XeroK00L

I agree. Most people paying a premium for a hybrid want people to "see" it. This is also a distinct advantage that Prius offers--it looks like nothing else on the road and people know you're doing your dues for the environment.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Indu...173.A8937.html

Toyota Rethinks Hybrid Strategy

A growing chorus of reports suggest that hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius are falling well short of their promised fuel economy. And even a senior Toyota researcher recently admitted that it is difficult to justify the added cost of hybrid technology by the savings on fuel. Yet when it comes to consumers, they have a distinctly different complaint, according to Don Esmond, senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. With the new Lexus RX400h, they say the real problem is the fact that the gas-electric SUV is almost indistinguishable from a conventional RX330. "They want us to badge this thing so people know they are driving a hybrid," said Esmond.

Toyota is in the midst of a major internal debate over whether it should produce more hybrid-only models, such as Prius, or emphasize hybrid options for its mainstream models, such as the RX400h and the upcoming Toyota Camry Hybrid. Whatever the ultimate decision, future Toyota and Lexus hybrids will be much more distinctive, Esmond promised.

Meanwhile, Bob Carter, the new general manager at Lexus, told TheCarConnection.com "You may see Toyota and Lexus going in two very different directions." The second Lexus hybrid, due to market next spring, will be a gas-electric version of the GS series, and the GS450h will put an emphasis on performance. A modified version of Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive will replicate the step-gear feel of a traditional performance powertrain, and could serve as the basis for an entire line of high-performance Lexus models. Carter declined to say when a decision on this brand-within-a-brand will be made, however. But whether on the Lexus or Toyota side, the Japanese automaker will be putting a bit less of an emphasis on mileage, in the future, and focusing more on the other advantages of hybrid technology, said Esmond, including performance, reduced emissions and the so-called "cool factor."