But the team had a hard time figuring out who the car would appeal to. It quickly learned that extreme environmentalists weren't interested in hybrids: They were turned off by the technology and tight with a buck. And some dealers were still skeptical. Salt Lake City dealer Larry Miller, who owns nine Toyota and Lexus outlets, liked the way the Prius drove but wasn't sure about the design.
Meanwhile Honda, which had been racing to get a hybrid, the Insight, to the U. But the Insight was more an experiment than a serious car. It had extreme aerodynamic styling, no back seat, and a smaller engine that used less sophisticated technology. Coming in second provided a benefit for Toyota: An Insight buyer in the U.
The two biggest decisions TMS had to make were how many cars to order and how much to charge, the latter causing friction between California and Japan. Under the Toyota system, the U. But the Americans saw a car about the size of the smaller Corolla and produced research showing that buyers would balk at paying that much. Japan lost money on the first batch -- not unusual for a small car.
Worried about the hybrid's economics, the stateside Prius team armed itself with contingency plans to boost sales if they started to sag: cut-rate leases, rental coupons, free maintenance, roadside assistance. But with profit margins scant and volumes low, there was no money for advertising. Instead, he relied on grass-roots marketing, public relations events, and the Internet. Since no one really knew who might buy these things, Toyota created a special Internet ordering system to ensure Priuses were allocated wherever demand popped up.
Some 37, interested consumers signed up, and 12, eventually became buyers. Preselling the cars on the Internet also enabled Toyota to identify customer hot spots. But some Toyota dealers liked the old system better; they felt they were being cut out of the process. The Prius made its U. It wasn't a delight to drive, requiring 13 seconds to get to 60 miles per hour the Corolla needed just ten.
A Car and Driver writer reported, "The Prius alternatively lurches and bucks down the road, its engine noise swelling and subsiding for no apparent reason. But the Prius caught on anyway and, as in Japan, sales were much higher than the company dared hope. Then celebrities discovered the Prius, and it really took off. A California public relations agency asked Toyota to provide five Priuses for the Academy Awards.
Toyota says no money changed hands, but the value of seeing Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart step out of a chauffeur- driven Prius was, as they say, priceless.
The boost from the Oscars and steadily rising gasoline prices stoked interest in the second generation Prius, which was in development even before the first version went on sale in the U. Launched in the fall of , the new model became a fashion statement. It had a unique hatchback body style that made it stand out in traffic. It was faster and more powerful than its predecessor, used less gas, and produced fewer emissions.
And, thanks to a successful effort by American planners, it did not have a complicated touchpad control that required scrolling through several menus just to operate the defroster. People waited months to get their Priuses, as production struggled to keep pace with demand.
With success has come the inevitable backlash. The knocks against hybrids are all true. But what the critics didn't put a price on was the value of being seen as eco-sensitive without giving up performance. What's the true cost of a gallon of gas, if you factor in foreign aid, Middle Eastern wars, and so on? The truth is on our side. The most prominent convert to the hybrid cause has been General Motors Research vice chairman Bob Lutz.
Besides, GM had its own powertrain of tomorrow: fuel cells. Other makers are also rushing to develop models. Ford Research , which licenses Toyota technology, has promised the capacity to build , hybrids by the end of the decade.
Even Ghosn is bringing hybrids to market under the Nissan brand. Toyota is relentlessly adapting hybrid technology to more models, with the goal of offering it in every vehicle it makes. Last October the company invited a dozen journalists to its test track outside Tokyo, in the shadow of Mount Fuji, to drive two future hybrid vehicles.
On a cold, rainy day, both cars performed flawlessly. The hybrid Camry proved roomy yet thrifty, capable of achieving a combined city and highway fuel economy of 40 miles per gallon. The silvery Lexus GSh was quick -- zero to 60 in 5. If Toyota can continue to reduce costs, and it most probably will, the potential for hybrids may be nearly unlimited.
With its huge headstart, better technology, enormous scale, and powerful will to make hybrids an everyday alternative to the internal combustion engine -- a combination no other auto maker can match -- it's hard to see Toyota not dominating the industry for years to come. The world's most admired automaker had to overcome punishing deadlines, skeptical dealers, finicky batteries, and its own risk-averse culture to bring its hybrid to market. Read the review. For you. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options.
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It's also an unlikely automotive icon. The first-generation Prius wasn't much to look at. Years of high-development at Toyota yielded a tricked out Echo compact sedan with a new powerplant and an odd name. But consumers loved the thing. The gas-electric drivetrain posted awesome fuel economy and minimal emissions. The car experienced average success in Japan and in , Toyota decided enough research had been done on the Japanese version to release the Prius in the US.
Initial testing in the U. The few drivers involved in the testing were less than impressed. Toyota in the U. Meanwhile, Honda jumped the gun on Toyota and released its first Hybrid, the Insight, in Finally, when the car was first released in the U. Performance was lacking; the Prius took 13 seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph Corolla only took 10 seconds. The transition from electric to gas powered was not smooth. Nevertheless, the Prius caught on. Toyota was pleasantly surprised that sales the first year exceeded projections and when some Hollywood stars took notice and purchased the vehicles , things only go better.
In , the Prius was fully redesigned and presented itself as a stylish fashion statement for buyers. It had more power, produced fewer emissions and got better gas mileage. Sales took off: Toyota doubled its sales of the Prius in and then doubled them again in People were literally waiting months to get the Prius. As of today, the Prius is the best selling hybrid vehicle in the U.
In , Toyota sold more than , copies. In early , the Prius hit an all time record of more than 20, sales in a month as it passed the Ford Explorer on the sales charts. I agree to receive emails from Green Car Reports. I understand that I can unsubscribe at any time. Privacy Policy. Which brand just passed Mercedes-Benz in U. Which upcoming EV could be the basis for a future U. Subaru revealed its first mass-production electric vehicle, the Solterra, in prototype form.
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