[Isabelle]

-many 04's coming up on 36K miles
-04's holding value quite nicely (I still see used from dealers at $23k)
-extended warranty is $978
-new tires are $400 (or so)
-06 tax credit MAY be as much as $2400


.....AND (drum roll)

-you can get SPEARMINT GREEN!!

OK, it wasn't ten reasons, but I'm sure others can think of some.

 

[hyperion]

1. The new front seats will be power adjustable.
2. The dash will be fully instrumented.
3. The steering wheel will be both adjustable and telescoptic.
4. The shift lever will be on the steering column and will indicate "P", "N", "D", "B" and "R".
5. The cruise control stalk will be eliminated and the cruise will be operated by three lighted buttons on the wheel denoting "on, off"( one button), "select", and "resume."


And that ought to be enough to get some 04's traded in!

 

[KA7EII]

Will it come with three tachometers - one for the ICE, one for MG1 and one for MG2?

 

[JDavies]

With all the new goodies.. any idea what the price for a loaded 06 will be..?

 

[Diana_04Prius]

many 04's coming up on 36K miles
-04's holding value quite nicely (I still see used from dealers at $23k)
-extended warranty is $978
-new tires are $400 (or so)
-06 tax credit MAY be as much as $2400

Good reasons, I might just think about it.

1. The new front seats will be power adjustable.
2. The dash will be fully instrumented.
3. The steering wheel will be both adjustable and telescoptic.
4. The shift lever will be on the steering column and will indicate "P", "N", "D", "B" and "R".
5. The cruise control stalk will be eliminated and the cruise will be operated by three lighted buttons on the wheel denoting "on, off"( one button), "select", and "resume."

More good reasons, especially 1, 3 & 5 ( My knees keep hitting the stalk when I turn the wheel. )

 

[Jonnycat26]

1. The new front seats will be power adjustable.
2. The dash will be fully instrumented.
3. The steering wheel will be both adjustable and telescoptic.
4. The shift lever will be on the steering column and will indicate "P", "N", "D", "B" and "R".
5. The cruise control stalk will be eliminated and the cruise will be operated by three lighted buttons on the wheel denoting "on, off"( one button), "select", and "resume."


And that ought to be enough to get some 04's traded in!

If that's true, wow.

If not, Toyota should fire someone and hire you.


And if I may add one...

6. The parking brake will be between the seats, where it belongs, instead of positioned in the 1960s American car style.

 

[KTPhil]

I think it will be in high demand even if they change nothing. If a 2006 is all you can buy, then they will sell lots of 2006s!

I wonder if Toyota is considering this. If you can sell all you can make with zero further investment, why change a thing?

I know, I know, "moving forward..."

 

[soboy]

I think the '06 will be in high demand due to the high (and increasing) cost of fuel.

 

[BMcGraw]

I'm wondering how feasible it will be to exchange/upgrade the steering column to the 2006 version with the telescopic feature. While we're at it upgrade all the things mentioned for the 2006 model. I can't imagine trading in my 2004 after doing over $3K worth of mod's to it.... :roll:

 

[mrv]

1. The new front seats will be power adjustable.
2. The dash will be fully instrumented.
3. The steering wheel will be both adjustable and telescoptic.
4. The shift lever will be on the steering column and will indicate "P", "N", "D", "B" and "R".
5. The cruise control stalk will be eliminated and the cruise will be operated by three lighted buttons on the wheel denoting "on, off"( one button), "select", and "resume."


And that ought to be enough to get some 04's traded in!

If that's true, wow.

If not, Toyota should fire someone and hire you.


And if I may add one...

6. The parking brake will be between the seats, where it belongs, instead of positioned in the 1960s American car style.

With the new in-the-way tall center console, I suppose that they could move the parking brake to the center. (don't know if the hybrid lines under that center hump will be an issue, though.) For the Classic Prius, Toyota specifically didn't want the parking brake on the center hump, and had a low center console, to help the driver slide over to the passenger seat easily (for those tight parking spaces in Japan where you can't get out of one side of the car). Also, the lack of a center parking brake also got the original Japanese Prius voted "the best car to make out in" in an issue of Japanese Penthouse magazine...

 

[2far4gas]

My dealer predicted a $200-$500 price bump on '06's, depending on package choosen.

 

[hyperion]

I totally disagree with the statement that no change is necessary to sell a new model account the demand is still high. My heating oil man has talked me out of filling my 275 gallon tank now as all his indicators (he has been using for the past thirty years) tell him the price of oil will be dropping considerably this fall. Gas has already taken a 4 cent a gallon decrrease at my pump this week and it would take 4 or 5 dollar a gallon price to get anyone looking to pay the premium for a hybrid. Even Toyota offers a dozen much cheaper and good on milage models. I doubt if we will be seeing anything thing in increased production of Prius from Toyota. When they get their plant up and running in The U.S. they'll just cutback in Japan.
There are just too many more comfortable cars available now at extremely attractive prices.
If the 2006 comes in as more of a car than a golf cart the 04's will be traded. Mine certainly will. I realized the first week I had it that it was not a complete car and refrained from purchasing any of the "gimmics" other than floormats for it.
I was curious about hybrid power and wanted to determine if it was the power of the future to help solve the oil dilemma facing us. Now I find that instead of continuing the search for high milage vehicles, all the manufacturers building hybrids are building performance vehicles instead of seeking more MPG.
This is a bummer and I fully expect that the 06 had better be considerably changed, especially to warrant another price increase.

 

[evander]

Exactly what is a "telescoptic" steering wheel? With these additions there may be some 2005 trade ins, but except for power seats, most seem cosmetic to me.

 

[Jonnycat26]

Exactly what is a "telescoptic" steering wheel? With these additions there may be some 2005 trade ins, but except for power seats, most seem cosmetic to me.

A telescopic wheel means that it can be moved in or out towards the driver. The ultimate is the tilt and telescopic wheel, which is usually found on most cars over 20K (in my experience), with the Prius being the rare exception.

 

[Tideland Prius]

Well, Toyota believes in Kaizen or continuous improvement. It doesn't matter if the competition has caught up. You don't sit there and wait for them to catch up. You continue to move forward and push the boundaries. Right now, all I hope is that Toyota is testing the market with the Highlander Hybrid and RX400h to gauge whether people really want power (e.g. Accord Hybrid) or ultra efficiency like the Prius. Judging by the reactions of the RX400h and Highlander Hybrid owners in the news recently, it looks like they want style and recognition rather than going under the radar. With the new Camry, let's hope they can really push the boundaries of fuel efficiency in a midsize but with a larger engine. I am all for efficiency over power. While 268hp is nice for the marketing group, it's really pointless for the rest of us.

 

[evander]

Exactly what is a "telescoptic" steering wheel? With these additions there may be some 2005 trade ins, but except for power seats, most seem cosmetic to me.

A telescopic wheel means that it can be moved in or out towards the driver. The ultimate is the tilt and telescopic wheel, which is usually found on most cars over 20K (in my experience), with the Prius being the rare exception.

Thank you. I've only experienced the regular tilt.

 

[hyperion]

My 52 Jaguar XK 120M had a telescoptic and tilt wheel so they go back a long time and they are not used just for the original adjustment but for varying positions on long drives. They are "neat."

 

[KTPhil]

"more of a car than a golf cart the 04's will be traded. Mine certainly will. I realized the first week I had it that it was not a complete car"

Sheesh, hyp, why don't you and Marchy trade in now, if you so disdain your present automobile?

 

[Jonnycat26]

Sheesh, hyp, why don't you and Marchy trade in now, if you so disdain your present automobile?

For some, it's the best compromise. If it weren't for my commute, I'd drive a more comfortable/sporting car.

 

[RSnyder]

I totally disagree with the statement that no change is necessary to sell a new model account the demand is still high. My heating oil man has talked me out of filling my 275 gallon tank now as all his indicators (he has been using for the past thirty years) tell him the price of oil will be dropping considerably this fall. Gas has already taken a 4 cent a gallon decrrease at my pump this week and it would take 4 or 5 dollar a gallon price to get anyone looking to pay the premium for a hybrid. Even Toyota offers a dozen much cheaper and good on milage models. I doubt if we will be seeing anything thing in increased production of Prius from Toyota. When they get their plant up and running in The U.S. they'll just cutback in Japan.
. . .

et. cetera, ad nauseum...

Toyota predicts 25% of its sales will be hybrid by 2010 (1/2 a million vehicles). So hyperion once again jumps in and predicts the end of the hybrid. He's been wrong with these predictions up 'til now, so this time he must be right :roll:

When gas is $2.30/gallon Toyota can't make enough hybrids to satisfy demand. Therefore, gas will have to rise to $4 or $5 per gallon to get hybrids to sell. Did I miss something in logic class???