Toyota Announces 2007 Prices For Nine Vehicles in Model Lineup

Mike seemingly can't be trusted on any subject but, when it comes to hybrids or any eco-friendly technology, he goes totally bozo.

Notice how he habitually puts (or used to, back when I saw them) a "LOL" at the end of his posts? In my mind, I translated that as an effeminate manic giggle and imagined his family hearing it from another room, then shaking their heads and sighing: "Uh-oh, Uncle Mike is having another of his turns." He lives way off the edge of Reality. (Sorry, Mike -- you should think about it.)

AIUI, the latest thinking (which is simply the latest stage in a decades-long process of idea development) could earn some busier theorists a living as SF writers. Infinite numbers of universes, in most of which the rules of physics cause non-stop violence in nature so severe that life would be impossible anywhere; chances of the laws of physics "flipping" in our own universe (though we would probably not live long enough to realise it had happened); and weirder stuff. There is even a thought that our universe is an offshoot of others. Creation-from-apparently-nothing becomes a possibility. We have to change the way we think about what it means to "exist".

On your (snipped) thoughts on the ultimate futility of life on Earth: one thing that does tend to survive a species/culture is ideas. Not all, of course. But, if even one good idea outlasts us, we've made our mark. What did the myriad lives which carried earlier lost cultures amount to? Interesting clay pots. Pretty verses. Curious legends. Daft wrong ideas. Most of us will be forgotten. That's how it goes. Some of our genes could outlast us, the way bio-sciences are progressing: in artificial species.

Did that, then bought a Prius. Actually, I traded up from an Acura TL to a Prius, but because the salesperson tried to get me to buy a Corolla (he didn't know that I had an Acura) because they didn't have any Priuses in stock, I indulged him and test drove the Corolla. Wouldn't own or drive one if I could at all avoid it.

Whereas I've owned & driven Corollas since '84. To each their own.

Cathy (who looked at Acuras way back when - '90 maybe? - & left the dealership thinking, "They may be nice, but no way I can afford one of these, unless *maybe* the 2-door job, which I don't want.)

Well, I bought mine in Nov 2000; a bit over two months before I was laid off. If I had known that I would be laid off, I wouldn't have bought it. But I paid it off after selling my house and moving out of Silicon Valley (which I had to do because of the layoff), out of state, actually.

But if I had never owned that Acura, I probably would have been satisfied with a Corolla.

The reason I bought the Acura in the first place is that I wanted a car that had a great reliability reputation from a company that had a great reliability reputation. I also needed one that my 6'7" partner could comfortably fit into. The Lexus model in the same price range had less head and leg room than the Acura, plus it had fewer standard features. The BMW in the same price range was even smaller.

From an ecological standpoint, driving a Corolla makes lot more sense than driving a Highlander (or any other SUV) and driving a Prius makes a hell of lot more sense than driving a Corolla. Economies of scale might permit a Corolla sized/priced hybrid in the near future. What can we afford our grandchildren?

I think I'd put them in reverse - that driving a Corolla makes a hell of a lot more sense than driving an SUV (unless a hybrid, then a lot), & a Prius lot more sense than a Corolla (economics aside).

Economies of scale might permit a

When I was car shopping in '04 & seriously considering a Prius (but didn't buy one for a couple of different reasons - time being a *big* issue then) the dealer then said the Corolla would be available as a hybrid - before '10. Now, whether or not it really will be I don't know...

Cathy

I went from a Plymouth Duster -only options were a bigger engine & a radio; to a Datsun B-210 - only option was a radio; to my first Corolla - a liftback w/ radio (& tape player? - can't remember) & a/c. So I didn't have a problem of down-stepping to the Corolla. In fact, I was going to buy a Tercel then ('84) - fit my budget better, but it was too small for me - my legs didn't have enough room. So the Corolla was actually an upgrade.

Cathy

Oops. When editing my post I removed "a hell of" from the first comparison but not the second The emphasis was unintended. Leave it out of both and I believe we agree.

I've heard these rumors too and tend to think it will happen in the next couple of years. I ordered my '05 Prius mid '04 after studying the peak oil arguments in conjunction with global warming. The Prius looked like such a great first step toward dealing with both that I purchase Toyota stock with some of my IRA. Take a peek at their stock performance since mid '04. If that rumor bears fruit I expect additional growth in value.

In 04, Toyota said that by 2010, there would be at least one hybrid version of every vehicle in its product line.

This is my first exposure to him since I'm reading this via alt.autos.toyota.prius, but I have to wonder about someone who lists his name as both "mike hunt" and "Mike Hunter" - isn't he sure of his surname?

My two previous cars before my Prius were both Corollas (well, the second was a Geo Prizm), and my first decision was to go with a somewhat larger car while staying with Toyota, so at that point the choice was Prius or Camry.

I don't know what the price comparison is now, but in mid '04 comparably equipped Prius and Camry models were pretty close to the same price, with the Camry actually somewhat higher, so the fact that I paid MSRP for the Prius but wouldn't have for the Camry was offset by that difference and the income tax deduction (it was a deduction back then, not a credit, else the Prius would have had a net _lower_ cost than the Camry).

I drive about 25,000 miles a year, and since I tend to keep cars for at least 10 years, I'll have easily paid for the difference and a lot more between the Prius and a Corolla by the time I'm done, and, remember, I didn't want a Corolla again in the first place.

Thanks for the info!