Could be for competitive advantage ...
written by Preston , September 17, 2007

Toyota occupies an interesting niche in the car business, but if Congress changes the rules and mandates more efficient cars, then everyone is going to have to make them. Could it be that Toyota is also trying to protect their Prius business, in addition to the other point you make about their truck business?

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written by iDevin , September 18, 2007

I bought my Prius despite it being a Toyota, not because it's a Toyota. I've never liked Toyota and I find them to be weaselly and slimey and just as bad as GM and Ford. But, the fact of the matter is that they, at this particular moment make the best and most efficient car and sell it at a reasonable price. When it's time to trade in the Prius I don't think I'll need to buy another Toyota because it looks like a lot of other people are going to do it better, like the Chevy Volt or Volvo Recharge versus the plug-in Prius. Don't get me wrong though, I do love driving my Prius, but I consider myself a Prius-driver instead of a Toyota-driver.

naivete?
written by dustin , September 18, 2007

c'mon, you speak of short term profits and seem surprised that there'd be any other motivation, but really, how else can we describe the motivations of capitalism and it's players/proponents? with all the social and environmental injustice (often they go hand in hand) that we're witness too, it's surprising to me that more people aren't critical of global capitalism - the true progenitor/perpatrator. toyota like any other corporate player is ultimately concerned with one thing only - capital. heck,the legal liability of publicly traded stocks is to make shareholders money.

there's not going to be a change until we address the underlying issue of why we're in this mess. it is not due to an oversight of the consequences of our actions upon the environment, but rather the greater motivations that drive our economies and ultimately our societies: money (power). as long as we perpetuate this egregious stratification of wealth - there will always be those who can and will take advantage of others (including the environment) at the expense of all.

it's frustrating to read all these blogs (ecogeek, inhabitat, treehugger, et al) and there's never (that i've witnessed, maybe i've just missed it?) any real critical thought as to why this is all happening. it's painfully obvious that it's the economic juggernaut called global capitalism. why aren't more people talking about it? you've got the perfect forum to start addressing this issue. environmental change may be happen slowly with green consumerism, but true effect will only be had with true change and address of the root cause.

i really do like ecogeek; i hope this is seen as constructive criticism. best,

dustin

p.s. your email validation doesn't allow the ' ' character, which are becoming more and more popular in email addresses...

Prius really green?
written by Niels R. , September 18, 2007

Hello,

I'm not convinced that the Prius is really that green. They put so much extra energy in the development of the car (batteries mainly) that it (in my opinion) can't be recovered from the advantage in gasoline usage.

Here in the EU we have the new BMW's with "Efficient Dynamics" and they are standard on all BMW's from now on. This kind of technology still relies the "normal" engine, but it saves about 15% in gasoline/diesel usage. Also, this technology doesn't have an impact on the driving style and the comfort of the car.

In my opinion this is still more efficient (on short terms) than the Toyota Prius (taken the whole package into count).

Still I hope we will see more alternative fuels popping up. Imgane you driving a nice BMW with Efficient Dynamics on LPG or BIO-Diesel... I would love that!

That's my 2 cents of course. I'm not an expert...

Greetings,
Niels R.

Toyota and trucks
written by Lou Grinzo , September 18, 2007

No, it's not true that "Toyota is as reliant on big trucks and SUVs as GM is". In August, GM's US sales were 62% light trucks, while Toyota's US sales were about 42% light trucks. (Light trucks = pickups, minivans, and SUV's.)

Yes, Toyota is selling a lot of not very green vehicles, but they don't have the extreme over reliance on trucks that we see in GM.

naomi klein's - new book and a short fil
written by dustin , September 18, 2007

speaking of global capitalism, economics and the events surrounding - check this out:

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written by dustin , September 18, 2007

okay, well that's frustrating - i guess all special characters and html get stripped out of comments (it'd be nice to be warned first). here's the link:

http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine/short-film

It's all about competition.
written by Money , September 18, 2007

Toyota knows that if there is no gas floor on mpg they can continue to sell a bunch of prius to green concious people and there will be no real pressure on other companies to make a car like a prius so Toyota can continue to make money selling green cars and gas hogs. Best of both worlds for Toyota.

Toyota May Be Even Tricksier Than You Th
written by Zephyr , September 19, 2007

I think Money is right. If American car makers keep setting the enviro-tech bar so low for themselves, Toyota will be able to increase its lead in enviro-tech innovations and capture a huge chunk of the future car --when consumers will be looking for cheaper fuel options as gas prices continue to climb and environmental spectors continue to haunt.

Green Branding
written by Planet Relations , September 19, 2007

Agree with 'Preston' and 'Money'. Toyota maintains the green car brand because of the Prius. Honda - despite making a more efficient vehicle - lost out due to better marketing by Toyota. Honda now is trying to recapture that with their "Greenest Car Company in America" campaign. If CAFE standards increase to 35 mpg, brand loyal (or lazy) drivers can stay with their existing car company. The competitive differences (regarding mpg) would be regulated away.

Being green is a lot easier than one mig
written by Nick Taylor , November 08, 2007

I am a race car engine builder. Years ago I use to be a full time auto mechanic. Some of the most greenest people on earth are the worst, if not, most hypocritical people on the earth today. They buy or lease a brand new vehicle no matter what it would be (I am not going to be specific because they are all guilty). From the minute the own it, until the minute it is returned either with a lease or trade, absolutely nothing has been done to the vehicle. It needs everything: Tires, because of them not being rotated or balanced every 5,000 miles. Tire pressure. Don't let anyone else tell you, it should be checked at least once a week. It akes about 5 to 10 minutes. If everyone in the world did this one every week, you could not imagine how much cleaner that this world would be. It would make you sick. Spark plugs and spark plug wires just because they are too expensive. A pcv valve. On most vehicles, this is a $7.00 item. You cannot image what this does to an engine if it is not replaced when it should. Dirty air filter, because of it being a hassle or just plain laziness. A fuel filter. Most people let this one go the entire vehicles life until they get stuck on the side of the road. You can't imagine what an engines crankcase looks like after someone neglects that.

I had the priveledge recently of doing a complete teardown of a 2006 Honda Prius engine. I did a trace back from where the Toyota dealer was located. The engine had a little over 50,000 miles on it. When I had removed the oil pan and other entries to the crankcase, the person that owned it should have been arrested. I honestly do not believe that the oil was ever changed. It did not even look like oil an longer. It looked like black lard.

The point that I am trying to make is just because someone is driving a hybrid doesn't excuse them for not maintaining the vehicle. They have the SAME if not MORE responsibility to do so because of the technology being so new.

The next time you see someone who is driving a large Chevrolet dually pickup which is over 15
YEARS old, and yes has 2 fuel tanks on it, it is because there are a lot of use left THAT DO follow the owners manual like it's bible because it is. Most people like myself change their own oil, make their own repairs and don't bitch because they had spent so much money sending the job to a dealership in which the job wasn't done half as goon. This FACT. I change oil in all 4 vehicles that we own every 2,500 miles or every six months.

The people these days that piss and moan about gas guzzlers, big trucks, big pickup trucks, big SUVs, or just big cars in general, or; even, just gasoline powered vehicles should not bitch and moan at all. They should do one or two things: When buying a new or used vehicle, make sure that the owners manual come with the vehicle and follow it, and when you do, you really are being green. Or, the easiest one of all is don't own a vehicle at all. Walk, ride a bicycle, or take the bus instead of being hypocritical.

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written by Adam , November 16, 2007

Hey Nick, do whaaaat? You've got a one of a kind "honda prius" in your shop that wasn't maintained very well. This to you means that all hybrid car drivers are hypocritical? Me personally, when I see a beat up dually or work truck, I never question it. I think, "man it must suck to fill that thing up". It's when I am driving to work on my scooter in the rain or in 31 degree weather and some douche bag driving a mint condition Cadillac Escalade talking on their bluetooth headset merges into my lane and then I feel like breaking their neck. You have to understand the different mindsets that compact car drivers and mega suv drivers have. One believes they should soften their footprint and the other...just doesn't think at all, unless it's about hair gel.