their sedan vehicles into hybrids and just dump all their ice only vehicles(except for trucks and suvs)? It probably is more expensive to continue 2 production lines for the camry. Wouldn't it be more cost effective just to make one line?
Toyota has already announced plans, and reconfirmed several times, that they intend to offer a hybrid offer for their entire fleet of consumer vehicles. So the burden is on consumers. The supply will be based on the choice made from each person's wallet. So it's up to us to make that future a reality. That's a very, very different philosophy from what certain automakers have done in the past... telling you what you want instead. Now we stand a chance. But those dang antagonists are still a source frustration. Their claims that the numbers just don't add up are totally disingenuous. They pretend battery technology will never become less expensive, that the price of gas will never go up, and the cost won't drop due to high-volume production. Buy a Toyota hybrid. Seeing so many on the road will help shift the entire market... finally!
I think it would be a good strategy if they could drop the price on the hybrid to match what the ICE version would be priced at. Then, what argument is there for someone not to get one anyway? Any argument about the batteries could be offset by many other factors - brakes need less replacments, engine wear and tear is less..etc.
I wonder if they are planning to do hybrid sports cars? Like the Celica or MR2 (do you have those in the US?) Maybe they would have a 'sport' mode that kept the ICE on all the time, for responsive starting and sport driving, perhaps? I want a hybrid Yaris, with a 1 litre ICE. That would be seriously economical.
For Toyota to go 'hybrid-only' in the US would be interesting (and risky), to say the least. The risk would be in how much extra it would cost per vehicle compared to the competition, and if consumers would be willing to pay it in exchange for whatever the increase in mpg might be. Over the volumes that Toyota vehicles sell, if they could keep the price down to, say, an extra $500 per vehicle for something like a 25% increase in mpg, they might be able to pull it off.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(molgrips @ Jul 22 2006, 11:02 AM) [snapback]290495[/snapback]</div> The MR2 and Celica were both discontinued here, the MR2 in 2004 and the Celica in 2005 model years. The Celica was among the longest-selling Toyota vehicles in the US, starting in 1970. On a side note, the Corolla's first year in the US was 1968, and it's still going strong. :blink:
Hi All, I read in "Assembly" magazine that the Prius and other hybrids are now made ont he same assembly lines as standard cars. They shunt the hybrids off on little loops for the non-standard electrical work, and then the cars rejoin the line after that work is done. All the cars have the common assembly tasks done on the main line. With this "flexible manufacturing" method the extra cost assumption made by the original posters is practically nonexisitent. They only have one production line for both standard and hybrid cars.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(molgrips @ Jul 22 2006, 12:02 PM) [snapback]290495[/snapback]</div> Look for one of these in my garage as soon as it's available in my area!
Toyota has already announced it is going to offer hybrid versions of it's line. So it will be up to consumers to justify the risk Toyota is taking by buying those vehicles. I think if there continues to be a demand (and waiting lists) for hybrids, Toyota will continue to offer them. Seems no matter how much they increase production, they still cannot meet demand. This is good for them, and good for us. It means hybrids are a viable market. And with that set up, IF there is a demand, Toyota could shift to more and more hybrids and less and less ICE. IF it continues to be profitable for them, they could conceivably stop building ICE vehicles. I don't see that happning soon. But it's possible that there could come a time where there simply isn't the demand to continue to build something that is obsolete. (Someday they'll stop making VCRs and cassette tape recorders too.) Apple has already discontinued the cathode ray tube monitors. Soon TVs won't have them either. This is a good thing. They waste energy and are toxic to dispose of. But flat screens were real expensive when they came out. Prices are dropping. (Remember when a VCR was hundreds of dollars? Now you can get one for $30.) We are the early adopters. We have bought the $1,000 VCR, the $1,000 CD player, the $5,000 flat screen TV. We have purchased a Prius. And someday you'll be able to buy a hybrid economy car for the same price as a regular economy car only it will be superior in every way. And the ICE economy cars will be obsolete and they'll stop making them. Someday. (And if big oil is smart they'll start developing wind, solar and batteries so they can still stay "in the game".)
