Toyota considering Prius sub-brand, dealerships

Toyota considering Prius sub-brand, dealerships

Filed under: Car Buying, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Toyota, Rumormill

Click above image for more shots of the Toyota 1/X hybrid

There could soon come a day when you waltz into a local Prius dealership to purchase your next hybrid car. As Toyota did with the Scion brand, the Japanese giant is still said to be considering making an entirely new brand just for hybrids out of its popular Prius hatchback. We are certain to get a redesigned Prius after it debuts in Detroit in 2009, and after that, the rumormill indicates that a smaller hybrid model is on the way that would more closely compete with the new Honda Insight, which will undercut the standard Prius by a scooter-sized chunk of change. Toyota previewed a hybrid model powered by a smaller gas engine when it introduced the world to its 1/X concept at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. With a bit of mild speculation, we could envision a slightly larger model than the current Prius as a replacement for the Camry hybrid, giving Toyota a three-pronged answer to the likes of the Volt from GM and the Insight from Honda.

Gallery: Toyota 1/X Concept



[Source: Reuters]

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Good God that's fugly. Toyota's going to have problems if they all look like that. LOL

But hybrids are only a short term fix to the gas problem. A dealership of cars for a technology that is not going to be here long term does not sound like a great idea to me