Hybrid Convertible - Page 5 - GreenHybrid

martinjlm · #41 (**permalink**) 06-25-2007, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ag4ever

I am not too sure of that.

I could have sworn the CEO of Toyota said he wanted all cars to be hybrid.

I think what they said and/or meant was that they wanted to have a hybrid version of every nameplate. I doubt that would translate to every body style of every nameplate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ag4ever

I would bet Toyota sells a hybrid 'vert before a diesel 'vert.

No doubt about that. Toyota does not embrace the concept of car diesel. They may have to at some point go that route, but they are invested in the concept that hybrid is the way to go for cars. Honda appears to be going down both paths, splitting the products by size (recent Accord decision).

Quote:

Originally Posted by ag4ever

Now I would not be suprised if VW sells a diesel 'vert before anybody else does.

I believe they are already there. Maybe not in the US, but in other parts of the world.

My whole point is that it is very difficult to just add a convertible to a product line that wasn't designed to have a convertible option. It is also very difficult to add a hybrid to a product that wasn't designed to have a hybrid option. The complexity of doing both simultaneously is overwhelming from an engineering point of few, and not very prudent from a cost / price point of view.

When platforms that already have both variants engineered into different models in their portfolio go in for a major upgrade, you may see some convergence. That would likely be 5 years or more from now.

Peace,

Martin

ag4ever · #42 (**permalink**) 06-26-2007, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by martinjlm

I think what they said and/or meant was that they wanted to have a hybrid version of every nameplate. I doubt that would translate to every body style of every nameplate.

Peace,

Martin

"Takimoto also made the bold claim that by 2020, hybrids will be the standard drivetrain and account for “100 percent” of Toyota’s cars as they would be no more expensive to produce than a conventional vehicle."

Not according to Takimoto.

Either way, I hope for a hybrid convertable in the future.

Tim · #43 (**permalink**) 06-29-2007, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim K

...Also, I think Martin would agree (not trying to put words in your mouth here but...) that even slight design changes in a vehicle and slightly different "parts" like wiring, cases, plastic pieces, panels, etc. can be extremely costly to engineer and fabricate and are simply not worth it for a manufacturer to go through for only a few thousand vehicles. If you've ever looked into having something custom made out of injection molded plastics you know how much it can cost just to have the mold made....

You're dead on here, and also with your earlier observation that no one would put a hybrid drive train in a low-rate production vehicle like a convertable. I'd say it's for two reasons - the complexity of designing a car that can be standard, hybrid, convertable, or hybrid-convertable (in one platform) is an extremely complex car to design and build. Second, if only 5% of car buyers are inclined to buy hybrids, and only 5% of buyers are inclined to buy convertables, you have a whopping .25% market share on a convertable-hybrid.