I live in the greater Cleveland area. I first contacted a couple of the larger dealers (Metro and Sunnyside) and the estimated wait time I was given was 6 mos to 18 mos! So then, I contacted a smaller dealership in Sandusky. They estimated about 3-4 months. So, on October 25th I gave them a deposit of $1,000 and figured that I would have my car sometime before Spring '05. Imagine my surprise when my salesperson called me on December 2nd and told me that they had a Salsa Red Prius with Package #6 (Nav System, Bluetooth, etc)and if I wanted it, it was mine. I was actually the 3rd person on the waiting list, but the other two ahead of me did not want this package. I was elated. It was exactly what I would have "ordered". I paid MSRP for the car. So instead of waiting months, I actually got my car in 36 days.
Up here in Northern California (SF Bay Area) we've had rain almost everyday since Xmas Eve and expecting another week. I've driven through a few puddles but I don't think I'd want to ford through anything deeper than 6 inches. I agree that with as many electronics and batteries on the Prius a major problem could occur. What's going to happen with the Escape hybrid? Are people thinking they can do in such an SUV what they would attempt with a Land Rover or a Jeep?
I got passed up by a Hummer the other day and he gave me a dirty look as he went by.
rpgolfer, nice to meet someone from SFBay here. I just got my Tideland Prius on 12/7. I also own a BMW 540iA as a second car so I know what a performance sedan is all about. I could run circle around a Hummer in my bimmer, but in my Prius, I just enjoy driving at speed limit on right-most lane. Both are fun cars, just different sort of fun.
BTW, I got mine at $100 off MSRP at Piercey Toyota with 7 weeks of wait.
I was told by the fleet manager of the dealer I got my Prius from that Toyota makes more loaded Priuses (Prii) than stripped ones. Therefore, if you order a loaded Prius the wait is much shorter. Of course, there are less people that want loaded Priuses (Prii).
Why Toyota do that? My guess is that by selling loaded Priuses (Prii), they can make more money from the options. Toyota is barely profitable with every Prius they sell depending on how you write off the $1B R&D cost they spent on the HSD technology.
I live in CoCo County. I got my Driftwood Pearl back in Feb '04. I've got the Pkg 9 with almost 10k miles on it. I've got to check my owner's manual to see what maint I will soon be needing. I'm currently getting low 40's mpg and was just wondering if it's just cold winter driving with lots of heater/defroster usage.
My first tank was 45.9mpg. My second is on going. I am consistently getting 50-54mpg going to work in the morning and 44-47mpg going back home (at 300ft elevation foothill) and lights on in the evening. My wife are I switch cars quite often though.
I discovered that the first 5 minutes is the most inefficient for Prius. If your commute is short, then, you mileage would be in the low 40s or even below 40s. If you drive like most in SF Bay Area (70+mph) on highway, the mpg would drop below 45 also. It is most efficient when driving near speed limit on highway.
Consumer Reports Dec. 2002 issue rated Honda Civic Hybrid a hair above Prius because of more rooms. If you go to the Honda Civic Hybrid Price Paid forum, you will find that buyers are paying below MSRP. Unless Prius has something far superior than Honda, we should not get into Prius waiting lists to force them to sell cars below MSRP. Currently Toyota is increasing the production of Prius and by June 2005 Toyota dealers may end up selling Prius below MSRP.
"Consumer Reports Dec. 2002 issue rated Honda Civic Hybrid a hair above Prius because of more rooms."
The 2002 Prius is a very different animal from the 2004 Prius. CR reviews the 04 also and ranks it well above the HCH and just below the CamCords in the Family Sedan class.
I'm retired so commuting isn't an option any more. My trips usually are 15 mins in duration except for freeway travel. I drive 65 mph max on the freeway. I need to check my tire pressures. I use conventional motor oil, changing every 3k miles. I live around a fair amount of hills and I don't make any "jack rabbit" accelerations. During the summer I was getting 50 mpg on the freeway, so I'm sure it'll improve. Anybody got any suggestions?
How good is this site? Actually I think it is very beneficial and the why for that is because I learned many things about this most inovative car.
Just recently I took my 04 Prius in for some recall items (Brake lt.Fueltank filler and a computer gizzmo that also fixes the fuel sys.too)
Had I not had the TSB's that were made available thru this site I would not have gotten the speedy results that I did. Again "THANKS" to our Prius Family!
Culliganman (somehow my Prius isn't as important as the tragic events that are going on in Indonesia)
I picked up my 2005 Prius in driftwood pearl with the AI package Dec. 13th. So far, in the first 600 miles, I have averaged about 48 to 50 MPG. Car performs very well in snow and wet weather. Here in Connecticut we've had temperatures in the teens and single figures and some really rotten weather. Had no problems starting. Heater works well but takes a little longer to reach temperature. The car is quiet, smooth riding and a joy to drive. So far everything is working perfectly.
Have any of you Prius owners ever been on an extended vacation or work overseas? If so, then is there any precaution that needs to be taken regarding the battery pack? I am asking this question because my father will get his 05 Prius in about two weeks and he will be leaving for Europe in April for about 4 weeks.
Have him check with the dealer. One poster ruined his main NiMH battery by leaving it sit for 2 weeks. I think there is a bulletin on that very subject.
I know one thing to remember (and it is in the manual in case your father will have no time to read it before he leaves).
IF the Prius will come with smart entry, remember to turn it off (there is a switch under the steering column). It sucks power even though very slowly. The sensor is constantly scanning for response.
quote gagrice-"One poster ruined his main NiMH battery by leaving it sit for 2 weeks. I think there is a bulletin on that very subject."-end quote
No, Gary, he did not RUIN it by letting it sit for two weeks ! ( Where do you get this stuff ??!?!? )
What happened to the man you are talking about is that his battery DISCHARGED after sitting in the garage for two weeks. Nothing abnormal about that - unused batteries of all types lose charge when unused.
Two days ago, my HCH batttery was down to under 10% charge. If I had sat it in a garage for two weeks unused, that 10% would have run down to 0% and I would have had to drive the car to recharge the battery. It would not have "ruined" the battery !!!
It was right here on Edmund's. Either the Prius had set at home too long or on the showroom floor too long and the NiMH battery had discharged and had to be replaced. It was not a big deal as that is one thing that is warranted for a long time. On the Prius you cannot start the car if the NiMH battery is run down. The Aux battery is just for incidentals not starting. So if your main battery is dead how do you get the car started to recharge the battery?
I remember the post of the guy that had his battery discharge after leaving it parked for two weeks, but I do not remember the fact that he had to have it replaced because of that. That would be completely ridiculous if a battery had to be replaced ONLY because it was fully discharged - if that were true, then it seems like Prius batteries would be getting replaced ALL the time, which we know is not the case.
The guy that went on vacation I think they towed him in and recharged his battery. This was a different guy that bought the Prius and the battery would not hold a charge. They replaced it and said that it probably sat on the showroom too long. It may have been an earlier Prius.
Leaving a conventional car undriven for up to a couple of months is usually not a matter of much concern. The worst that can happen is that you come back to a flat battery and have to jump start the car. You need to be a bit more careful with the Prius, for reasons I'll explain below. I have personally left my Prius undriven for two weeks and it started right up. You could therefore consider two weeks or less to be safe and not worth any precautions at all. Others have left their cars for a little longer, also with no problems.
For longer periods, say over the winter or during an extended absence, as with any car you should either know exactly what you are doing or seek professional help. For example, it is not a good idea to leave gasoline in a car for many months as it changes chemically and can leave deposits in the fuel system. You should remove the fuel before storage or treat the fuel and leave the tank is almost empty.
Auxiliary Battery Discharge
The first precaution to take with the Prius is to prevent the auxiliary battery from discharging. Unlike in a conventional car, where the 12 volt battery has to supply power to the starter motor, the Prius 12 volt battery has no large power demands and is therefore small and light duty. Its capacity is 28 ampere hours. It can be drained in quite a short time by leaving the interior light on, doors ajar or the cabin fans running when the car is not turned on (Yahoo! group toyota-prius post 19028). It can also be discharged even if all lights and accessories are turned off. The current from the auxiliary battery has been measured and recorded in toyota-prius post 33179. I reproduce the data here:
Right after doors are locked 0.54 amps
After 20 seconds from doors locked 0.075 amps
After an additional minute and indefinitely thereafter Headlight switch ON 0.047 amps
Headlight switch OFF 0.036 amps
Obviously, if you're leaving the car for a while, you want to make sure the headlight switch is OFF. Leaving the switch ON and letting the car turn the lights off itself would be OK for a week or two. 0.036 amps will use up the 28 ampere hours in the battery in 28 / 0.036 = 778 hours, which is 32 days. So, less than a month should be safe, but longer is not.
If you are not going to drive the car for a while, here are some methods for preventing the auxiliary battery from discharging:
* have someone turn the car on every few weeks and let it charge the auxiliary battery back up
* disconnect the auxiliary battery (you will lose your radio presets and the time of day)
* connect a battery tender to the auxiliary battery or, in a pinch, a trickle charger
* connect a solar panel charger to the auxiliary battery
If you don't take these precautions, the worse that can happen is still a discharged battery. You can jump start the Prius in a similar way to other cars (although jump starting another car from a Prius is not recommended). There is no need to run the engine on the other car because of the low power demand. You can also jump start from another battery. See page 167 of the 2001 Owner's Manual for details. Light duty booster cables will work as well as heavy duty jumper cables. The only thing to be aware of is that each time you discharge a lead-acid battery completely, you shorten its life. So, you don't want to let this happen too often.
High Voltage Battery Discharge
The second concern is discharge of the high voltage battery. This will not happen in such a short time as discharge of the auxiliary battery, but if it does happen, it can be more serious trouble. If the state of charge drops below the programmed lower limit for normal operation, the car will not start. It can be persuaded to start by a Toyota technician with the appropriate equipment. He or she may make a house call or you will have to have the car towed to a service facility. By plugging in a tester and pressing some buttons, the car is assured that it is in good hands and will start using whatever power remains in the battery. It will then charge itself back up. Should the charge fall so low that there is not enough to start the car, you will definitely need a tow. The service facility may be able to recharge the battery in the car or may have to remove it to be recharged or even replaced.
The high voltage battery is completely disconnected when the car is turned off at the ignition. No current is drawn from the battery. Unfortunately, nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries have a property called "self-discharge" by which they lose charge even when no power is drawn from them. A figure of 2% per day is often quoted at room temperature for household NiMH batteries, but this may not be correct for the Prius batteries.
Toyota's recommendation, which appeared on their Web site in the FAQ section, is to have the hybrid system started every two months and to let it run for 30 minutes. Of course, you'll have to reconnect the auxiliary battery if you've chosen to disconnect it. You can be more confident that this will work at low temperatures, for example in the winter, since the self-discharge rate is reduced. You might be more cautious at high temperatures, when self discharge increases. I would recommend making sure the battery icon shows no less that three-quarters before you leave the car. If it doesn't, go for a drive and stay out of EV mode."
"If the Prius’ auxiliary battery is discharged,jump-starting can start the hybrid system. Use the jump-starting terminal under the black plastic cover on the driver’s side in the engine compartment. For details, see "JUMP STARTING PROCEDURE" on page 239 of the owner’s manual. "
That means Prius outsells Echo, Matrix, Avalon, Rav4, Highlander, 4Runner, Sequoia, etc.
I don't think so. 2004 Toyota sales, Tundra 112k, Tacoma 153k, Highlander 133k, 4Runner 114k, Sienna 159k, RX300 106k, plus the Camry & Corolla. If they can scrape together enough batteries they may be number 8 or 9 on the Toyota sales charts.
I can give you only a word of mouth report. A friend of mine just wrecked her 04 Prius, a high speed freeway accident that totaled the car. She said the side airbags probably saved her some injuries (she had to be pried out of the car), but aside from being stiff and sore she is ok. Hope this helps answer your question.
Eventually when they have the RX400h, the future GS and some others, then as a whole possibly. Give it a few years. This technology is here to stay. Looks like everyone is getting in on the bandwagon.
Anyone see the 2007 Altima? There will be a hybrid version using the Toyota system. Can't wait!
I am waiting for my 03 Prius to be towed from my garage.It would not start and I had no power at all.What is puzzleing is that I drive the car all the time;it never sits more than a day or two.I have 30,000 miles on it and this is the first time it has failed.I am curious as where the problem lies;my guess is the conventional battery---I will get the answer next week.
I recently tried to drive backwards up a muddy driveway thinking that the engine weight over the drive wheels would give me better traction. I got a few feet, then basically nothing. I pressed a little harder on the "accelerator" and felt nothing. I know that the vehicle operates only on electric in reverse, but has anyone else experienced any similar problems? In "drive", I will still spin with lots of power on this muddy driveway. Could there be a problem?. I have to back up my driveway to the garage and have no problem. Once it quits raining cat and dogs here in the SF Bay Area the ground will dry up.
I remember someone in this forum saying more than a year ago that Ford sold more Explorers in 1 month than the number of Prius sold by Toyota in 1 year .
Things have changed so much that Explorer sales have crashed from around 450,000 to 380,000 now while that of Prius has increased from around 40,000 to nearly 110,000 in 2004.
So now it takes Ford nearly 3 1/2 months to sell what Toyota sells in a year.
Things have changed so much that Explorer sales have crashed from around 450,000 to 380,000 now while that of Prius has increased from around 40,000 to nearly 110,000 in 2004.
The figures I see are the Prius sold 53,990 cars in 2004 and the Explorer sold 339k. I think that Explorer suffered from a much bigger range of choices in 2004. Their reign is over as the best of the midsize SUVs. SUVs as a whole did much better than sedans. They had over 150k unit gain. The Sedan market lost over 200k units from 2003.
The Prius has no competition so it is difficult to gauge it against anything else. I think that figure of 110k units was world wide sales of the Prius.
___The 04 5-Speed Insight weighs only 1,850 #’s w/out A/C and 1,881 #’s with. The CVT variant weighs just 1,975 #’s.
___You have to hand it to Toyota for creating a 2,890 #’er that seats 4 semi-comfortably and can average between 44 and 50 mpg in the real world. That is the Prius II of course
With all the rains here in the LA area, I was wondering how safe my Prius is when "fjording" 8" to 12" of water. I was driving in some pretty deep water and the first concern I had was—will I be the first electrocuted hybrid driver?
Does anyone know how "safe" the Prius regarding the electrical aspects? Thanks in advance!
There are pictures of a Prius that was involved in a 55 mph front end collision (another driver turned in front of them). Both passengers in the Prius walked away with no injuries. I'd post a link, but since it's on a competing message board, they'd delete my post if I did. You can e-mail me for the link if you want to see the photos.
If I have a Prius that will be left undriven for more than 2 weeks, can I recharge the auxiliary battery without driving the car? If yes, how should I turn it on, with or without depressing the brake pedal (at the "ACC" mode or "IG-ON" mode)? Where will the electric power for charging the battery come from - the gas engine or the high voltage battery? Thanks!
regarding the sales of explorers, production is going to be cut in about half, due to the introduction of the freestyle. too much overlap. my sister has a prius. when she came out for xmas she drove a wagon. i'm not thinking there is a big connection between prius sales and explorer sales.
2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
I live in Westchester County, New York & all the dealers in my area were looking for more than MSRP ($2000.00 to $6000.00) & could only get loaded ones, none with few options until the waiting list for loaded ones have gone away. So, I hit the internet & found a Toyota Dealer in Cherry Hill, NJ. About 180 miles away, and through E-mails & phone calls, they allowed me to test drive one before putting any money down, then let me order one the way I wanted it, not fully loaded. They were able to look at the vehicle with the options I wanted, and priced it out then & there. I will pay MSRP for the vehicle, but not a dime more. They have been great to work with.
I have sent E-mails needing additional information on the one I have ordered (heated windshield & heated wiper,signals in side mirrors & What about Nextel Phones & the Blue Tooth {does the 2-way work too}etc.) and they have gotten back to me right away. I am in my third month of my wait, I was told to expect it in April, 2005
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Comments
Up here in Northern California (SF Bay Area) we've had rain almost everyday since Xmas Eve and expecting another week. I've driven through a few puddles but I don't think I'd want to ford through anything deeper than 6 inches. I agree that with as many electronics and batteries on the Prius a major problem could occur. What's going to happen with the Escape hybrid? Are people thinking they can do in such an SUV what they would attempt with a Land Rover or a Jeep?
I got passed up by a Hummer the other day and he gave me a dirty look as he went by.
BTW, I got mine at $100 off MSRP at Piercey Toyota with 7 weeks of wait.
Why Toyota do that? My guess is that by selling loaded Priuses (Prii), they can make more money from the options. Toyota is barely profitable with every Prius they sell depending on how you write off the $1B R&D cost they spent on the HSD technology.
I live in CoCo County. I got my Driftwood Pearl back in Feb '04. I've got the Pkg 9 with almost 10k miles on it. I've got to check my owner's manual to see what maint I will soon be needing. I'm currently getting low 40's mpg and was just wondering if it's just cold winter driving with lots of heater/defroster usage.
Thanks,
Rich
My first tank was 45.9mpg. My second is on going. I am consistently getting 50-54mpg going to work in the morning and 44-47mpg going back home (at 300ft elevation foothill) and lights on in the evening. My wife are I switch cars quite often though.
I discovered that the first 5 minutes is the most inefficient for Prius. If your commute is short, then, you mileage would be in the low 40s or even below 40s. If you drive like most in SF Bay Area (70+mph) on highway, the mpg would drop below 45 also. It is most efficient when driving near speed limit on highway.
The 2002 Prius is a very different animal from the 2004 Prius. CR reviews the 04 also and ranks it well above the HCH and just below the CamCords in the Family Sedan class.
I'm retired so commuting isn't an option any more. My trips usually are 15 mins in duration except for freeway travel. I drive 65 mph max on the freeway. I need to check my tire pressures. I use conventional motor oil, changing every 3k miles. I live around a fair amount of hills and I don't make any "jack rabbit" accelerations. During the summer I was getting 50 mpg on the freeway, so I'm sure it'll improve. Anybody got any suggestions?
Thanks,
Rich
Just recently I took my 04 Prius in for some recall items (Brake lt.Fueltank filler and a computer gizzmo that also fixes the fuel sys.too)
Had I not had the TSB's that were made available thru this site I would not have gotten the speedy results that I did. Again "THANKS" to our Prius Family!
Culliganman (somehow my Prius isn't as important as the tragic events that are going on in Indonesia)
Thanks:
IF the Prius will come with smart entry, remember to turn it off (there is a switch under the steering column). It sucks power even though very slowly. The sensor is constantly scanning for response.
No, Gary, he did not RUIN it by letting it sit for two weeks ! ( Where do you get this stuff ??!?!? )
What happened to the man you are talking about is that his battery DISCHARGED after sitting in the garage for two weeks. Nothing abnormal about that - unused batteries of all types lose charge when unused.
Two days ago, my HCH batttery was down to under 10% charge. If I had sat it in a garage for two weeks unused, that 10% would have run down to 0% and I would have had to drive the car to recharge the battery. It would not have "ruined" the battery !!!
It was right here on Edmund's. Either the Prius had set at home too long or on the showroom floor too long and the NiMH battery had discharged and had to be replaced. It was not a big deal as that is one thing that is warranted for a long time. On the Prius you cannot start the car if the NiMH battery is run down. The Aux battery is just for incidentals not starting. So if your main battery is dead how do you get the car started to recharge the battery?
Im confused now......???????
Will the Prius start if either battery is drained?
Leaving a conventional car undriven for up to a couple of months is usually not a matter of much concern. The worst that can happen is that you come back to a flat battery and have to jump start the car. You need to be a bit more careful with the Prius, for reasons I'll explain below. I have personally left my Prius undriven for two weeks and it started right up. You could therefore consider two weeks or less to be safe and not worth any precautions at all. Others have left their cars for a little longer, also with no problems.
For longer periods, say over the winter or during an extended absence, as with any car you should either know exactly what you are doing or seek professional help. For example, it is not a good idea to leave gasoline in a car for many months as it changes chemically and can leave deposits in the fuel system. You should remove the fuel before storage or treat the fuel and leave the tank is almost empty.
Auxiliary Battery Discharge
The first precaution to take with the Prius is to prevent the auxiliary battery from discharging. Unlike in a conventional car, where the 12 volt battery has to supply power to the starter motor, the Prius 12 volt battery has no large power demands and is therefore small and light duty. Its capacity is 28 ampere hours. It can be drained in quite a short time by leaving the interior light on, doors ajar or the cabin fans running when the car is not turned on (Yahoo! group toyota-prius post 19028). It can also be discharged even if all lights and accessories are turned off. The current from the auxiliary battery has been measured and recorded in toyota-prius post 33179. I reproduce the data here:
Right after doors are locked 0.54 amps
After 20 seconds from doors locked 0.075 amps
After an additional minute and indefinitely thereafter Headlight switch ON 0.047 amps
Headlight switch OFF 0.036 amps
Obviously, if you're leaving the car for a while, you want to make sure the headlight switch is OFF. Leaving the switch ON and letting the car turn the lights off itself would be OK for a week or two. 0.036 amps will use up the 28 ampere hours in the battery in 28 / 0.036 = 778 hours, which is 32 days. So, less than a month should be safe, but longer is not.
If you are not going to drive the car for a while, here are some methods for preventing the auxiliary battery from discharging:
* have someone turn the car on every few weeks and let it charge the auxiliary battery back up
* disconnect the auxiliary battery (you will lose your radio presets and the time of day)
* connect a battery tender to the auxiliary battery or, in a pinch, a trickle charger
* connect a solar panel charger to the auxiliary battery
If you don't take these precautions, the worse that can happen is still a discharged battery. You can jump start the Prius in a similar way to other cars (although jump starting another car from a Prius is not recommended). There is no need to run the engine on the other car because of the low power demand. You can also jump start from another battery. See page 167 of the 2001 Owner's Manual for details. Light duty booster cables will work as well as heavy duty jumper cables. The only thing to be aware of is that each time you discharge a lead-acid battery completely, you shorten its life. So, you don't want to let this happen too often.
High Voltage Battery Discharge
The second concern is discharge of the high voltage battery. This will not happen in such a short time as discharge of the auxiliary battery, but if it does happen, it can be more serious trouble. If the state of charge drops below the programmed lower limit for normal operation, the car will not start. It can be persuaded to start by a Toyota technician with the appropriate equipment. He or she may make a house call or you will have to have the car towed to a service facility. By plugging in a tester and pressing some buttons, the car is assured that it is in good hands and will start using whatever power remains in the battery. It will then charge itself back up. Should the charge fall so low that there is not enough to start the car, you will definitely need a tow. The service facility may be able to recharge the battery in the car or may have to remove it to be recharged or even replaced.
The high voltage battery is completely disconnected when the car is turned off at the ignition. No current is drawn from the battery. Unfortunately, nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries have a property called "self-discharge" by which they lose charge even when no power is drawn from them. A figure of 2% per day is often quoted at room temperature for household NiMH batteries, but this may not be correct for the Prius batteries.
Toyota's recommendation, which appeared on their Web site in the FAQ section, is to have the hybrid system started every two months and to let it run for 30 minutes. Of course, you'll have to reconnect the auxiliary battery if you've chosen to disconnect it. You can be more confident that this will work at low temperatures, for example in the winter, since the self-discharge rate is reduced. You might be more cautious at high temperatures, when self discharge increases. I would recommend making sure the battery icon shows no less that three-quarters before you leave the car. If it doesn't, go for a drive and stay out of EV mode."
3rd most sold vehicle for the company after Camry & Corolla.
That means Prius outsells Echo, Matrix, Avalon, Rav4, Highlander, 4Runner, Sequoia, etc.
Hey that’s great.
But if we take other makes of Toyota like Lexus and Scion, I think xB may
outsell Prius as the boxy vehicle is wildly popular.
We got to see at the end of the year.
I don't think so. 2004 Toyota sales, Tundra 112k, Tacoma 153k, Highlander 133k, 4Runner 114k, Sienna 159k, RX300 106k, plus the Camry & Corolla. If they can scrape together enough batteries they may be number 8 or 9 on the Toyota sales charts.
Anyone see the 2007 Altima? There will be a hybrid version using the Toyota system. Can't wait!
I recently tried to drive backwards up a muddy driveway thinking that the engine weight over the drive wheels would give me better traction. I got a few feet, then basically nothing. I pressed a little harder on the "accelerator" and felt nothing. I know that the vehicle operates only on electric in reverse, but has anyone else experienced any similar problems? In "drive", I will still spin with lots of power on this muddy driveway. Could there be a problem?. I have to back up my driveway to the garage and have no problem. Once it quits raining cat and dogs here in the SF Bay Area the ground will dry up.
Thanks,
Rich
Things have changed so much that Explorer sales have crashed from around 450,000 to 380,000 now while that of Prius has increased from around 40,000 to nearly 110,000 in 2004.
So now it takes Ford nearly 3 1/2 months to sell what Toyota sells in a year.
At the end of 2005 we will know the ratio.
Actually Prius will be #3 in Toyota's car sales and not vehicle sales.
Sorry for the mistake
The figures I see are the Prius sold 53,990 cars in 2004 and the Explorer sold 339k. I think that Explorer suffered from a much bigger range of choices in 2004. Their reign is over as the best of the midsize SUVs. SUVs as a whole did much better than sedans. They had over 150k unit gain. The Sedan market lost over 200k units from 2003.
The Prius has no competition so it is difficult to gauge it against anything else. I think that figure of 110k units was world wide sales of the Prius.
weighs 2,375 lbs which is more than Scion-xA (2340 lbs).
Even Scion-xB weighs 2450 lbs, just 75 more than Insight.
So a Hybrid versions of Scion-xA & Scion-xB should give
more mileage or atleast close to Insight.
If Toyota can sell a Hybrid for 17-18 K, it will be really
great.
Still Prius will be an upscale model. But there is still
a big battery shortage.
___The 04 5-Speed Insight weighs only 1,850 #’s w/out A/C and 1,881 #’s with. The CVT variant weighs just 1,975 #’s.
___You have to hand it to Toyota for creating a 2,890 #’er that seats 4 semi-comfortably and can average between 44 and 50 mpg in the real world. That is the Prius II of course
___Good Luck
___Wayne R. Gerdes
Does anyone know how "safe" the Prius regarding the electrical aspects? Thanks in advance!
I have sent E-mails needing additional information on the one I have ordered (heated windshield & heated wiper,signals in side mirrors & What about Nextel Phones & the Blue Tooth {does the 2-way work too}etc.) and they have gotten back to me right away. I am in my third month of my wait, I was told to expect it in April, 2005
I'd trust my life to the crash performance of that car, no doubt.
Feel free to post more on this in the Prius Owners Club
If you wish to make your email address available for others you can mark it public in your profile (so it will appear for other registered members). Posting an email address in the discussion can get you on all sorts of spam lists (from the trolling spam bots) which we cannot control.
Thanks!