One Million Toyota Prius (Prii?)
05/20/2008 @ 6:00 pm
Toyota recently became the world’s leading car maker and the Associated Press is reporting that last month it surpassed 1,000,000 gas-electric hybrid Prius sold (I looked it up, Toyota says the plural of Prius is Prius).
- The Prius first went on sale in 1997.
- It’s sold in 40 countries and regions.
- 592,000 were sold in North America and 315,000 in Japan.
- The latest model gets 48 miles per gallon (20 km per liter) in city driving and 45 miles per gallon (19 km per liter) in highway driving.
Before I started riding the trains here, I drove a Honda Insight in the U.S. and loved it. Unfortunately, it was discontinued because the 2-seater was too small to be practical for most people. Nevertheless, I’m glad that Japanese automakers are taking the lead on greener cars since the U.S. surely isn’t.
I’m in the US. I test drove the Prius. I didn’t like it. It wasn’t that stable cornering at high speeds and the interior is way to loaded with electronic gadgets. I don’t need a camera to show what’s behind me when I back up. Nature gave me a neck and eyes. I am buying a Honda Civic Hybrid. Great looking car, good fuel efficiency (40 city, 45 highway) and it looks and drives like a normal car. Kudo’s the the Japanese for bringing Hybrids the the US market. My Honda Hybrid is made in Japan.
May 20th, 2008 at 10:10 pm..so i guess, the “The Prius (wasn’t) Right” - for you Mr. T ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLv3WrRmfsQ
rem.
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:54 am“…since the US isn’t.”
Ahem. http://www.aptera.com.
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:25 pmExactly how many apteras have been *sold* by U.S. automakers or even manufactured? What laws have been passed by the U.S. which have shown leadership on fuel economy? Sorry, U.S. industry and the U.S. government do not lead on this issue and in fact the opposite is true. Japan is out in front. The proof is out on the roads of the U.S. and Japan. The Prius was started in 1997 - over 10 years ago!
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:33 pmhey! a light bulb moment!..why don’t we find out what JC and Billy Bob’s thoughts are on the vehicle in question.
(and it’s not “our” JC aka overoften, but the “other” chap)
http://jalopnik.com/cars/clips/classic-top-gear-jeremy-clarkson-and-billy-bob-take-on-the-toyota-prius-216310.php
remora
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:49 pmToo funny remora. I checked out both the video’s. The guy from the price is right looked like he was dancing like a hill-billy! Billy Bob, what can I say but I can’t wait to park my Honda Hybrid in his parkeing space. I ordered the bullet proof version!
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:36 pmThat’s the spirit Mr. T..and once again thanks Brian for posting a topic that most readers can relate to in some way…”The Automobile”.
*I don’t know much about Japanese Politics (heck! whats to know?)
*I don’t know an awful lot about anime & manga (except that I’m the poor sap that has shell out for the stuff to keep my boys happy).
*Food?..well let’s face it Japan isn’t exactly Haute Cuisine Central now is it?..even my wife who is a good cook and a hard-core Gunma Inakajin when given the opportunity opts for Italian,French and Chinese as she did on a recent vacation (Ramen?..you must be kidding!)
*Fashion - well I’m at that age where anything on the more conservative side of GQ or Vanity Fair is just dandy with me (Uniqlo as well).
*Music? I have to confess that I’m quite partial to Enka its good driving music - Billy Bob would probably like it as well - it has strong similarities to American C&W…
*Sport?..well I have to learn about Baseball because of my kids (I’m trying).
to sum up - “The Car!” the great necessary evil - love it or loathe it, you can’t do without it.
p.s.
*I like trains a lot too Brian, so if….*
thankyou
remora
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:42 am