Prius Overload: Toyota to bump production 70% [Archive]

Sulu

07-25-2008, 05:36 PM

If the Prius went mainstream when Toyota bumped production to 280,000 worldwide units per year in 2007, the fuel efficient hybrid is now primed to kick project green to the next level. When Toyota begins producing the next gen Prius, it'll do so with more factory space than ever dedicated to the universal symbol for fuel efficiency, making it possible to produce 480,000 vehicles per year. The Japan-based Tsutsumi factory, which currently builds five different vehicles, will stop making the JDM Wish minivan to allow for more Priuses. Even more Prius capacity will be available beginning in 2010, when the Japanese automaker's new Mississippi plant comes online and begins to produce more of the hybrid.

With the meteoric rise in gas prices, the Prius has gone from a yuppie green statement for politicians and suburbanites to a means for the masses to travel around town without breaking the bank. $4 per gallon gas and a continued lack of competition means Toyota could probably double production again and still sell every Prius it makes.Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/25/prius-overload-toyota-to-bump-production-70/

Sulu

07-30-2008, 12:09 AM

Who is this guy? wow... this guy hates hybrids with a passion:

http://blogs.edmunds.com/straightline/2008/07/i-hate-hybrids.html

Who is this guy? There are those who are so close-minded that they refuse to consider another perspective -- another viewpoint -- that is different from their own. There are those for whom change is very difficult, those who must be pulled kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. It seems that The Mechanic is one of those people. They see the Prius as the icon of a different perspective and also as an icon of unwanted Change. It is not necessarily hybrid vehicles -- why else would he seem to tolerate "fake" hybrids such as the Lexus hybrids, but not the Prius? They have transferred all their hatred into that one icon, the Prius.

They will grasp at all arguments that put the Prius in a bad light, no matter how false they may be. (And remember that any of these spurious arguments against the Prius could be made against the "fake" hybrids also, regardless of whether the hybrid is a Lexus or a GM.) The use of nickel in the nickel-metal hydride hybrid system batteries, forcing the mining for nickel and turning Sudbury, Ontario into a lunar landscape has now become an urban legend, regardless of the fact that it is all false (Sudbury is no longer a lunar landscape). The importing of the Prius on a slow boat from China, polluting the air all the way, is another urban legend. Let's take another look -- from a different perspective which he refuses to consider -- at these two urban legends.

I wonder what vehicle The Mechanic drives? From his "enjoy the drive at all costs" attitude, would it be wrong to speculate that he drives a BMW? Where was the BMW assembled? Was it assembled in Munich, Germany, then placed aboard a "big smelly ship" to eventually arrive 2 months later on the US Eastern Seaboard, guzzling gas all the way?

Okay, let's be nice and speculate that he "drives American". But where was the engine or certain other vehicle components assembled? Was it Germany (American-assembled BMWs or Mercedes-Benzes use German parts), or Australia (GM uses Australian engines), or China perhaps (GM uses Chinese engines), or Japan, or Korea? How did those parts arrive at the US assembly plant? On a "big smelly ship" and then "gas guzzling" transport trucks? Regardless of what car The Mechanic drives -- import or "domestic" -- he cannot get around the use of international transportation, and that is, more often than not, a big smelly ship.

How much nickel is used in the car that The Mechanic drives? Let's see...

Of course, metal-hydride hybrid batteries aren’t the only use for nickel. One widespread use of nickel is for the chrome (chromium-nickel) plating that’s widely used in trim and wheels for luxury vehicles. And according to the Nickel Institute, which represents trade groups, manufacturers, and nickel producers, about two-thirds of all nickel mined goes toward stainless steel, which is of course widely used in vehicles — exhaust systems, for instance. Another significant portion goes toward engine alloys — pistons, rings, liners and the like; in general, the larger the engine, the more nickel it’s likely to have.Source: http://www.thecarconnection.com/article/1010861_prius-versus-hummer-exploding-the-myth

There is the chrome plating that decorates his car. (If it is a fancy BMW, or even a fancy domestically-assembled car, how much chrome plating is there on the car? Is it merely a fashion item, so could the car do without that decorative chrome plating, or is it absolutely necessary?)

And, of course, there is the stainless steel in the exhaust system, which gives his car a muffler and tailpipe that will not rust out.

There are all the alloys in a modern automotive engine, places in which nickel is hidden but is, nevertheless, extremely important to the modern automobile. How big is the car -- and the engine in the car -- that The Mechanic drives? If we had speculated that he drives a BMW, would it be too far out to speculate that he would drive a large BMW with a large engine?

Nickel is not only used in the hybrid system battery of the Prius, but in many other components of the Prius and other cars as well, and it is very important to the modern automobile.

I am afraid that The Mechanic cannot get away from mined nickel or gas guzzling big smelly ships, regardless of what he drives. See what a different perspective will get you?

Just so the reader does not have to speculate, I do not drive a Prius. I drive a Gen6 Camry LE (4-cylinder). My car was assembled in Kentucky. It has chrome plating framing the door windows; stainless steel in the exhaust system; no doubt countless nickel alloys in various other components, that a not insignificant proportion were likely imported from Japan and China aboard large container ships. It was imported from Kentucky to Ontario, Canada aboard gas-guzzling transport trucks.


Toyota Forums :: Toyota Nation > Toyota Nation Forums > Toyota News > Prius Overload: Toyota to bump production 70% PDA Prius Overload: Toyota to bump production 70% Sulu 07-25-2008, 05:36 PM If the Prius went mainstream when Toyota bumped production to 280,000 worldwide units per year in 2007, the fuel efficient hybrid is now primed to kick project green to the next level. When Toyota begins producing the next gen Prius, it'll do so with more factory space than ever dedicated to the universal symbol for fuel efficiency, making it possible to produce 480,000 vehicles per year. The Japan-based Tsutsumi factory, which currently builds five different vehicles, will stop making the JDM Wish minivan to allow for more Priuses. Even more Prius capacity will be available beginning in 2010, when the Japanese automaker's new Mississippi plant comes online and begins to produce more of the hybrid. With the meteoric rise in gas prices, the Prius has gone from a yuppie green statement for politicians and suburbanites to a means for the masses to travel around town without breaking the bank. $4 per gallon gas and a continued lack of competition means Toyota could probably double production again and still sell every Prius it makes.Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/25/prius-overload-toyota-to-bump-production-70/ 100$ GUY 07-27-2008, 02:59 PM ABout time? TRD-MX83 07-29-2008, 04:28 PM Who is this guy? wow... this guy hates hybrids with a passion: http://blogs.edmunds.com/straightline/2008/07/i-hate-hybrids.html Sulu 07-30-2008, 12:09 AM Who is this guy? wow... this guy hates hybrids with a passion: http://blogs.edmunds.com/straightline/2008/07/i-hate-hybrids.html Who is this guy? There are those who are so close-minded that they refuse to consider another perspective -- another viewpoint -- that is different from their own. There are those for whom change is very difficult, those who must be pulled kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. It seems that The Mechanic is one of those people. They see the Prius as the icon of a different perspective and also as an icon of unwanted Change. It is not necessarily hybrid vehicles -- why else would he seem to tolerate "fake" hybrids such as the Lexus hybrids, but not the Prius? They have transferred all their hatred into that one icon, the Prius. They will grasp at all arguments that put the Prius in a bad light, no matter how false they may be. (And remember that any of these spurious arguments against the Prius could be made against the "fake" hybrids also, regardless of whether the hybrid is a Lexus or a GM.) The use of nickel in the nickel-metal hydride hybrid system batteries, forcing the mining for nickel and turning Sudbury, Ontario into a lunar landscape has now become an urban legend, regardless of the fact that it is all false (Sudbury is no longer a lunar landscape). The importing of the Prius on a slow boat from China, polluting the air all the way, is another urban legend. Let's take another look -- from a different perspective which he refuses to consider -- at these two urban legends. I wonder what vehicle The Mechanic drives? From his "enjoy the drive at all costs" attitude, would it be wrong to speculate that he drives a BMW? Where was the BMW assembled? Was it assembled in Munich, Germany, then placed aboard a "big smelly ship" to eventually arrive 2 months later on the US Eastern Seaboard, guzzling gas all the way? Okay, let's be nice and speculate that he "drives American". But where was the engine or certain other vehicle components assembled? Was it Germany (American-assembled BMWs or Mercedes-Benzes use German parts), or Australia (GM uses Australian engines), or China perhaps (GM uses Chinese engines), or Japan, or Korea? How did those parts arrive at the US assembly plant? On a "big smelly ship" and then "gas guzzling" transport trucks? Regardless of what car The Mechanic drives -- import or "domestic" -- he cannot get around the use of international transportation, and that is, more often than not, a big smelly ship. How much nickel is used in the car that The Mechanic drives? Let's see... Of course, metal-hydride hybrid batteries aren’t the only use for nickel. One widespread use of nickel is for the chrome (chromium-nickel) plating that’s widely used in trim and wheels for luxury vehicles. And according to the Nickel Institute, which represents trade groups, manufacturers, and nickel producers, about two-thirds of all nickel mined goes toward stainless steel, which is of course widely used in vehicles — exhaust systems, for instance. Another significant portion goes toward engine alloys — pistons, rings, liners and the like; in general, the larger the engine, the more nickel it’s likely to have.Source: http://www.thecarconnection.com/article/1010861_prius-versus-hummer-exploding-the-myth There is the chrome plating that decorates his car. (If it is a fancy BMW, or even a fancy domestically-assembled car, how much chrome plating is there on the car? Is it merely a fashion item, so could the car do without that decorative chrome plating, or is it absolutely necessary?) And, of course, there is the stainless steel in the exhaust system, which gives his car a muffler and tailpipe that will not rust out. There are all the alloys in a modern automotive engine, places in which nickel is hidden but is, nevertheless, extremely important to the modern automobile. How big is the car -- and the engine in the car -- that The Mechanic drives? If we had speculated that he drives a BMW, would it be too far out to speculate that he would drive a large BMW with a large engine? Nickel is not only used in the hybrid system battery of the Prius, but in many other components of the Prius and other cars as well, and it is very important to the modern automobile. I am afraid that The Mechanic cannot get away from mined nickel or gas guzzling big smelly ships, regardless of what he drives. See what a different perspective will get you? Just so the reader does not have to speculate, I do not drive a Prius. I drive a Gen6 Camry LE (4-cylinder). My car was assembled in Kentucky. It has chrome plating framing the door windows; stainless steel in the exhaust system; no doubt countless nickel alloys in various other components, that a not insignificant proportion were likely imported from Japan and China aboard large container ships. It was imported from Kentucky to Ontario, Canada aboard gas-guzzling transport trucks.