70 Miles Is Dividing Line For Volt, Prius Plug-in

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By Danny King October 20, 2011

The 2012 Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in hybrid has lower fuel costs than the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in hybrid if the driver regularly drives 14 to 70 miles between recharges, while the Prius Plug-in is a cheaper ride at longer recharging intervals, according to green-vehicles industry analyst John Gartner. At 70 miles, the two cars are even at $4.75 in fuel expenses, while the Prius Plug-in driver would be at about $1 ahead of Volt-owning neighbors if each vehicle was driven 110 miles a day, Gartner found. For the first 14 miles, both vehicles would be running on power from their grid-charged batteries and their fuel costs would be the same, said Gartner, a senior analyst at Colorado-based clean-technology markets research firm Pike Research.

Gartner’s fuel-cost report, related in a Pike blog post earlier this week, indicates that many potential plug-in electric vehicle buyers may compare the Prius Plug-in to the Volt when the rechargeable Toyota hybrid debuts in 14 U.S. states next spring. Industry watchers expect the two cars to be fierce rivals in the infant plug-in market segment and Toyota seems confident its plug-in hybrid will outsell Chevrolet’s. Toyota Division Group Vice President and General Manager Bob Carter in September estimated that dealers wills sell about 15,000 plug-in Priuses during its first year. Chevrolet dealers through the first nine months of this year have sold just 3,900 Volts, though the automaker claims sales numbers have been constrained by limited supply.

The Volt might appear to get a marketplace boost from its $7,500 federal tax credit versus a $2,500 credit for the Prius Plug-in because of its markedly smaller battery pack. Battery capacity is the metric the federal government uses to determine the size of a rechargeable vehicle’s tax credit. But the Volt’s higher sticker price – it starts at $39,995 versus $32,760 for the Prius Plug-in – ends up making it about $2,000 more expensive than the Toyota. Additionally, Prius plug-in drivers will get to drive solo in some states' high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, while Volt drivers will have to wait until mid-2012, when the 2013 model is released with an engine-generator retuned to reduce emissions enough to qualify for single-occupancy carpool lanes. While those comparisons will help consumers make their choice, Gartner believes that the most important factor will be fuel economy and fuel savings.

Efficiency Or Environmental?
“Winning the hearts and wallets of consumers could come down to one number,” said Gartner. Edmunds.com data shows that fuel efficiency and fuel prices are closely tied in the conventional-car market, with sales of more-efficient vehicles rising during times of increasing fuel costs. Conventional (non plug-in) hybrid sales, however, have not always followed that trend, in large part because their higher prices make them more vulnerable to a weak economy. In his study, Gartner factored in gas prices at $3.50 a gallon and electricity at 11 cents per kilowatt-hour. Higher gasoline prices would improve the Prius’ cost efficiency over the Volt at longer distances because the Prius Plug-in is expected to be rated at 50 miles per gallon when its gasoline engine is running, versus the Volt’s 37-mpg EPA rating for gas-only travel.

Toyota spokesman John Hanson says a September report by Carnegie Mellon University provides one reason environmentally minded drivers may choose the plug-in variant of the Prius over the Volt regardless of potentially higher fueling costs: the report says electric-drive cars with larger battery packs may cause more environmental damage than cars with smaller packs because the bigger battery packs are heavier, produce more emissions when they are manufactured and require more charging infrastructure. The Volt has a 16-kilowatt-hour pack, the Prius plug-in a 4.4 kilowatt-hour pack.

Danny King:  is a frequent contributor to AutoObserver.com.

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New Tests Show Toyota Prius Wasn't At Fault

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If Toyota was hoping for a quick resolution to its various problems with sticky accelerators and braking problems, the company was dealt a series of blows last week following reports that drivers suffered more incidents due to unintended acceleration. However, new tests last week by U.S. government officials and Toyota revealed that a San Diego Prius driver likely misled police when he said his car sped out of control last week. The credibility of the driver, James Sikes, was called into question last week when new information surfaced about his background. Technicians with Toyota and NHTSA have found that the incident could not be duplicated during a federal investigation into last week’s dramatic episode.

The results came to light in a memo prepared for the House Committee on Oversight and Government reform.

“Every time the technician placed the gas pedal to the floor and the brake pedal to the floor the engine shut off and the car immediately started to slow down,” read the memo.

NHTSA's finding is in line with the Prius's brake override system -- in place on Sikes's car -- that uses software to cut engine power “if the brakes are applied with moderate to heavy force,” said Mike Michels, a spokesman for Toyota in an e-mailed statement to BusinessWeek.

A Toyota official who was present at the inspection in San Diego said that that an electric motor in the Prius would “completely seize” if that override system had failed. During the investigation there was no evidence found that supported that occurring during Sikes’ incident.

Given these circumstances, the memo said that "it does not appear to be feasibly possible, both electronically and mechanically, that his gas pedal was stuck to the floor and he was slamming on the brake at the same time."

The fact that the NHTSA investigation has yielded no findings added further skepticism to Sikes’ account of the incident as the results directly conflict with what he has said happened. 

According to his explanation, the 2008 Toyota Prius had inexplicably accelerated to 94 MPH on a San Diego freeway and would not slow down, even though he was standing on the brake with both feet and attempting to pull up the gas pedal with his hands.

He claimed he was only able to come to a stop with the help of a California Highway Patrol Officer who caught up to Sikes after he called 911 and had been traveling close to 100 MPH for more than 20 minutes.

“I won't drive that car again, period,” said the visibly shaken Sikes after the terrifying event. 

With technicians unable to find what exactly went wrong during his ordeal, the cracks in his story appear to be widening even more.

“These findings certainly raise new questions surrounding the veracity of the sequence of events that has been reported by Mr. Sikes,” a spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa, the lead Republican on the House Oversight Committee, stated.

Sikes, however, remains defiant.

“That’s not surprising; NHTSA’s never been able to replicate one of these incidents,” said John Gomez, Sikes's attorney. “Toyota denies they happen at all. Mr. Sikes drove the vehicle for three years without incident. The idea that they couldn’t make it happen again really doesn’t show anything.”

Though Sikes stands by his story, the deck is certainly stacked in favor of Toyota, who will make a statement regarding the investigation today at 3:30PM, EDT.

Given the available evidence, Toyota seems poised for victory in the James Sikes runaway Prius saga.

The automaker, however, is far from being out of the woods.

Deceptive Practices?

Even though Toyota may come out of the Sikes episode with minimal damage, another incident in California has them, yet again, in hot water.

In an entirely separate case, the district attorney of Orange County, California has filed a lawsuit against Toyota, alleging that the company sold thousands of vehicles knowing that they had potential for unintended acceleration.

The attorney, Tony Rackauckas, has charged the automaker with engaging in deceptive business practices and seeks $2,500 per violation and a court order blocking Toyota from selling defective vehicles as warranted by the Unfair Business Practices Act, the AP reported.

According to The Detroit News, Rackauckas alleged that even though evidence of Toyota’s safety problems has been “massive for many years,” the company and its American subsidiary ignored the issues and settled any lawsuits that may have publicly disclosed the truth.

The DA has claimed that “rather than halt sales of products in California until it genuinely fixed the problem, [Toyota] made the business decision to continue selling their defective products,” in an 18-page complaint. He alleged the company “ignored, omitted, obfuscated and misrepresented the evidence.”

The civil lawsuit is the first of its kind in the United States and, if Rackauckas is successful, will “enjoin [Toyota] from continuing to endanger the public through the sale of defective vehicles and deceptive business practices.”

Toyota has not commented on the lawsuit or the allegations.

The automaker is already subject to a growing number of civil lawsuits from owners of its vehicles who have either experienced unintended acceleration or are scared that it may happen to them.

Given these circumstances, Toyota may find itself wading through lawsuits for a very long time, especially if cases similar to that of Rackauckas’ follow as more counties or even entire states could file suit in the same manner.

Asked Rackauckas, “We demand to know: Did Toyota, in their relentless pursuit to become the No. 1 carmaker in the United States, put profits over people?”

Too Big To Fade Away?

Even if Toyota ends up finding a quick resolution to the James Sikes incident, it's unlikely the company will be able to find a similarly swift ending to the lawsuits they will face, not to mention a long climb rebuilding their public image. Our story about James Sikes and his allegedly false claims racked up some 3000 comments and nearly 100,000 votes in which 81% of AOL users thought the whole ordeal was a fraud.

One reason we know Toyota is going to have a hard time putting this behind them is that the Prius has now elevated to the level of pop culture topic du jour, what with NBC's Saturday Night Live spoofing a Prius in their show this weekend. Watch the clip for yourself below.

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Did Toyota Prius Driver Fake Unintended Acceleration?

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Toyota Prius driver James Sikes spoke with reporters after his runaway incident on a San Diego freeway on March 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Did the driver of a runaway Toyota Prius in San Diego tell the truth when he said his accelerator pedal stuck earlier this week? New evidence is calling the driver's credibility into question, although the real answer will not be entirely clear until Toyota and the NHTSA announce the results of their investigation. Details about the driver, James Sikes, leave many wondering if he had ulterior motives for his claims.

USA Today and Jalopnik.com are directly asking the question as to whether or not he faked the incident, citing previous issues with debt and repeated insurance claims as reason for their doubts.

The reports indicate that prior to his unintended acceleration incident, James Sikes and his wife -- both realtors -- found themselves grappling with California's notorious housing bubble and filed for bankruptcy in 2008. Reports show they have $700,000 in debt to their names. He already had a motor home, Mercedes-Benz automobile and Dodge Truck repossessed in the proceedings with creditors.

Among the creditors to whom he owes payments is Toyota Financial Services. Various reports indicate that Sikes is either current with his payments or behind by five months on the 2008 Toyota Prius involved in this week's incident, which has 7,200 miles on it and is valued at $20,494.

Are All Claims Real?

If everyone who gets into a car accident or gets caught speeding is driving a Toyota, should we assume they're experiencing sudden acceleration? The question is an uncomfortable one: if every incident involving a Toyota could be blamed on the company and not the driver, it gives a free pass (albeit a frightening one) to those who choose to exploit it.

For example, in the first 10 weeks of 2009, there were 272 complaints filed to NHTSA in the U.S. for speed control issues with the Prius, according to Associated Press reports. In all of 2008 there were only 74 and just 8 in 2007.

If Sikes's claims were fake, he played a convincing hand. At the time of the incident, all signs pointed to his experience as being authentic.

"I won't drive that car again, period," he told reporters.

Furthermore, the recording of his 911 call, since released, was evidence of the situation's authenticity; unless Sikes was an actor of the highest order, we can't imagine how he'd fake this incident.

Perhaps even more damaging are reports that Sikes has a long history of items being stolen from him, for which he then filed insurance claims.

Skeptics of Sikes also cite the 911 tape that was released shortly after the incident. During the tape, the dispatcher repeatedly told Sikes to put the car in neutral in order to stop it from accelerating. Sikes did not comply with her instructions or the instructions of the officer on the scene who told him to do the same thing via his public address system as they tore down the highway.

Beyond the call itself, the Associated Press reports that Sikes's car was equipped with a brake override system, something that should have slowed the car down once he stomped on the brake pedal.

Sikes claimed he thought that would "flip the car."

"I've since found out that's not possible, but I had no idea," Sikes told USA Today. "Hopefully, I helped save five to 10 lives because people are now finding out" how to put a moving Prius into neutral.

Until Toyota and the NHTSA release the results of their investigation, there won't be any real answers.

Do you think Sikes was telling the truth? Let us know in the comments section below.

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A Bigger Prius, but How Much Bigger?

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Will the Toyota Prius V be large enough for families? (Toyota)

Toyota made a splash at the Detroit Auto Show when it unveiled its Prius V (for Versatility) hybrid model. The Prius V is a part of Toyota's new strategy to expand the Prius family of vehicles. Along with the Prius C concept, which was also unveiled in Detroit, and the soon-to-arrive Prius PHV, Toyota is making a big push to extend its hybrid models into new demographics.

The Prius V is essentially a larger version of the current Toyota Prius. The Japanese automaker boasted that the enlarged version of the quintessential green machine would have a much greater cargo capacity and room for more passengers, as it looks to get families who are used to more space in their vehicles behind the wheel of one of its hybrids.

On paper, the Prius V is definitely bigger, coming in at 181.7 inches long, 69.9 inches wide and 62 inches high. The numbers all improve on those of the current generation Prius, which measures 175.6 inches long, 68.7 inches wide and 58.7 inches high – barely enough to classify it as a midsize wagon. Toyota claims that the Prius V's numbers will make for 34.3 cubic feet of storage in the back for your stuff and 38 inches of rear legroom for your kids or other passengers.

But if you weren't able to see it in person, it's hard to get a good idea of whether or not the Prius V's expansion is actually noticeable and functionally significant. Without some kind of visual or frame of reference these numbers are essentially meaningless. So, how much bigger is the Prius V, really?

From a purely dimensional standpoint, the Prius V probably most closely resembles the Mazda5, the minivan-like offering (technically a compact crossover) from one of Toyota's Japanese competitors. It measures in at 180.5 inches long, 68.9 inches wide and 63.6 inches high, which is within about an inch and a half of the Prius V's dimensions in all respects.

There is a big difference, however, in that the Mazda5 contains a third row and can seat 6 people, 1 more than Prius V. Thus, it logically follows that the Prius V has a much roomier interior for both cargo and its 5 people than Mazda's small crossover.

But the fact of the matter is that this is not very big. The Prius V is far from being a hybrid minivan, despite what the Toyota PR and marketing types would have you believe. The V is dwarfed by real family haulers like the Chrysler Town & Country, which measures 202.8 inches long, 78.7 inches wide and 67.9 inches high. Even other compact crossovers such as the Chevrolet Equinox (187.8 inches long, 72.5 inches wide and 66.3 inches high) offer more space than the Prius V coupled with competitive fuel economy.

At the end of the day, when it comes to showrooms this summer, it's not going to be the only option for people who take their green driving with a side of space. In fact, the Prius V is not much bigger than the Nissan LEAF or the Chevrolet Volt, both of which are arguably greener cars and are much more efficient than the V's 38 MPG on the highway and 42 MPG in the city.

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Plug-In Prius Starts At $32,000, V At $26,400

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By AutoObserver Staff September 16, 2011

Toyota announced Friday that the U.S. price of the 2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid hatchback (above) will start at $32,000. Toyota will begin taking online orders next month for 14 launch states (California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia), with customer deliveries slated for next March. The plug-in vehicle is expected to qualify for a federal tax credit of approximately $2,500. The Prius Plug-in Hybrid will feature a new lithium-ion battery that will supplement the fuel economy of the regular hybrid Prius with an extended electric-only driving range of up to 15 miles at a maximum speed of 62 mile-per-hour. By Toyota estimates, it will deliver an estimated 87 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe). When operating in hybrid mode, it's expected to achieve 49 MPGe. The Prius Plug-in will offer a relatively short charging time of three hours using a standard 120-volt outlet or 1.5 hours using 240V.

The 2012 Prius V midsize wagon (below) will start at $26,400, begin appearing in showrooms next month and will be offered in three trim levels: Prius V Two ($26,400), Three ($27,165), and Five ($29,990). The Prius V wagon achieves EPA fuel economy ratings of 44 miles per gallon city, 40 mpg highway and 42 mpg combined -- the highest fuel efficiency of any crossover, SUV or wagon on the market.

AutoObserver Staff:  The best in the business.

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2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Betting On HOV Access

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By Scott Doggett September 19, 2011

Toyota is counting on access to high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to drive initial U.S. sales of the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in, its first-ever plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle (PHEV).  Toyota's first-year sales estimate for the Prius Plug-in, which arrives in spring and will be distributed in only 14 states initially, is a seemingly conservative 15,000 units, Toyota Division Group Vice President and General Manager Bob Carter said at last week’s introduction of the car. By contrast, Toyota sells about that many standard-issue Prius liftback models in America in a single month.

So far, a handful of states have granted solo occupants of the Prius Plug-in access to HOV lanes. Among them is California (the others are North Carolina and Virginia), which accounts for one of every four Prius models sold in the U.S. Massachusetts is considering joining the trio. HOV lane access can slash more than an hour off a daily commute in Los Angeles and other traffic-choked cities. The 2012 Chevy Volt -- the only other mass-produced plug-in hybrid available in the U.S. -- is not eligible for solo-occupant HOV lane use due to its dirtier tailpipe emissions. This gives the Toyota plug-in hybrid a potentially huge competitive advantage -- especially given the fact that hybrid drivers in California and Utah recently lost their right to use HOV lanes when driving solo. Virginia will strip its regular-hybrid drivers of their special access to carpool lanes in June 2012. In Maryland, the practice ends in September 2013.

Toyota also hopes consumers will see the price advantage of the Prius Plug-in over its competitors. The U.S. price of the 2012 Prius Plug-in hybrid hatchback will start at $32,000. The plug-in vehicle is expected to qualify for a federal tax credit of $2,500, dropping the price to $29,500. By comparison, the 2012 Volt starts at $39,145 and is eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, dropping the base price of the Volt to $31,645. That puts the after-incentives starting price of the Toyota at $2,145 below that of the Chevrolet. The all-electric 2012 Nissan Leaf, an altogether different vehicle due to its driving-range limitations, starts at $35,700 and drops to $27,700 after a $7,500 tax credit is applied. The Chevy and Nissan enjoy bigger federal tax credits, because their batteries are substantially larger than the battery inside the Toyota. Toyota will begin taking online orders in October for the 14 launch states. They are California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. Customer deliveries are slated to start in March.

  

Prius Plug-in Vs. Volt
In addition to HOV lane access and a lower starting price, Toyota will emphasize another difference between the Prius Plug-in and its prime competitor, the Volt, in the months ahead: the Toyota’s battery can go from fully depleted to fully charged in three hours using a standard 120-volt outlet. A fully depleted Volt battery requires about 10 hours to fully charge using the same outlet. The amount of time needed to charge a Volt battery using an ordinary electrical outlet is usually enough motivation for the Volt owner to spend at least $2,000 on a 240-volt charger to speed up the charging process. After a full charge, the Volt can go 25 to 50 miles using only electricity before an onboard gasoline generator comes on to supply the vehicle's lithium-ion battery with more juice.

The Prius Plug-in is also fitted with a lithium-ion battery, but it is much smaller than the Volt's and so is its all-electric range -- 15 miles, according to Toyota. After the electric range, the Prius Plug-In behaves just like a regular Prius liftback and achieves nearly the same fuel economy: 49 mpg in combined city and highway driving versus 50 mpg in the standard 2012 Prius hybrid, according to Toyota. Edmunds.com has not yet officially tested the Prius Plug-in. Edmunds’ vehicle testers found the Volt achieved 31.4 mpg in mixed driving after its battery ran out of power.

Studies show that perceived value is a much bigger factor in an Americans’ vehicle purchases than environmental consideration. To that end, Toyota's Carter said he believes the Prius Plug-in’s pre-incentive starting price of $32,000 "will provide a good value for the consumer." But with no experience selling a plug-in hybrid vehicle, Toyota cannot be sure of sales so the automaker is being conservative in its forecast for the model. In addition, Toyota is monitoring General Motors’ experience selling the Volt, which went on sale in December. GM says it is on track to sell 10,000 Volts this year, though it may not make that number, in part due to a shutdown of the plant that makes the Volt for preparation to build other GM models.

  

Bests The Prototype
AutoObserver and editors at Edmunds’ InsideLine.com have written extensively about the prototype of the 2012 Prius Plug-in over the past 18 months. Test drives of the production version of the Prius Plug-in at a Toyota media event in the San Francisco Bay Area last week demonstrated that it drives just like a standard Prius, which is to say that it drives like a regular car. Major changes from the prototype to the production version are in the size of the battery. The size and its location give the plug-in the same cargo capacity as the standard third-generation Prius. A small but appreciated change from the prototype is the more flexible onboard charging cable that makes it easier to handle and plug into an outlet.

At the same event, Toyota allowed test drives of the regular 2012 Prius liftback, but did not announce its price. The 2011 Prius liftback starts at $23,520 and is currently available in four trim levels (level 1 has sold out). Level 3 starts at $24,520 and Level 5 starts at $28,790. The Prius Plug-in is available in two trim levels, the Standard and the Advanced. In terms of features, the Standard version is most like the 2012 Prius liftback with the Level 3 trim package (again, price unknown), and the Advanced trim level of the plug-in resembles the 2012 Prius liftback with the Level 5 options. The base 2012 Prius Plug-in will, as mentioned, start at $32,000, excluding the $2,500 federal tax credit. The 2012 Prius Plug-in Advanced will start at $39,525, excluding the tax credit.

Assuming the price of the Prius liftback with the Level 3 trim package doesn't change, the price difference between it and the base 2012 Plug-in Prius would be $4,980, including the tax credit. It would take quite a lot of driving in electric-only mode to make purchasing a Prius Plug-in a better financial move than buying a regular Prius liftback with the Level 3 trim. That’s probably why Toyota is talking up the HOV lane access that the plug-in model will enjoy in three and possibly more states. For some people, the price difference is nothing compared to the torment and time waste of sitting in freeway gridlock and watching solo occupants in other vehicles whiz by in a carpool lane. Reflecting on that Prius Plug-in perk, Carter said: "The customer now has motivation for a higher MPG, more efficiency…and can get in the HOV lane. That dynamic I think is going to be pretty big."

While the arrival of the Prius Plug-in remains some months away, Toyota is going to market in October with the Prius V wagon. It has 58 percent more cargo capacity than the Prius liftback and the Prius Plug-in; indeed more cargo space than 80 percent of the small SUVs on the road today. Last week, Toyota announced the Prius V’s manufacturer's suggested retail price is $26,400. Toyota now has introduced the regular 2012 Prius liftback, the roomier Prius V and the Prius Plug-in. Next up is the Prius C, which Toyota promises will be the most fuel-efficient hybrid in the U.S. without a plug. Toyota debuts the production version at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

  

Scott Doggett:  is an AutoObserver.com Associate Editor.

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