Every Dog Has Its Day

If every dog is to have its day then these days the dog would be Toyota. Its not paramount that the company has surpassed General Motors in the volumes of business it conducts. They have been making better automobiles and captured the public's interest and respect well before that. Known for almost unreal dependability and durability the company is now footing itself to dominate the HEV domain - the only type of new-technology vehicle that has any semblance of a real market with expected units sold this year set to test the 300,000 mark. A small number by any standard but one that grew by 52% in Feb 2007 vs. Feb 2006. Total HEV units sold in 02/2007 were 22,998. The Toyota Prius took its share of this performance upwards of 50% and that does not include all the other HEV cars that Toyota sells including the Camry, Highlander and the Lexus models.

If the Prius keeps this up it could well end up being the car that defines a new generation of design and engineering. Despite the fact that its more of a big city phenomenon where gas is expensive and commutes are long, it has never the less demonstrated a popular appeal amongst many classes of drivers including the young (who want to change the world). In California, you can't be driving around in several of its cities without seeing many of them in the course of a day. Upon first glance it comes across as puny and too futuristic in style. Its small and light alright but not as much as you'd think. I see them cruising at 70mph+ every day. The style appeal is somewhat surprising but without much choice in the market it seems to have pulled through. And now that it has sizable and visible numbers on the road the design may spark a new era of car sketching that could start to break away from the status quo. Toyota may be the most successful and robust company today. Its breadth and reach is astonishing when you span through Lexus range of cars. Its the only Japanese economy brand that has broken into the true luxury mind set of the buyer. Infiniti from Nissan ranks a strong second while Honda's Acura has struggled. Lexus commands a spot next to the luxury greats and now I myself have come across several owners who would rank it as a greater feat of quality engineering and luxury modeling than the time-honored German greats.