A Review of the Toyota Prius

Many people buy hybrid cars because they have been told that hybrids are much more eco-friendly than any other vehicles out on the market and they feel proud for supporting the Mother Nature. Surprisingly, it is a fact that a recent report announced that the Toyota Prius has a higher life time energy cost than Hummer H1 SUV (kentlaw.edu). It also states, “There are, however, environmental costs to mining and smelting (in Canada) 1,000 tons a year of zinc for the battery-powered second motor, and the shipping of the zinc 10,000 miles - trailing a cloud of carbon - to Wales for refining and then to China for turning it into the component that goes to a battery factory in Japan” (kentlaw.edu). In other words, the hybrids emit less carbon dioxide and other gases but it releases far more energies and toxic gases into atmosphere at production and disposal stage.

The fourth part of this report will investigate the claim that “smaller cars provide better values than larger cars,” given the provided data. The claim does not make clear what measurement for determining “values” is to be used, but we will proceed with the assumption that Consumer Report’s Value Score is an accurate representation of real-world value. Because we determined that the Size category and the two related ‘dummy’ variables did not have a significant relationship with the Value Score (which caused their subsequent deletion from the equation), and also because Size is largely represented by Cost/Mile—the choice was made to analyze the coefficient for Cost/Mile to help come to a conclusion. We are going to use the following estimated regression equation (which we constructed in Part III) for our analysis:

Thesis statement: it is hypothesized that compared with the gas powered vehicles, hybrids offer more benefits in maintenance, are cost-effective, and most importantly environmental-friendly.

This paper will cover the comparison of two cars manufactured by two heavy weight American car companies. Based on the research that was done, it determined that the Ford Mustang wins in two of the three categories in which it was judged. This comparison will cover three separate categories: sales, performance, and pop culture. This has been a debate for over fifty years and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Even after these two companies disappear there will still be debate on which is greater. All citations are from the manufacturer’s official page, major automotive magazines, and performance branches of each vehicle. I will not be including aftermarket vehicles designed outside of the company. Due to the subjective

Even though a balance of all of those things are important, some people look for different things when they are trying to purchase a car. Some consumers want a car that has great performance, so they

III. When you think of a hybrid vehicle, you may find yourself thinking Toyota Prius.

For our initial strategy we wanted to choose a product line that would be most intriguing to customers in this poor economy. To initiate this we focused our products around better gas mileage, safety, and quality. In order to do this we needed to evaluate consumers’ needs and desires when making a high involvement purchase such as a car. We believe the best target market for this type of car would be a middle class family that does not have as much disposable income due to the recession in our economy.

Most vehicle owners know that one of the most important aspects to look for in a car is its gas mileage - how many miles it can drive per gallon of gas. This is not just because reducing gasoline usage can help the environment, but also because it saves money and time at the pump. Over time, cars have become increasingly fuel-efficient, with hybrid models such as the Toyota Prius leading the way. However, there are ways for owners of other cars to check whether they are maximizing their fuel efficiency, or whether their auto parts are actually causing them to get lower

Hybrids are deservingly known for their fuel economy, a 2016 Prius c can get up to 50 MPG (FuelEconomy.gov, US Department of Energy). They are also known for being kind to the environment: Toyota advertises the Prius c, as seen below, as an “everyday eco fun sized for the city” on their website (Toyota, toyota.com/priusc). In Kia’s Super Bowl LI commercial for their new hybrid crossover, the Niro, they use the tagline: “it’s hard to be an eco warrior, but it’s easy to drive like one.” Hybrid owners agree with this; they can be seen driving around with proud smiles on their faces, knowing that they are saving the earth. But they have likely done little research, because

Although Toyota invented this new hybrid vehicle more than ten years ago, it did not offer the car to the USA consumers immediately. The main reason was that Toyota was aware of the new technology challenges. While Toyota was on the market research and new product development, other companies were focusing on merger and acquisition. Brand recognition, technology changes and improvement take several years to finish and Toyota wanted to launch a product which has cleared all the possible obstacles such as space, efficiency, speed, safety, weight which can meet all consumers ' expectations.

Should the new Toyota president accelerate the launch scheduled for the Toyota Prius? The plan to introduce the car “at the end of 1998 with expected production of 1000 units per month…” (Reinhardt, Yao & Egawa, 2006) is an extremely aggressive and ambitious goal; but, is it in TMC’s best interest to speed up the planned launch? There is no doubt that the new president (Hiroshi Okuda) is under extreme pressure to compete in a global market, he believes the company should radically alter its image to attract new customers and gain a competitive advantage while systematically facilitating environmentally-socially responsible practices. It may very well be that TMC should push for a faster

A number of hybrid vehicles have been built and tested since 1980. Some of these vehicles have impressed analysts with their performance and low levels of exhaust and petroleum consumption. Interest in hybrid vehicles jumped in late 1993 with the announcement of funding for

4. Technological environment has also increase the sales of the Prius. With its advance technology and many features has impressed the world of the technology buff as well as the modern customer who wants practical but affordable. (Kotler & Armstrong, Principles of Marketing, 2010) Toyota is aware that the technology wave is a spectacular movement that shapes our marketing environment today and uses this to their advantage by incorporating affordable luxury in the Toyota Prius.

Thus far, our product strategy of successively expanding our model range, from smaller cars to luxury sedans, full-sized pickup trucks, large SUVs, and crossover vehicles has proved successful. In a bid to further extend our customer base, we have established the Scion marketing group, which will develop a range of vehicles targeting young, first-time car buyers. With respect to environmental issues, Toyota’s hybrid automobile Prius, which was introduced to the North American market in 2000, has been extremely well received and development is under way to launch our next-generation hybrid car. The Company intends to

Consumers are currently looking for better gas mileage and performance in cars that they buy. Honda’s hybrid cars has very good gas mileage, however, they do not have as good performance as petrol cars. This means that even though Honda’s hybrids are appealing due to their gas mileage, consumer may still stick to petrol cars because of the better performance. Honda will need to develop better technology to satisfy consumer wants.