I'm not saying that the car isn't aerodynamic, I just don't think that it was the primary driver of the styling. #1 was to make it unique so that buyers could signal their concern for energy conservation to other drivers. Look at the Honda Civic hybrid, cars sitting on lots that nobody wanted, meanwhile there was a waiting list for the Prius. Why? Because the civic hybrid looked like every other civic on the road and didn't look hybridy enough. I think the marketing and accounting depts held the engineering dept back on the Prius or it would have, should have, achieved much better numbers. As it is the Prius doesn't get enough better mileage than the Camry to justify the cost difference. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm disappointed that the Prius didn't achieve better with all of Toyota's resources behind it. In that one aspect the Elio has a better chance because it's a smaller company willing to take bigger risks with its image. I agree that 84mpg is a hell of a long shot but we all like to root for the underdog, right?
-Kyle On Mon, Jun 30, 2014 at 12:14 PM, Allen Thomas <[email protected]> wrote: > Kyle, if the aerodynamics were done for aethetics then why do all hybrids, > and most new vehicles have the basic shape, K-back or kammback design? > Remember the Prius was the first mass produced Hybrid and the Honda that > came out shortly thereafter looked almost identical. Supposedly its Cg is > .26. Also the Honda Insight had a 1 Liter motor and could only get MPG into > the high 60s. > > > On Mon, Jun 30, 2014 at 12:35 PM, Kyle Munz <[email protected]> wrote: > >> The Prius is constrained by being a 4door sedan, plus it weighs tons >> more. I'm also not convinced that the engineers were tasked with making the >> most efficient vehicle, but rather a vehicle that seemed more fuel >> efficient than the competition and stood out with unique styling so that >> their drivers could appear to be part of *the solution* rather than *the >> problem*. >> >> >> -Kyle >> >> >> On Mon, Jun 30, 2014 at 11:25 AM, Allen Thomas <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> If a Prius can't get any where near 80 mpg then I doubt this will. I >>> have to think Toyota has a wind tunnel and highly experienced engineers. >>> >>> Allen Thomas >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
