Toyota
Prius: The little car that could
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
The
world will never be the same
A few years ago on the blogosphere, the disdain for the Toyota
Prius often seemed to out-weigh the support for the
Prius. It seemed you either loved or hated the Prius, and
the haters were just as vocal, if not more, than the
lovers.
These days Prius haters are much more silent, or they've
changed their focus. Instead of calling hybrids a niche
technology, or an over-rated technology, many have instead
begun to support the hybrid
vehicles of their favorite automaker.
For example, some of the biggest hybrid haters have been
GM fans, probably because many fans of GM have enjoyed
SUVs and seemed to feel that the Prius was a threat to
their SUV lifestyle. And, let's be fair, many Prius
drivers do hate SUVs. So, the attacks seemed to become
almost personal.
Today, GM is converting those gas-guzzlers into hybrid
SUVs and, suddenly, hybrid technology isn't so
hate-worthy anymore. Instead, Prius haters have become
hybrid fans now claiming that hybrid SUVs make more sense
than hybrid cars because they offer a much larger fuel
savings. Moreover, GM fans are also gloating in the idea
that the Chevy
Volt is a Prius killer, a Toyota killer, a foreign car
killer.
For GM fans, their beloved GM is alive and kicking and
they are proud.
Suddenly, clean and green technologies are no longer
talking points occasionally displayed in some
never-will-be-built concept, they are the focus of a
competitive race to the future.
Still, it was the Prius that really set this competition
in motion. The Prius made consumers realize that change
was possible. Coupled with Iraq, terrorism, high oil
prices, etc. the Prius made consumers believe that change
wasn't just possible, but absolutely required, and now -
with the Prius as proof - there were no excuses.
And automakers have listened. GM debuted the Volt as a way
to electrify the E Flex drive into mainstream America.
Honda is increasing its hybrid efforts and striving for
fuel cell hybrids within the decade. Pretty much every
automaker is now actively pursuing hybrid technology, fuel
cell technology, clean diesel, etc. while rethinking the
Internal Combustion Engine with direct injection,
turbochargers, and HCCI technology.
Largely because of the Prius, whole new generations of
automobiles, using unusual combinations of technologies to
achieve efficiency, are being explored and produced, and
the best is yet to come.
Some day soon the significance of the Prius itself might
wane, but the wave of change started by the Prius will be
rippling through the automotive world for decades.
"
GM will never make a car competitive with what Toyota
makes. Are people that dim to think that while GM is
developing the "Volt" that Toyota is just
standing still?"
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