So I've seen this picture pop up a few places...a little teaser being posted by the actual Toyota Prius team - what do we think it does?
Sun roof seems the most logical, but it's not a very pretty button. Looks like it belongs in an airplane bathroom to me. Any other guesses?
so random!! the fact that we have no scale on the pic makes it more difficult to decipher...but i'd guess a sunroof, too. here are some awesome images i shot of the prius prototype at toyota's store on champs elysees in paris....
and the inside...light was reflecting off the windows so it's hard to make out, but maybe someone can spot that open-close switch????
ps on the first image, you can see that the top feels totally open because it's all glass!
Awesome pictures Lola - that's a really cool looking design.
You know what would be really cool is if Toyota threw us a curveball and made the '09 Prius a plug-in hybrid. Then the button could be to open the door to the charger (like the gas tank door). But that would be a very surprising development.
If the Prius team is floating this picture around though, you would think it would be something important. I can't think of anything else of note that it might be.
oooo good guess! that would be an awesome curveball.
Huh....I never would have guess that open-close is on a Prius. I have no idea what it might do...
Lola, AWESOME pictures!
Speaking of Prius photos...an article ran yesterday on AutoblogGreen about a possible leakage of the 2010 Prius.
Here's one shot of what it might look like:
ooo looks so sleek and pretty!!! the 2010 prius is slated to be the plug-in, right? i'm going to want to upgrade so badly! any word on how much they're gonna jack up the pricing for the plug-in version?
Yeah but Toyota keeps changing their tune. Sometimes they say the first release of the plug-in Prius will be just for fleets. Nobody knows what they're going to do at this point.
Whoopsie, double post.
Picture is difficult as the context/location is lacking - but I would actually guess that it more likely is for the tailgate. It's essentially a hatchback and I know I would appreciate my 2005 Prius having an automatic tailgate - like a mini-van - to load groceries and stuff more easily. ...could be for a sunroof tho.
I would think a door lever for charging a PHEV version would be next to the floor mounted gas tank pull lever - and it would be a manual close like the fuel tank.
Yeah that's true, it would be weird to have a close button for the electrical outlet door. But it would be for the hatchback door too. It would be easier to close the small electrical outlet door. Maybe it could be a backup just in case you forget to close it - which would be nice for a gas tank door.
I'd still be shocked if the '09 were a plug-in though.
That new Prius really looks like a 'car of the future'.... something we'd all be jetting around in 2020. Very cool.
No idea on the button though... I like the idea of the plug-in recharge door.
Several mini-vans and SUVs have had automatic open/close features on their rear doors for a few years now...
