businessinsider.com:
With Nissan pushing full steam into electric cars, and General Motors making a big splash with its plug-in hybrid, Hiroko Tabuchi at the New York Times wonders, what happened to Toyota? Where is its electric car?
Toyota's execs tell Tabuchi "The time is not here," for electric cars.
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Toyota will regret that decision.
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The only EV I ever drove in my life was a Rav 4 back about 10 years ago. I can't see why Toyota wouldn't go all out with a Prius plug-in, and I can't see why on Earth they would ever let the other car companies leave them behind. Toyota has been the innovator in fuel efficiency for years now. Why would they ever stop, when it's never been so obviously important to make fuel efficient vehicles than right now? I'll believe it when I see it - I don't see Toyota giving up on new technology. I hope the plug in hybrid will be a good one because I'm waiting for it.
I think Toyota is right - in general, Americans are too lazy and too apathetic to take one a new technology - and learn how to maintain it......personally I think the government should 'give' a new bicycle to every man, woman and child in the U.S. - for personal transportation....
And then set about developing, building, and maintaining hi-speed rail systems to connect the whole country.....it would probably cost less in the long run - than repairing the god-awful highway infrastructure in this country.....
If, when the original highway system in this country was built - it had been built with the same quality, characteristics, and longevity of the German Autobahns................we wouldn't have the mess we have today.....but nnnnnnnnoooooooooooo - the U.S. had to cut corners, use inferior materials and construction techniquest to save a buck - while the Autobahns require less maintenance and have hundreds of times the longevity that our highway system does......
Toyota is right.
There is a lot of ignorance out there.
might be the wrong bet
wow I will be buying the toyota.
If battery technology improves to the satisfaction of the Toyota top brass, they can pivot pretty quickly. It's not like they're an American car company, after all.
japan is working on a self fueling hydrogen car.
its a bit arrogant to think toyota is arrogant to ignore the usa and euro market when the chinese market alone is 4 times the size of the combined usa/euro market. include the india market and its clear usa automakers are the arrogant ones that have still not learned a thing after taking a 40 year spanking from the asian auto companies.
They are smart, thats why. Electric cars will still be out of the price range of most Americans. Not only that, but many electric companies are currently seeking very large price hikes. Ameren, the main supplier to most of Missouri and central / southern Illinois is working on a 18 - 33% increase right now.
Soon it will cost less for a petrol car than an electro car.
Gasoline will probably not be used for more than a couple decades more IMO. We can't afford the wars anymore, plus the stuff is running out.
This is not bad news. Toyota has been doing a fantastic job in pioneering the hybrid, so what if someone else gets to bring back the electric vehicles?
Have read at "JapanToday.com" that Toyota plans to bring out a subcompact hybrid that will get about 89 mpg and cost about 25% less than the Prius. That sounds like something I could buy.
Also have read that Hyundai, Kia, and as this article states, Ford, are all planning on bringing out Plug-In Hybrids by 2012. If they keep the price down and the quality up, they should sell a lot of cars.
One problem I have with the Electric-only vehicles is dependability in an emergency situation. May not seem realistic to everyone else, but I remember some of the earthquakes of the past, where we lost access to the electric grid for weeks at a time. Other times, simple lightning strikes have shut down our grid for over 24 hours. I don't mind using the train or a plane for long trips, but I like the idea of the added dependability of a PHEV. Even if the engine is only a very small one, it would be available for emergencies.
"One problem I have with the Electric-only vehicles is dependability in an emergency situation. May not seem realistic to everyone else"
As a parent, I share your concern. There hopefully would never be a time when a parent needs ot make a run to the emergency room with a sick child , but if there is I can't imagine having to wait for an ambulance becase my car was charging and wouldn't drivable for a few mor hours.
I'm with Toyota - The hydrogen technology (especially the ability to fill up at stations) seems to be the better pursuit here. The grid could do without 350 million + cars being charged every single night due to having done its 40 odd miles for the day.
At $35,000 to $40,000 who is actually going to buy a Chevy Volt, when you can buy a Toyota Prius for around $20,000. People will save the $15,000.
Volt does not have magic fairy dust that can make the batteries work better. The Volt will be a failure......unless GM can stick with it through all the red ink just like Toyota stuck with the Prius through all the red ink. American car makers have a poor history of playing the long game which is why they have been spanked so badly by the imports.
Tesla Motors had it's first profitable quarter and those cost far more than $40K.
Of course, they look about $40K cooler too.
They are not mass producing. In the car world they are not even really considered big enough to be a niche player. Now that they have the backing of Mercedes and are trying to move down the price curve into more mainstream vehicles it could start to get interesting.
The battery technology STILL is not there yet though. Does not matter what the product is or who makes it. They will all hit the same technology wall.
Cowards! It'll only be profiatable when Americans realize they're not getting enough mileage out of their dollars funding corruption and the oil wars. (Although those jets are so sexy!)
last i heard toyota is bigger than g.m. the biggest car company of all, no? it seems like they are not just being aloof at not wanting to compete with an all electric car. it seems like someone is allowing them to not have to be concerned with an all electric car. that seems consistent with how this world has been run since kennedy was shot. MUCHO SUSPICIOUS.
In the early (2001) cars some o fthe technology was not as stable or well prooven as in the current models. (I have a 2005 and have had no problem other than dealer stupidity which you get with all cars). One thing that most people complain about is the tire wear. Toyota recommends that tire pressures be 35F/33R. Tire wear is much improved by running higher pressures, e.g., 40/38 and this also improves the gas mileage a bit too although the ride is a bit rougher. It is important to check your tire pressures with the same gauge all the time. Those gauges in gas stations are crap.
Toyota has been very good inthe way they have handled problems with the earlier years and in many cases have pro-rated the costs based on how many miles you have driven. Any body with a major problem should take the issue over the dealer's head to the Toyota regional service people.
BTW, I'd buy another one even though I'd like a little more room between the steering wheel and seatback.
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First Posted: 08-20-09 11:09 AM | Updated: 08-20-09 11:13 AM