The first Prius I ever drove was a 2004 model. It was just released for sale and was the hot new thing. I was allowed to take it for a weekend out of another long-term test lot and it drew a lot of attention. I'd get stopped in parking lots, barraged by questions like, "what's it like to drive?" and "what's the mileage like?" It was a bit of a novelty back then. Nowadays, it's as commonplace as a cell phones and flat -panel TVs. So now I'm wondering what will be the Prius' legacy?
How will the Prius be remembered? I think it'll go down much like the original Honda Civic and its CVCC engine. It appeared on the scene in the 1970s, when the gas crisis hit and when other manufacturers regarded the new U.S. Clean Air Act as impossible to meet. Sound familiar?
Both the Honda and Toyota showed that smaller and more efficient cars were the way. The Civic unseated the massive Oldsmo-Buicks and other assorted land yachts of the period, while the Prius tempered the SUV movement.
Going forward, I wonder how long the Prius will stay on the road. I can't remember the last time I saw a first-gen Civic on the highway. Will the Prius slowly disappear as battery packs deplete, or will loyal owners keep them out there? Will it simply be a footnote, like MySpace or BetaMax?
Mark Takahashi, Associate Editor
bodyblue says:
12:27 PM, 10/19/10
"Oldsmo-Buicks"
Ha Ha...nice "Fletch" reference!
questionlp says:
12:30 PM, 10/19/10
How will the Prius be remembered? The shape of the second generation Prius and onward will be remembered, at least for a while.
It can be found in the Honda Insight (current version primarily, though the original Insight was the prototype for the wedge/hatch design) and supposedly the Prius MPV.
nippononly says:
12:57 PM, 10/19/10
The first-gen Civic was a footnote? 40 GAZILLION Civics later, how is that first one a footnote? It was the debut of what became a fixture on the American landscape, not to mention it was the first-ever Japanese model to be built in North America wasn't it (or was that the Accord)?
In the end I expect PHEVs, mostly battery-powered but with a tiny engine for use in emergencies to limp to the next electric plug, to dominate from 2020 to 2040 or so. The Prius could be said to have proved hybrids commercially viable, making it an important historical footnote, although credit for the first step into that battery-powered future I envision will have to go to the Volt.
mtakahashi says:
01:13 PM, 10/19/10
Well played, bodyblue. Well played.
bankerdanny says:
01:31 PM, 10/19/10
The original Civic didn't actually have the CVCC, I know this because I had a '74. The CVCC didn't debut until the 3 model year, 1975.
I owned mine around 1991. Nice little car, bare bones to say the least, but reliable, frugal transportation for a recent college grad.
bankerdanny says:
01:35 PM, 10/19/10
Oh, and the reason you rarely see a 1st gen Civic (there is actually a 70's Civic wagon with the 2 speed auto in my neighborhood) is that they were made from tinfoil thin steel devoid of anything resembling rust inhibitor. Plus they were essentially disposable cars much like the 1st gen Hyundai Excel (except better quality).
People drove them until they woke up and found nothing but a pile of rust colored dust in the driveway where they car had been parked.
firstwagon says:
01:48 PM, 10/19/10
You rarely see any cars from the 70's for that reason.
jmk261 says:
03:24 PM, 10/19/10
I would argue oil prices (thus gas) tempered the SUV movement, not the Prius.
yellowmiata says:
07:46 PM, 10/19/10
+1 "I would argue oil prices (thus gas) tempered the SUV movement, not the Prius."
If I had the back-issues of Insideline, perhaps we'd find many a comment, even a story, about how the higher cost of a Prius doesn't off-set the higher cost-per-gallon of gas unless it is driven umpteen-hundred-thousand miles. Yet when gas ran up to $4/gal, folks were more incensed at the price they see on the sign, than the monthly car bill. I agreed with them in principle, that buying into a company that is promoting hybrid technology will help forward the movement toward more miserly cars. But in practice, I let my GF buy the Prius and I bought the 370Z.
We commute in the prius 4-5 days a week, and enjoy the Z on the weekend. Somehow I ended up with the best of both worlds.
As for remembering the Prius, I doubt it'll be much more than a tipping point: when gas was high and new tech came through. Maybe my commute will come to mind when I reminisce about cars, but a buck gets ten that I'll instead remember installing an oil cooler on the Z, replacing the stereo, putting in the CAI. Then taking it out on the weekend with my GF having fun all the way. No, in my life the Prius will be a footnote, not a memorable vehicle.
Kevin
mrb5091 says:
04:23 AM, 10/20/10
I think that Hybrids in general will be viewed simply as part of the transitionary period between fossil fuel powered vehicles and electric ones.
stingray454 says:
10:21 AM, 10/20/10
" nippononly says:
12:57 PM, 10/19/10
The first-gen Civic was a footnote? 40 GAZILLION Civics later, how is that first one a footnote? "
Yep, a footnote. Very few people, if any, found it worthwhile to restore the first-gen Civic and keep them on the road. It's just not a car worth preserving, like most other economy cars. That makes it a footnote.
I really think the original Civic has been over glorified here. It wasn't THAT great of a car. It was among the better of the cheap, crappy small economy cars of the 1970s. Being among the best of the worst, doesn't make it great.