Why Do all Hybrids/EVs have such Weird Designs?

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by hayden55, Jan 26, 2018.

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  1. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    I don't mind which end - I think the PRIUS looks more unified in both.

    Latest CIVIC is worse:

    upload_2018-1-29_11-2-47.png
    And the Type R is ridiculous:
    upload_2018-1-29_11-3-41.png
     
    #41 alanclarkeau, Jan 28, 2018
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  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

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    I keep thinking of that Beatles lyric:

    Everybody's going mad...
     
    #42 Mendel Leisk, Jan 28, 2018
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  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Nope. That SUV is called the Eclipse Cross here. (The Eclipse was a 2-door sports coupe from the 90s and early 2000s.) In North America, it was also sold under the Eagle Talon and Plymouth Laser nameplates.

    FTFY
     
    #43 Tideland Prius, Jan 28, 2018
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  4. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

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    I always thought that was what the R stood for. Well either the style, or the type of driver! o_O
     
    #44 RCO, Jan 29, 2018
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  5. Tande

    Tande Active Member

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    "My doctor told me I needed to get into shape.....I told him, round is a shape!"..........:cautious:
     
    #45 Tande, Jan 29, 2018
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  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i like the prius better than the civic.
     
    #46 bisco, Jan 29, 2018
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  7. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

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    S'nuthin! I like Prius Chat better than the Civic...
     
    #47 RCO, Jan 30, 2018
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  8. hayden55

    hayden55 Member

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    I'd say the Camry hybrid and ford escape are all good examples, but when you mentioned: Leaf, Bolt/Volt, C-Max, that is where I don't agree.
    Next, I actually quoted in my first posted a Tesla engineer and stated their position on making genuinely good looking cars and wondered why everyone else didnt have the same perspective.
    People line up outside stores and put down deposits way ahead of time to be able to own a Tesla, and thats something you cannot say about the other really boundary pusher mpg cars. People are not lining up to buy the Cmax, the Leaf, The Bolt, The Volt, etc...
    They actually give these cars away. The manufacturers are already being given a 7500-12000 subsidy depending on state to be competitive with standard gasoline cars, and these cars still sell way under list, and have horrible resale value. (Prius being a strong exception w/ great resale value)
    So I guess there are people designing cars that people want to buy (Camry hybrid, Fusion Hybrid, Prius etc...) but some of these cars are just too polarizingly weird to be taken seriously. I actually considered buying a leaf or a bolt, but I had about a dozen people tell me I would look like a total goober driving one around. At least with the Prius people just make a couple Prius jokes and move on, but the guy driving the Leaf gets murdered lol.
    So it just makes me wonder: Tesla's cars all outsell production availability and have great looks and class leading aerodynamics on every model they produce while looking fantastic and having above average resale so it would be nice to see a refreshingly good looking Prius competitor for once.
    Edit: Just saw the 2019 Honda Insight proto and they have a great idea going when they talked about why they designed their car.
     
    #48 hayden55, Jan 30, 2018
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  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    actually, prius was similar when gen 2 first came out. i was on a 14 month waiting list.
    i don't think people are lining up for tesla's based on looks.
     
    #49 bisco, Jan 30, 2018
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  10. SteveMucc

    SteveMucc Active Member

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    I paid 3.5K over list from my Gen 2 due to demand. The local dealers didn't even bother keeping lists they just bumped the price and if you could afford it you got one, if not you were sol.
     
    #50 SteveMucc, Jan 30, 2018
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  11. SteveMucc

    SteveMucc Active Member

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    Doesn't Toyota already do that with all their other hybrids? Sure, you don't get quite the range of the Prius (you have to give something up to the design), but if you want a sedan, the Camry is already there. At this point, the Prius is just another design, it's no longer "THE" hybrid, it's just another in their stable.

    Tesla is selling an image (kind of like the Gen 2 Prius' had). As far as I'm concerned, the Tesla looks like just another sedan, and not a particularly interesting one at that.
     
    #51 SteveMucc, Jan 30, 2018
  12. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

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    If I were to design something that, let's say 100 people like and thought desirable, but I've only made one of them... Sure, I'm gonna have a waiting list! Now if there's an element of short supply and price exclusivity, get will follow an increased desirability amongst all the other 99 on the waiting list, which will get longer and longer.

    Wonder why Elon didn't think of that?
     
    #52 RCO, Jan 30, 2018
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  13. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    I've only seen a few TESLAs here, but they don't stand out - in fact I thought it looked a bit "ordinary" - and thought the paint and panel-fit was a bit ordinary too, for a $¼ million car.
     
    #53 alanclarkeau, Jan 30, 2018
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  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    they are, you're paying for the tech.
     
    #54 bisco, Jan 30, 2018
  15. hayden55

    hayden55 Member

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    lol I've never seen a 1/4 million dollar Tesla (excluding non released roadster). Did brabus or someone work their magic on this one?
     
    #55 hayden55, Jan 30, 2018
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  16. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    From CarAdvice:
    upload_2018-1-31_11-58-14.png
    ...
    upload_2018-1-31_12-0-24.png
    "... The switchgear seems like an afterthought, the interior is spartan and not especially luxurious, the seat trim feels cheap and the seats themselves are hardly those of a ‘luxury SUV’.

    The panel gaps and the build quality in general aren’t at a level I’d be happy with, either."
     
    #56 alanclarkeau, Jan 30, 2018
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  17. JeffHastings

    JeffHastings Member

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    As the current owner of an Avalon Hybrid, I wanted a car that didn't scream "hybrid" after my Gen. 3 Prius. So the hybrid Avalon looks the same as the non-hybrid. But I don't think the new Prius looks bad at all and there's nothing wrong with having a car that DOES scream hybrid. Most of the new hybrids and EVs look pretty sharp and I'd not overlook them in the future. In fact, I find the Chevy Bolt pretty appealing. Still, there's also a place for hybrids that blend-in rather than stand-out.
     
    #57 JeffHastings, Jan 30, 2018
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  18. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    From now on with all the competition in the hybrid market Toyota has to keep pushing ahead of its competition.
    No more if we build it they will come.

    When people think of hybrid they think Prius..
     
    #58 padroo, Jan 30, 2018
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  19. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    I suspect they'll have lots of competition in that market in the near future, with more hybrids, but also PHEV and EVs with better and better range. Hyundai, Kia, Renault, VW for starters. Toyota is working with Mazda on EV systems, so expect Mazda too.
     
    #59 alanclarkeau, Jan 30, 2018
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  20. civicdriver06

    civicdriver06 Active Member

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    Really?
    At least the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid exterior is a cheeky,slightly disguised copy of the 3. Gen Prius and not seeing that is just as rediculous as supervillain and mastermind Lex Luther not recognising Clark Kent as Superman just because he his wearing glasses!
    I never heard anybody say the gen. 3 Prius is fairly common looking.
    Well at least the haters wouldn't admit it.
    I like the design of the Prius !
     
    #60 civicdriver06, Jan 31, 2018
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2018
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