the Prius owners group

Bloomberg, wrong again

Bloomberg hears from, “two people familiar with the plan” that Toyota is considering producing the Prius at the Nummi plant near Oakland, California. This rumor pops up about once a year and with the added flavor of GM’s bankruptcy (Nummi is joint venture between Toyota and GM currently producing the Vibe which, not coincidentally, is scheduled to end production next year) is especially appealing to hungry news organs. I don’t have any inside information other than I’ll take Toyota at their word that they will build the Prius at the Mississippi plant once sales merit.

And then oops, via Reuters this morning comes an official denial from Toyota that they are considering building the Prius at Nummi.

So much for Bloomberg.

And the right answer is

Not necesarily from Joanthan Welsh’s WSJ column…

Q: I was interested in buying a 2010 Toyota Prius, but was surprised that they didn’t put the new lithium-ion battery in it. It was rumored to get close to 70 miles per gallon, as opposed to the 50 mpg the current version gets. Is it worth waiting another year for the new battery?

—Jim Nemetz, Newton, Mass.
A: You may as well buy a 2009 Prius instead of shelling out more for a new model. Frankly, after test-driving a 2010 Prius for the past few days, I haven’t found the latest model’s fuel economy to be significantly better.

I had also heard about a lithium-ion powered Prius that delivered much better mileage coming to market soon, as well as a plug-in version able to travel longer distances on electric power alone. The good news: Toyota plans to test a plug-in Prius with a lithium battery in municipal fleets later this year. The bad news: Toyota says it has no immediate plans to sell these cars or any with lithium batteries to the public.

My response: First and foremost, don’t base important buying decisions on rumors. Second, there will always be something better coming down the pike, as it were. Waiting will almost always get something better than what you can buy right now. So how long do you really want to wait? What are you willing to pay for this upcoming (things seldom get cheaper)?

As for Welsh’s advice, buying a 2009 isn’t a bad call. There are incentives on the vehicle and it’s a great deal. That said, the 2010 is, in my opinion, worth the waiting list and worth a few extra bucks. As I said, that’s my call and it may not be true for someone else.

NOT going on eBay

But I have the oldest Toyota Prius made. Check out “My Toyota” page…

I have to think this car is worth millions.

Fire Prius

I want a bright red Prius with a Fire Company logo on the side…

JASON CLARK / Courier &amp

From the Courier-Press article…

Assistant Chief Charlie Mangold said the vehicles — the first hybrids the department purchased — have been resounding successes so far. There have been no maintenance issues, and the fuel savings compared to what the agency would have paid with the Crown Victorias have exceeded expectations.

“We thought if we double it we would be happy, triple it even more so,” Mangold said. “Now it’s right at four times what we were getting. That’s a substantial savings.”

The Priuses have been so successful that Mangold said the department likely will consider buying hybrids — or a very fuel-efficient alternative — the next time part of the administrative fleet is replaced.

Quote of the week

From Quentin Wilson of the Mirror…

Drove the latest Toyota Prius and can report that it’s now the best family hybrid bar none.

Well said, I couldn’t agree more.

People want this car

The NYT reports that while the industry in general continues to slide, the Prius has breathed life back into the production plants at Toyota.

Go read the article to read if you wish but I’ll admit it, this was just a cheap reason to post these pictures of Akihiko Otsuka, the Chief (Chief Engineer of the Prius).

This one from the NYT story…

Shizuo Kambayashi/Associated Press

And this one…

The Chief and I at the 2010 Prius rollout earlier this year.

Bringing teh stoopid

Check out these choice quotes from John Helig of the Auto Page in his review of the Ford Fusion. Apparently, the coolest thing about the Fusion is, it doesn’t look like the Prius. Mission accomplished Ford!

Toyota’s Prius is, arguably, the most successful hybrid. But it, too, looks slightly strange. You know one when you see one, and the owners all have these smug looks on their faces as if to say “I’m special. Look what I’m doing for the environment.” The fact that one-passenger Priuses can go in HOV-2 lanes doesn’t hurt either.

“Arguably”? It is. There’s really no question on this. The sales figures are pretty simple here. As Jim Rome says, “scoreboard”.

And the whole, tired South Park dig, just tired.

The Prius is good for 35-40 mpg in normal driving, but the rear seat is still compact-car size, which isn’t fun for senior citizens.

One has to wonder if Helig has ever driven or been in a Prius. The Prius isn’t a “compact” car by any rational standards and the back seat certainly isn’t small for most senior citizens, at least senior citizens under seven feet tall and 600 pounds.

But there are those of us who aren’t looking for sainthood and expecting “normal car” drivers to bow down to us as we pass. While we appreciate the virtues of hybrids, we don’t necessarily like the sacrifices we’re asked to make.

Yeah, I was thinking about this yesterday as I was driving down the road, sunroof open, relaxing in my leather seats, blasting the stereo. Wow, the sacrifices I have to make just to make a cheap grab for sainthood. Well, enough of that woolgathering. Now it’s time to practice my intimidating smug face.

In the end, I think it’s funny that the first three paragraphs of a review on the Ford Fusion are a diatribe aimed at the most popular hybrid in the world and on its owners. Good luck with that appraoch Mr. Helig. I’ll GM’s PR department has a position just waiting for you with mad skillz like that.

Your old-school, mainstream media, still mostly wrong

Warren Brown, auto columnist for the Washington Post had one of their regular online chats. Here is one particularly stupid excerpt from that chat.

As part of an answer where Brown “clarified” a response from Bob Lutz on American cars not being as competitive as some Asian and European cars, Brown blurted this out at the end.

Ford’s Fusion Hybrid beats the wheels off both the Toyota Prius and Camry hybrids. Don’t believe me? Take a few comparison test drives.

In what sense “beats the pants off”? Not in sales. Not in MPG. Not in reliability. Does the Fusion go faster? Maybe Brown thinks the Fusion is nicer looking? Maybe it’s something else? Maybe.

So I wonder if Bob Lutz is going to return the favor to Mr. Brown and possibly clarify this rather vapid statement from Brown?

I don’t think so either.

I wonder why WaPo circulation continues to decline?

boosting the green

Business Week reports on how Japanese rebates/subsidies and credits are encouraging consumers to move to more green products.

Wanna buy some extra boom?

I am selling my Kenwood stealth subwoofer from my old Prius featuring in this installation and review feature.

I’m asking $100 plus shipping charges.

If you want to know all the specs, click this link and scroll to the bottom. This was used in my 2005 Prius since May of 2005. It is in excellent condition and should provide years more of thump from the trunk.

Drop me a line at member@priusownersgroup.com if you’re interested.

The 2010’s are here

I picked up my new 2010 Prius on Wednesday night. I’ll have my first impressions and lots of photos next week. It hasn’t stopped raining here since we got it (which doesn’t make for nice photographs) and in truth I’ve only had one chance to drive it.

Impressions from one, all too brief, 14 miles drive, it’s tighter, more comfortable, better looking and more efficient in a less discernible way than my much loved 2005 model. And the sunroof, well, once it stops raining I’ll tell you how cool that is.

There are reports from some dealers in California that they have 2010’s on the lot. I know my dealer here in PA has none yet and most of the 2010’s they on order are already sold. I would guess that you might see some brief lot appearances of the 2010 on dealer lots around the end of the month.

GM kills Malibu hybrid

Mild hybrid dies quiet death in bankrupt company. No film at eleven.

But if you want to read more about it, go here.