Creating Confusion.  Someone read an article about Prius Prime from 3 months ago and wanted to publish comments about the points made on his website.  So, he searched the internet for some material and did exactly that.  The opening paragraph was a confusing portrayal of Prius PHV so messed up, I had to read the thing several times to figure out what he was attempting to tell.  The article got worse from there.  Clearly not understanding what the EPA window-sticker information states, he went on to complain about how Toyota could only offer "6 miles" for the first generation but was pleased that the second will deliver 22 miles.  That type of misrepresentation is harmful.  It's how misconceptions emerge.  Assumptions are passed along and eventually true fact becomes very difficult to find.  I was annoyed, to say the least.  It's why I've been so hard on the Volt spin.  That's intentional misleading.  This was an effort to be sincere.  He failed miserably.  Readers of his webpage will have no idea that information was wrong.  Retractions & Corrections are rare.  The likelihood of them being read is even more rare.  It's really unfortunate we have to deal with problems like this.

Prime sales will begin.  Bolt sales will begin.  An announcement from Nissan is expected.  Change is on the way.

58 MPG.  I drove home from Northern Minnesota without using any plug-supplied electricity today.  I wanted to see out what the MPG would be, again.  It would be my last opportunity to witness that.  With the temperature a pleasant Fall warmth.  Why not?  After all, efficiency would be outstanding... by gen-3 terms.  When I upgrade from the Prius PHV to the Prius Prime in about 2 months, that gen-4 hybrid system will deliver even higher MPG.  The drive was what I usually do on long trips like that, toggling the HV/EV button when approaching stops while decelerating from highway speeds.  In this case, that generated & saved  miles worth of EV capacity... which I did use along the drive.  The goal was to make sure the estimated range matched what it did upon filling up with gas that morning, just down the road from where I had stayed the night before.  That is indeed what happened too.  The drive was 172 miles.  The resulting average was a very pleasing 58 MPG.  That's right on par with other trips that didn't use plug-supplied electricity, with top cruising speeds of 70 mph.  It's great having a hybrid so efficient, it stands out even without plugging in.  Anywho, I had to take a photo to document the experience...  photo album 186

Dieselgate Progress.  It's slow, painfully slow.  It's totally worth in though.  Diesel for passenger cars has become a dead topic now.  There is no future for it here.  The nonsense around "clean diesel" has been revealed to be the biggest scam of all time.  The smug owners who dismissed our empirical evidence are long gone.  They were suckered into believing emissions were much cleaner and didn't want to address the reality of on-going improvements to hybrid efficiency.  And now with plug-in hybrids delivered MPG so far beyond anything a diesel could even remotely achieve, it's a worthless endeavor.  Gen-4 Prius was enough to nail that coffin shut anyway.  Prius Prime will make that message so clear, there's no reason to even try... which is why VW dealers have wanted compensation for so much lost business.  652 dealers across the United States were depending upon VW sales.  Not only were diesels not available, the inventory that could be sold became quite a challenge upon the loss of trust.  VW got caught lying to customers.  As a result, it looks like an average of $1.8 million will be paid to each of those dealers.  That comes to a total of $1.21 billion.  The scandal is proving to be extraordinarily expense.  It's too bad the problem wasn't exposed sooner.  Prius owners were furious with the lack of attention. We kept asking how could so much be achieved by doing so little.   Things just didn't add up.

Look at it this way... they are in the class, they are participating in the exciting projects, they are doing good work.  We'll just have to wait some more for the assignment to be completed.

That's It!  I reached the end of my rope and let him have it.  His efforts were responses out of desperation, anything to make Toyota look bad at this point.  He actually gave up trying to attack me.  Clearly, I wasn't going to back down.  That's because I know what's coming.  Intense research and online participation has its rewards.  There wasn't any reason to hold back anymore.  Calling those posts hypocritical wouldn't accomplish anything anyway.  It was time to sight goals and call the play.  So, I did:  We still await that "nicely under $30,000" plug-in from GM.  Remember that promise for late 2010?  In other words, I call your double-standard.

Keep doing what you want.  Focus on being "ahead" for the sake of... ahh... what does that accomplish?

Winter Warming.  The crazy online banter is almost over.  We can finally look toward real-world data gathering.  That collection of driving experiences shared is a powerful weapon.  Squashing misconceptions and the fight against greenwashing is far easier when speculation ends and ownership begins.  I am especially looking forward to the Winter experience.  Living here in Minnesota, that's especially valuable... as well as fun to be part of the discovery process.  The new preheat feature is something I had hoped would be available from Prius PHV.  Electric heating didn't make sense way back in 2012 though.  Far too much EV range was sacrificed for the ability.  So, it wasn't offered.  This time, the battery is big enough and the heat-pump far more efficient.  I'll be able to run it directly while plugged in too.  Yeah!  In addition to that cabin warming feature, the battery-pack and steering-wheel will have warming features.  Hooray!  Each generation becomes increasingly more electric, yet price stays in check.  That's sweet.  Lowering tolerances like that won't be appreciated by many people other than early adopters, those who closely following gen-1 designs.  The gen-2 vehicles, most notably Prius Prime, will just work without there ever being any type of electric concern.  It will just work.  People will use, but not appreciate the technology advancements.  That's how you know it has reached maturity.  Ordinary consumers have little to no engineering background.  Most have no clue how their vehicle actually works.  Those promoting the switch from gas to electricity must be keenly aware of that.  Otherwise, what's advertised will be meaningless.    Functionality of the past won't have any relevance now; so, there's nothing to mention.  I'll simply be telling people it works great in the cold.

This isn't rocket science; it's business.  Prius PHV was rolled out mid-cycle in limited quantity to limited areas.  Decisions about what next step to take was made based on observations & feedback from those initial owners.  How much power & range to increase was made based on real-world data and cost reductions possible in the available timeframe.  That's how Prime came about.

Lead or Follow?  That question sums up the enthusiast view of the market.  It's either lead or follow.  Simply being part of something isn't possible.  You win or you lose; nothing in between.  Ugh.  That's why getting through to them about the importance of sales is basically pointless.  They don't hear you.  The idea of being ahead is all that matters.  It's that same old trophy mentality.  Oh well.  Whether they like it or not, sales are how you gauge change.  Many means you have an effective solution.  It's that easy to interpret.  This isn't: "To me it just strengthens the argument that GM is leading and not following."  That was the response to hearing that Toyota may choose to offer a plug exclusively for the 5th generation.  Much can happen in the next 5 to 6 years.  A cost-effective next step is needed by all automakers.  What will the others do?  Toyota's path is much easier to see.  Sales will make that determination, not leadership claims, not winning awards, not declaring superiority or obsolescence.  I put it this way:  Sales are the measure of progress.  Generation 1 (the first chapter in plug-in hybrid history) reached enthusiasts well, but ended with market saturation.  Generation 2 is the chapter where the attempt to appeal to ordinary showroom shoppers takes place.  That's a very different audience.  So far, only gen-2 Volt has been rolled out.  Sales have been flat, despite no other gen-2 offering being available yet.  That's not the type of leadership the industry has been hoping for.  Significant growth is needed for plugging in to be taken seriously.  That means greatly exceeding levels of the past.  Toyota, Hyundai, Chrysler, and Mitsubishi will all be joining within the next year.  The goal is to show that plug-in hybrids are having an impact on traditional vehicle sales.  Achieving that will come from new interest, convincing new customers to purchase.  What difference will leading or following make?

Maturity.  There were some who didn't show any.  We got repeats of the same old rhetoric.  It's hard to believe pride gets so much in the way sometimes.  Dropping bait is the most common response when there's a topic they don't find appealing.  I didn't bite any of that.  The antagonism simply doesn't work anymore.  Responding only gets you labeled as a troll anyway.  Confirmation of the situation simply comes in the form of them trying to lure you.  The more attempts, the more you know they're recognizing what went wrong.  I waited for something constructive to be posted instead.  This was good enough to hopefully stir something constructive in return: "They've stretched it to it's Hybrid Synergy limits.  If this means Prius gets a plug and a bank of lithium ion batteries, HOORAY!  It's about time, Toyota!"  The rest wasn't anything new.  It was quite predictable.  I kept the reply to that particular one short:  That stretch is called reaching maturity.  With both cost & efficiency improved to the point of being directly competitive against traditional vehicles, adding a plug & battery-capacity is the next natural step... which is exactly what will be happening this year.  That's right on time, just as interest for plugging in emerges.  Mainstream buyers simply haven't cared up until now.