I Hate Prius Drivers

Prius, profits and promises make an interesting story - BostonHerald.com By Steven Cole Smith / The Orlando Sentinel

Regular readers of my column with very long memories may recall a little dust-up I had with a Toyota executive in 2004. I wrote about the Toyota Prius hybrid, which deservedly swept most of the “Car of the Year” awards that year.

I wrote: “Last year, the Toyota Prius dominated the awards, as the redesigned gasoline/electric hybrid vehicle was so loaded with technology that we wondered how Toyota could make any money selling it for the base price of $20,000 or so.

The answer is that Toyota isn’t making any money - despite the company’s insistence otherwise - and that the company is so rich it doesn’t care. Toyota’s profit plans are mapped out for a decade or more in advance, and when Toyota executives insist the Prius is profitable, they mean it’s on track to eventually make a lot of money. Someday. This is legendary Asian inscrutability at its most effective, and it’s why Toyota is the most successful car company of our time.”

Read the entire article at Prius, profits and promises make an interesting story - BostonHerald.com.

Tags: prius

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