparently there is a separate  circuit on a separate small battery  that listens for the "remote"/"smart key" circuitry, and that battery runs down.   He's since discovered what fuse to pull in the car so this won't happen; but it's really annoying.

Otherwise, he loves the car.

An electric car?

Keith

Fri May 16 20:42:30 -0700 2008

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An affordable electric car... we will never see it. A company like say Ford for example could never buy a company with an electic car, pump millions into it, develop a realistic model, and then sell it for nothing.... That would be crazy. US auto makers should stick to SUVs.... that is what people really want.

http://www.think.no/

 

domestic production

zogger

Sat May 17 09:25:18 -0700 2008

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I was meaning domestic production in *huge mass quantities* like a million units a year, something normal like that, even if it only offered flooded lead acid for the cheapest battery pack option. Not limited edition small quantities only available in three of the largest cities along with your fiber to the premises net connection. I "think" pun intended that is a nice car, but it's not the same as when comparing it to say joe blow normal ford chevy whatever commuter cars sitting on all the lots right now. My best guess is the chinese and indians are going to prevail there over the next few years based on cost and their willingness to take smaller profits and develop new markets and make their money on volume sales to poorer folks. You can right now buy any number of electrics in the US, all of them cost plenty and most of them have a long time on a waiting list for a very limited production run vehicle. I really meant something other than that, the "model T" electric car for the masses vehicle. And my guess is it won't be any of the majors, it will be a combo of the chinese and indians duking it out with that market, because the majors just can *not* make cheap cars any more, it is decades past that marketing and engineering mindset. For example, you can't get wing vent windows and decent floor and top of the windshield vents, all you can get is AC that craps out one nanosecond after the warranty runs out, then costs at least a thousand bucks to fix... stuff like that.

domestic production

Keith

Mon May 19 20:14:58 -0700 2008

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I am with you.

I was being sarcastic (and getting a dig in at Ford). I won't be a think buyer, but if it cost 10k less, or was able to get over Sepulveda pass at 60 mph, then I would be a buyer.

An electric car?

President4242

Sat May 17 13:08:36 -0700 2008

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US auto makers should stick to SUVs.... that is what people really want.

Only those with IQs less than 110 who can't see the writing on the wall.

Then again, by the very definition of IQ, that's most of the population.

Which means those of us who want a simple little commuter roundabout- one that is single passenger, has good cargo space, can park 6 to a standard sized parking space, is electric, and can handle the 80MPH you need to hit on the freeway sometimes, and has enough LI-Ion batteries for a 200 mile maximum daily commute (IE, sufficient for 99% of the personal passenger vehicles on the road), are out of luck EVEN THOUGH THIS IS WELL WITHIN MODERN TECHNOLOGY.

 

An electric car?

TykeClone

Sat May 17 14:01:53 -0700 2008

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Except for the electric part, I think you call such vehicles "motorcycles"

An electric car?

President4242

Sat May 17 18:52:59 -0700 2008

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Well, actually, the one company I know of that imports them from a Chinese manufacturer DOES call them motorcycles, despite having 4 wheels and a rollcage and protection from the elements.

Nobody wants a large number of people coming into a fancy office wet....