Toyota Prius Cracks U.S. Best Seller List
According to the quality monitoring gurus at J.D. Power, Toyota’s Prius has sneaked into the top ten list of America’s best selling vehicles. Last month, the Japanese automaker shifted some 24,000 units—three times that of a year ago—giving it the number nine spot on U.S. sales charts.
Interestingly, Power says that buyers are trading in fewer conventional compact cars (Honda Civics, Ford Focuses, etc.) for their new Priuses, which likely means that Toyota is gaining an increasing number of sales from other segments. Conquest sales from non-Toyota branded products are up as well, from 68-percent in January to almost 80-percent in June.
(Click through to the link for more on the Prius’ upswing)
+ J.D. Power: POWER PULSE: Prius Attracts Diverse Range of Buyers
Comments
detroit9000
The Empire Strikes Back.
AC
The Prius is a good small car. The mileage is excellent, the price is fair, the interior is roomy, and it drives well. My friend has had his for about two years, and it has been a big jump from his old Corolla. With new discounts and finance incentives to unload the extra production, Priuses will continue to sell en masse. The only car in its class that approached the Prius in real-world mileage is the Civic Hybrid. According to Consumer Reports, the Civic Hybrid averaged 37 mpg versus the Prius's 44.
Iain
I rented a Prius earlier this week in Seattle - great car. I get it now. Now, how about the Lexus hybrid.....
Christopher
I suspect I'm opening a can of worms here, but (i) the fuel mileage is overrated under real world driving conditions, (ii) it's not at all clear to me that the car is any more environmentally "friendly" (which is difficult to define, much less actually measure) once you take production and disposition into account, particularly with those batteries, and (iii) there are more satisfying small fuel efficient cars in terms of driving dynamics.
What you don't get by simply buying a non-hybrid is the feeling of moral virtuousness and you don't get to play the nifty "how much gas am I a saving" video game. To each his/her own, but I think the popularity of the Prius has more to do with its marketing "optics" and a strange form of snobbism than anything else.
Iain
I agree with some of what Christopher is saying:
1. We had the Prius for two days on a business trip and averaged 48 mpg
2. It easily took our bags and two big guys. We did not feel cramped or unfortable.
3.
Iain
I agree with some of what Christopher is saying:
1. We had the Prius for two days on a business trip and averaged 48 mpg
2. It easily took our bags and two big guys. We did not feel cramped or uncomfortable.
3. The Prius was way better to drive than the average fleet rental junk.
4. Yes, it felt like driving a video game and yes you do try to get the best gas mileage - I felt 'bad' when the consumption fell below 48 mpg at one point! But that is the point of the displays and graphics - it makes you realize what is happening.
5. Would a Corolla or Civic have been as good? Yes but I would have not have felt as 'good' about driving it. Plus I was trying as much as possible to drive under 15 mph so the gas engine would not start!
It would be interesting to see the Prius mileage graphics in a Corolla or Civic or other smallish car and see how peoples driving style changed...
AC
The Toyota Camry V-6 averaged 26 mpg in a MotorWeek test; the Camry Hybrid averaged 38 mpg. Consumer Reports listed the best fuel economy among small cars. The only car that approached the Prius or Civic Hybrid in mileage were the Yaris and Fit at 34 mpg each. The cars were a size smaller at 10 mpg behind a Prius. It's important to note that, in the case of the Accord and Escape, the mileage has been above base I-4 engines and the acceleration numbers have been quicker than gasoline V-6 models.
Don
Excellent! 24,000 more people like driving boring cars.
Christopher
I'm not arguing that the recovering engery lost during braking (and other forms of conservation) can't result in better mileage. But I am arguing that the mileage gains shown by EPS's "hwy/cit" numbers for the Prius dramatically overstate its economy under real driving conditions. I think the press (and the public) often latches onto the EPA numbers, which are (to my mind) so artificial as to be almost meaningless.
I'm also not arguing that using an electric motor (instand torque -- yeeha!) in combination with a gasoline motor can't result in faster acceleration. The fact that Acura flirted with the idea of an NSX hybrid is a great example of why the concept it appealing.
What I am saying is that the case for being "green" is way more complicated than just mileage, that the savings that can be achieved from hybrid technology at this point in the technology's life cycle may not, all in, be cost-effective, and that the reason so many folks actually go out and buy a Prius lies not with real-world mileage, not with clear-cut environmental stewardship, but with the PERCEPTION that they're achieving those things.
Put another way, what I'm saying is that most Prius owners are driven to buy the car for reasons of self-identification and status -- same as others go out and buy a Porsche or BMW.
Me, I'll stick with conventional technologies. I just can't imagine having fun in a Prius.
Sun
In response to Chris:
We all know that EPA estimates do not reflect real world driving conditions and the fact that they revamped their process for measuring fuel economy to better reflect real world driving conditions suggests that they know it to. So I would suggest one not look at it from a strictly “this is what you should expect to get
Sharky
Folks like Christopher and Don say the Prius isn't "fun" enough, so I guess the inference we should all draw from that is to go back to driving "fun" cars that get 12 miles per gallon. What outstanding logic!
I've never understood these earth-is-flat people who refuse to accept new technology and bash the Prius because it doesn't go zero to sixty in 3 seconds while getting 10,000 MPG. The Prius still gets better mileage than 95% (or more) of the other vehicles on the market, and the fact that it can frequently be driven in electric mode around town means it is not emitting one iota of junk into the air during those moments. Does your "conventional technology" car ever do that? No, it does not.
But I don't think any of that is really the point, and invariably the real truth eventually comes out. It's always about the politics. The Prius is seen as a "liberal" vehicle. Scary liberals and their whimpy Priuses. Never mind that the Prius is a solid and advanced piece of engineering that's taking a step - however small - towards making our planet a little better. If Susan Sarandon and Leonardo DiCaprio drive one, they're just making a political statement. Well you should be thanking them for that political statement because, in a small way, that poltical statement is saving this planet for you and your kids too.
Christopher
I wasn't actually being critical (sorry if it sounded that way) as much as pointing out that cars are one of those odd sorts purchases where people often have very different actual motivations for buying one model over another than their stated motivations. What's interesting (to me, at least) is when the two sets of motivations diverge substantially. I'd argue that for most economy-car purchases they don't, but that they do for the Prius, in much the same way that they also do for most sports cars. Other than a small few of us who actually track a car, most folks don't really buy a sportscar b/c it'll generate 0.98g's of lateral cornering force. That's really all I was saying. Frankly, saving the environment's important. Just don't be dishonest and pretend that you're actually doing that by buying a Prius. You may, in some very small way, be contributing. By buying one, your statement may, in some small way, change public thinking on the importance of conservation. But you're not, actually, doing any by saving 15% mileage. You could do that, easily, by driving one less trip to the stripmall.
Christopher
Oh, and I'm not the least bit mad. I just like spirited conversation and debate, particularly when it comes to things automotive! I also think the technology behind the Prius is pretty nifty. I'm not knocking the car -- or those who buy it -- as much as I believe that there's "stuff" surrounding Prius-owners that doesn't manifest in buyers of cars like the Fit or Yaris.
Jeannie
I still think Christopher has a chip on his shoulder. I agree with Sun and Sharkey. I drive a Prius and, like most Prius owners, I don't presume to think that one act will save the earth. However it's a start. And when thousands of us do it, we are making a major impact. I drive a Prius for the same reason that I recycle my bottles and cans, use eco-friendly light bulbs and buy energy-efficient applicances. Every bit helps. Oh, and I happen to think that it's a fun car, too.
Christopher
No chips here, but you're welcome to draw any conclusion you want. I just appreciate a bit of honest self-assessment, and I've not seen much of that from two of the three Prius owners I know.
Sharky
Okay, I think it's time to lay off Christopher. Seems your heart's in the right place man. Sorry for the scolding.
The anti-hybrid crowd seems to be rather prevalent in the car magazine world, however. Even major auto publications would rather attack the car's user demographic in their OpEd pieces than objectively consider it's technological and environmental benefits (I'm looking at you, Brock Yates/Car & Driver). It's childish and I expect better from these publications. They should be hailing the continued advancement of automotive technology, not using cars like the Prius as a scapegoat to foment their totally unrelated political views. If you want to write a conservative political column, go write for the Washington Times. It steams me to pay my hard-earned money on a car magazine and then be derided as a "tree hugger" by the idiotic editorial staff.
What this also ends up doing is creating a raft of uneducated readers who associate eco-friendly technology with a particular political assignation ("liberal"). So even though being environmentally conscious should have no real political bent, the more conservative members of the car nut community end up needlessly rejecting it. (Remember that the root word of conservative is "conserve.") This is just dumb, and it's to the detriment of us all.
Sorry for the rant guys, this is just something that's always bugged me (in case you can't tell).
Christopher
I actually agree with Sharky on a lot the points he makes. And, as I've posted before, I think the Prius is stuffed full of neat technology.
But I'd feel better about buying/owning one if I had hard data to answer questions like, "after accounting for production, operational costs and fuel useage, and retirement of the vehicle, is it truly environmentally more friendly than non-hybrid cars?" If so, what do the numbers really look like?
As for the many reasons people buy cars (which often is driven by self-image and image-projection), I don't think wishing to be seen as "green" is a bad thing, particularly if it encourages others to follow suit.
All that said, I'm not in the market for a Prius (for many reasons), and I would appreciate everyone trying to be as honest and fair about what the vehicle is (and isn't). That's really all I was trying to say.
AC
Not every car buyer is an auto enthusiast searching for a vehicle to have joyrides in. I'm stating the obvious, but a good number of folks purchase their new vehicles for versatility or frugality. The average Prius buyer doesn't buy his or her Toyota for pesonal amusement. A car shopper looking for something sporty, yet fuel-efficient, can turn to sport compacts or roadsters. Battery life and disposal have been complaints since gas-electric compacts went mainstream in Japan in the 1990s, but nothing has materialized from those worries.
Sam
Simply put, I am so glad I have a Prius every time I go to a gas station.
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