PriusChat seemed to have gotten the scoop on everyone else and possibly posted the first studio images of the 2010 Toyota Prius. They say its not part of Toyota’s new teaser campaign, so there’s even a little room for doubt about the picture’s authenticity.
If this is a photoshop job, then whoever made it has a future in car design. The images are in line with the spy shots we’ve seen. The door line has new creases and follows a new pattern. The front is in line with Toyota’s new family face. The interior has a nice smooth finish to it. So with all these elements, if this isn’t the car that Toyota has actually made, it is probably now wishing it had.
We’ll know for sure in January when the car debuts at the Detroit Auto Show. We do know that the third generation Prius will be larger and more fuel efficient when it takes on Honda’s new Insight. It will go on sale shortly after the world debut in January.
Lotus has decided to tackle the recently voiced concerns over hybrid vehicle safety concerns. Since the hybrid cars produce very little noise at slow speeds, there is an increased chance that the cars can catch a person by surprise. This is especially true for visually impaired pedestrians who rely heavily on audio inputs to judge what is occurring around them.
Lotus has created a working prototype, using a Toyota Prius, of an external sound systems that would make engine-type noises. The Prius was fit with a waterproof speaker next to the radiator that works only when the car is being electrically driven. The speaker will emit engine sounds with the appropriate pitch and frequency to match the speed of the car. This will enable pedestrians to judge how far and fast the approaching car is moving. When the hybrid’s gasoline engine starts up, the system stops emitting sound and restarts seamlessly when the electric motor takes back over.
Toyota will unveil the new Prius next year at the Detroit Auto Show, with sales to begin in USA in April 2009. The latest spy shots revealed that the differences between the current and the future generation will be minimal.
Toyota will unveil a whole family for the Prius: a station wagon and a convertible are also set to be released.
Under the hood Toyota will place a new 1.6 liter engine, while the Hybrid Synergy Drive system will be carried over. The fuel consumption will be improved despite the new engine. The 2010 Prius will be built in both Japan and USA, at the Toyota’s Mississippi plant.
A new Prius is on the way, and as it turns out, a lot of them are on the way. For 2009, Toyota will increase Prius production by 70%, meaning around 480,000 units a year. Toyota now builds most of the hot-selling gasoline-electric cars at its Tsutsumi factory in central Japan and another plant belonging to affiliate Toyota Auto Body. It also assembled 320 Priuses in China last year.
In 2007 Toyota sold 281,300 Prius cars worldwide and now there are thousands of client waiting months for delivery, especially on the US market. The world’s biggest automaker also recently announced a plan to start building the Prius at a new facility in Mississippi by 2010.
Toyota has already sold over one million hybrid vehicles worldwide. Now its new goal is after 2010 to sell at least one million hybrid vehicles annually. Considering that the Prius can get it halfway to the goal alone, the hybrid versions of the Highlander and Camry won’t have to sell too much to finish the job.
Toyota confirmed today that the Prius hybrid sedan will be built in USA, at a plant under construction in Blue Springs, Miss. Production is scheduled to begin in late 2010.
Also, the Highlander mid-size SUV, originally scheduled to be built in Mississippi, will now be manufactured in Princeton, Ind., beginning in Fall 2009.
The production of Tundra, that by the way has been busted to 50.000 units a year, will be moved to the San Antonio plant in Spring 2009.
In addition, Toyota will temporarily suspend Tundra and Sequoia production beginning August 8 due to the declining overall market for full size trucks and SUVs. Production is scheduled to resume in early November.
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