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Originally Posted by Beemer B773ER  I agree to a certain degree... but as I said, you have to remember that outside of Europe which views diesel as their saviour from high petroleum prices, in other parts of the world, hybrid technology is usually the only other feasible alternative to purchase... so it's no suprise at all that Toyota/Lexus are trying to milk out every single sales they can, and at the same time try to build a level of reputation, excitement and even a sense of misconception within the general public to make them think even MORE favourable of Toyota, especially in terms of the company's efforts to be greener. |
The thing about diesels is that they also give you great overall gas mileage and are now considered "fun to drive". Your typical hybrid is only efficient in the urban environment. Once you go out into the rural areas, the gasoline engine takes over and it has to lump around that heavy electric engine and batteries. This affects fuel economy - and not in a good way.
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Originally Posted by Beemer B773ER I'm very business minded so I really don't care much for all this 'green' movement going on, and you could say I'm even a little cold-hearted in terms of ethics....BUT, what I've come to learn is that VAST majority of consumers are the opposite... so Toyota is giving the vast majority of the public what they want, or creating a product (hybrid cars) which the vast majority of the public will view in a very high regard. |
Well said. The vast majority of people are easily convinced by marketing it seems, any kind of marketing. Yet there are a few people out there who use their brains and they see through this.
In all honesty I would rather see Lexus develop a good diesel engine, because then they can really claim that they're offering a fuel efficient product. And with todays clean diesels there shouldn't be too much of a problem overcoming the diesel stigma in certain parts of the world. Mercedes managed to sell some E320 CDI's in Japan for example - more than expected. This is noteworthy considering how anti-diesel the Japanese are when it comes to passenger cars. In fact that's the reason the Japanese focused on hybrids: combining their favorite gasoline engines with an electric motor. Their hybrids are however only efficient in an urban setting. I guess it varies from place to place. In Japan and America where most Lexus hybrid owners probably live in the big cities, it makes sense.
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Originally Posted by Beemer B773ER So in simple, why not exaggerate your hybrid engine technology to the n-th degree if the vast majority of people are going to believe every word you say? ...afterall, that's what marketing's all about.  |
I agree, you have to take advantage of people's stupidity in every way possible. I'm just wondering why these people can't figure it out for themselves that there is absolutely no way the Lexus LS600h or an RX400h for example is going to be
economical once you leave the city. Big heavy cars + overpowered gas-guzzling gasoline engines + heavy electric motor and batteries = good fuel economy outside the city. Huh?
