California Purchase.  Remember a decade ago?  I purchased my first plug-in Prius from a friend in California.  She managed all the paperwork remotely and sent me contact information for a shipper she liked to use.  I paid for the vehicle and arranged transport.  It worked out great.  The big car-carrier drove through my neighborhood and dropped up the Prius PHV in my driveway.  I had successfully made a purchase from the very first batch of deliveries to the United States.  It was awesome.  Something similar could have happened again.  In fact, today she sent out a message today saying a fully loaded red-with-black-top FWD model was available.  Sadly, I'm waiting to take delivery through a dealer here.  It's for the greater good.  A local purchase is what everyone I encounter at our events and randomly in parking lots will do.  I want to be able to recommend something realistic for them.  That means doing the same myself.  It adds to the pain of waiting.  That's fine though.  Each Prius involved a lengthy test of patience.  This will obviously be worth it too.  So, no purchase from the sunshine state.  I'll make do here where everything is frozen solid and buried in snow.

Endless Chest Pounding.  It's so telling to see this nonsense again: "Tesla does it better than Toyota."  He is constantly promoting Tesla... the admin who just yesterday revised group rules to specifically point out discussions are only for bZ4X, Solterra and RZ450e.  Then he attacks me personally and posts bait.  I respond here and there for confirmation of history repeat.  Watching for that all too familiar pattern is surprisingly easy too.  Here's the latest:  Tell us what that supposed better automaker is doing to appeal to mainstream consumers, to expand beyond their expensive niche.  How is the current product-line targeting sustainable business selling to the masses?  I see nothing to attract those shopping for a RAV4, Camry or Corolla.  It's still just a draw for early adopters. Cold, hard reality is that infrastructure is still in the early stages.  Here, we don't even have a single high-speed standard yet or guidance for how to address multi-housing support.  The process has only just begun, our first big move beyond proving the technology will become competitive.  This is how "know your audience" comes into play.  Superiority will be proclaimed when it is premature to do so.  Looking at results of select buyers don't mean much when the market as a whole is far more diverse.

Propaganda Push.  It's starting again.  That previous report attempting to undermine PHEV survived for a very long time.  People took it at face value and spread the misinformation as if it was credible and applied in every situation.  It was a desperate attempt to fight for purity.  All vehicles must be not having any engine of any kind.  The solution is BEV for all everyone.  Promoting such a distortion of reality take relatively little work.  All you have to do is use outdated data that is selected to misrepresent the majority.  In other words, you omit anything that doesn't fit the narrative and just keep repeating that lie relentlessly.  Fortunately, we are getting a few more voices sounding off sooner this time.  For example: "The list of the weak PHEVs from 2013-2014 timeframe... no surprise that they weren't plugged in."  That type of feedback didn't come until weeks later with that prior effort.  It was enough time for the rhetoric to ramp up, drowning out any type of critical thinking.  I aimed the discussion at those who would be most upset, hoping to pull them into the mess sooner.  It is sometimes just a matter of poking the right person with a stick at the right time.  We'll see what kin of reaction this stirs:  Imagine the outcry if a BEV rolled out in 2012 was used to represent the current state of that technology for policy decisions in 2023.  That's exactly what they did using the first-generation Prius PHEV data.  The second-generation is already being cleared out for third-generation rollout in a few months.  The difference between that decade of advancement is profound.  Both power & range were increased significantly, exactly what's needed to encourage plugging in as much as possible.  Omitting such vital information is blatant misrepresentation.

Battery Heating.  We get statements like this from time to time: "Found out today that Toyota can't deliver battery heating to charger in cars that are built and going to be build on year 2023."  No source was provided or detail on what that truly meant.  It appears to be a reference to pre-warming, the type you get from heavy battery draw while driving for heat well above the operating level... specifically for DC fast-charging.  That may require additional hardware or an upgrade, hence not until later.  I pointed out:  Vital information is missing from that.  The expectation has been that basic battery-warming, like what has been standard in the Prime vehicles, is included with 4X already.  That heats the pack enough to keep it above freezing.  Target temperature is 10°C (50°F), only to a point of reducing winter impact.  Increasing performance, in terms of extreme cold temperature driving and DC fast-charging, is an entirely different matter.  It's exactly what you would expect from a mid-cycle upgrade.  Tradeoff is a combination of added cost, weight, complexity and energy consumption.

Any chance you noticed what the dashboard displayed for efficiency?  The calculation puts those results on-par for other BEV in those same winter conditions.

Analogy Fail.  This was great: "Kodak thought they were making progress with a "hybrid" scanner that could digitize film. It didn’t work out so well for them."  Attempts to label Toyota as a major failure in progress, doomed to bankruptcy, are abundant.  Comparisons to Kodak is the common approach.  The catch is, detail must be avoided.  If you look at what actually happened, there's no comparison.  It is really just an example of a company too big to fail that did anyway.  The how & why contributing to the failure are not discussed... for good reason... since they don't actual compare well.  I was happy to point that out too:  What didn't work out well is that analogy.  For it to work, film would have to be the backup for when digital isn't available.  ICE is only a backup in their PHEV models, for when the plug-supplied electricity is used up.

The advice I have been sharing for years is "know your audience".  Recognizing the skewed perception that emanates from online comments is very important.  Those opinions do not match that of the masses.

Lastly.  It is quite fulfilling to see some predictions fall into place.  All those years ago, when Prius Prime was rolled out, I commented about how the difference in appearance may have been an attempt to better measure future opportunity... specifically, the possibility of making the next Prius only a plug-in.  Not offering a hybrid model was too much to accept back then, when to-the-floor acceleration and heat-pump use were new to the general market.  But now that it is 6 years later and we are looking back, that's not such a profound idea.  In fact, it looks like an obvious next step... much like the thought of phasing out traditional models for hybrids.  Funny how you get so much resistance until the concept has a chance to sink in.  For me, I had been thinking about that a decade prior.  Much like computer evolution, some people wait years for those innovations to finally take form and others discover that next step forward while shopping.  It is why "know your audience" is so important.  Not everyone is at the same stage at the same time.  I ended up following up my previous post with this:  Lastly, that strong demand you pointed out for every model with the word "hybrid" is what's needed for continued to push to an all plug-in fleet.  Seeing Prius in Europe become the first to only be offered as a PHEV is a sign of progress.  Sales could enable that same transition here.  And we all know, once you have a PHEV in the household, the next purchase being a BEV is very likely.

It's all about the bigger picture now, not just individual vehicles.

Squandered Time.  Was it?  Some seem to think so: "It irks me greatly how much time Toyota squandered."  I pointed out:  Squander is indeed the impression.  How could such opportunity be missed?  History tells us otherwise.  Waste is not always as it first appears.  Stepping back to look at the bigger picture, you can see resources were used to cultivate design & approach.  Reveal of the new Prius Prime should make that obvious.  Like the jump in PHEV generations from 2012 debut to 2017 upgrade, that also gave the impression of squander.  Unexpected halt of production back in 2015 didn't make sense until the 2016 reveal.  Then in because obvious there was simply no reason to continue on with sales knowing such a major improvement was on the way.

Attacks & Conquest.  That admin has been relentless.  Basically, this is the first encounter with a troll who controls the venue.  It may not have started that way, but between the power and the disenchantment, his bully attitude has changed.  Efforts to encourage discussion has turned into bait.  He thrives on Tesla, promoting it as superior while at the same time denigrating Toyota.  It's interesting to witness the change it is providing.  I'm seeing activity grow elsewhere.  Some are beginning to speak out against his stance too.  For example: "I went from the 2012 plug-in Prius to a 2015 Tesla to a 2018 Tesla and back to 2021 RAV4 Prime."  That's something to fear for him and a great perspective reminder about potential outcome from his attacks.  Remember the problem GM had with Volt?  Those sales were conquest.  Loyalty was not a guarantee.  Owners went elsewhere when leases expired and new opportunity emerged.  Toyota strives to avoid fallout like that.  Enthusiasts typically fail to recognize that effort; however, the outcome itself becomes apparent.  It makes you wonder how many prior Prius owner who switched to Tesla... which is a much celebrated statistic... will consider Toyota for their next purchase.  Think about how well a third-generation Prius Prime would compliment any BEV.  This is what I had to say about the tide turning:  Our CCS infrastructure here is basically non-existent still.  Within the next year, several nearby locations for me will become available.  That will enable convenient travel to far reaches of the large metro area, but further trips won't be realistic.  For my wife and I, that means using the Prime for trips up north.  The 4X will work well for bike trips, even those to our favorite remote trails (50 miles driving, each way).

True Fear.  That's why these blogs are growing larger and focus so much on transition now.  We are clearly at a turning point, one which some are clearly unprepared for.  Sensing the fear becomes remarkably easy.  They truly don't know what to do next.  Discovering the strategy you so heavily endorsed has serious shortcomings beings about panic.  Finding someone to blame and making excuses won't change any of that.  Yet, that's exactly what I am dealing with at the moment.  This is exactly like when Volt enthusiasts abandoning ship became too obvious to deny.  Next year will be quite interesting.  It's what I have been waiting for.  Hybrids will take up the base, finally ending the reign of traditional vehicles... for Toyota anyway.  How other automakers will address change remains a mystery.  That's not a good message for customers.  Clear expectations should be set.  Oh well.  Some will keep celebrating as if the first battle was really the entire war.  Ugh.  The game is just about to begin and some are ill prepared, having planned for the same play in the past to be all that's necessary to win.  That is incredibly risky.  Yet, we see celebrations already.  Talking about refusing to acknowledge a situation.  I pointed that out with:  Tailgate party is a great example of fantasy.  Refusal to acknowledge sales subsidy not still being necessary for growth and significant charging shortcomings is a confirm of the actual game only now just starting.  All we have accomplished so far is proving the technology worthy.  Kudos!  Effort to spread it and make it cost competitive is the next step being embarked upon at this point.  When an ordinary shopper can go to their dealer, have opportunity for test-drive, place an order for a BEV, then take delivery in a reasonable amount of time, the game is well underway.  When public charging switches from concern to convenient, the game is won.  Placing blame or making excuses is a telling sign.  What makes you so afraid of admitting we still face some big challenges?