Got so see the new Prius at the Austin auto show. Looks sharp, and the cockpit is a huge improvement over the existing model. It was behind a barrier, but the wife got permission to try out the front (cloth) seat. She said it was no better than the current cloth seats, which was a disappointment. Hopefully the leather seats will be better. Sure wish they had included a luxury seat package instead of the useless technology package--who parallel parks these days anyway? And surely the a seat package would have been no heavier than all the gadgets in the techology package! We're looking forward to taking one for a spin!
Oh yeah, the leather seats are much more comfortable than the cloth ones in the 2010. I noticed a difference between the two when I sat in both a few months back.
I've had my 2007 Gen II Prius with cloth seats since February 2007. I've sat in the 2010 Gen III Prius with cloth seats on 3 separate occasions now. Once at Prius Connection Detroit, once at Prius Connection New York City, and yesterday at the New York Auto Show. I think the 2010 Gen III cloth seats are a VAST improvement over the Gen II's.
from what i remember there are some parallel parking in downtown austin. otherwise, most major cities people have to parallel park.
Parallel parking is common here but it is taught and tested before you can get your licence, because a lot of road deaths are a result of parallel parking mishaps. And they say speed kills, yeah right! Somehow I doubt you would pass your driving test if you let the car park itself, however that is the way of the future.
I could see auto-parallel parking on a beast like the Lexus 460/600h, but a small car like the Prius? Here in San Antonio I haven't parallel parked in the last 18 years! Totally worthless feature in my book. Besides, the reviews of the system in the LS stated the system was cumbersome to set up. Heated, cooled multi-adjustable memory seats would have been a much more useful feature.
Is stall parking different from driving in and backing out of a parking place? If not, why would you need a parking assist for it?
I think it's in reference to backing into a stall. Parking assist could be handy for that. Yes, some people like doing that in some cases. See tip 65 on 100+ hypermiling / ecodriving tips to increase gas mileage - EcoModder.com as to why.
I live in New York City and parallel park all the time. But I agree with you, I have no use for the parallel parking feature. Mainly because it cannot handle this parallel parking task that New Yorkers frequently face: Park the car into a space that's only 1 to 2 feet longer than the car and park it within one inch of the curb (to minimize risk of being sideswiped). Which brings up some related points: I wonder what's the shortest length parking space that the parallel parking feature can handle. (I'm guessing that it's a length at least 5 feet longer than the car ... a veritable "side of the barn" lol.) I also wonder whether the parallel parking feature takes into account the amount of clearance on the side opposite the parking space and, if so, how much clearance is needed. (I frequently have to parallel park in a narrow street where there are cars parked on both sides of the street.)
You can adjust the box and move it towards the curb, right? I mean at the LA show, it parked it nicely and decently close to the curb. Because backing into a spot and driving out is safer than driving into the spot and backing out.
That's debateable--I have never had a problem backing out of a parking space in 43 years of driving. Besides, backing into a space should not present an issue with a tiny car like the Prius. On our Tundra, the proximity sensors take care of that if we wanted to back in.
Well you minimise the risk right? I'm sure they'r both just as safe if there's on one in the parking lot but for whatever reason, my area tends to have people that walk behind cars that are backing out of stalls even if they're already half way out! There's no sense of courtesy and waiting or even just crossing to the other side. They'd rather walk right behind you. lol
Again, difference of car culture. In many public car parks here, the spaces are smaller than a Prius. The end of the car sticks out over the line. Prius is a very big car over here. The majority of cars sold are smaller. It was something of a stumbling block for me buying one.
All I can say is here in Texas we have no trouble parking our Toyota Tundra double-cab in any regular parking space. And pedestrians are a dime a dozen!
