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Ken-chan
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« on: December 22, 2009, 01:23:00 pm » |
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I read a magazine article saying that the Prius now has an optional solar roof to power the climate control when you're away from the car, but solar roof is not listed in any of the option packages when I do "Build your Toyota" on the Toyota website. It isn't mentioned at all.
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M
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« Reply #1 on: December 22, 2009, 03:15:33 pm » |
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It's only available in some states, like California and New York. Put in "90210" (Berverly Hills, CA) for your ZIP code, select the "Prius II" trim level or higher, and in the Options screen you get "Solar Roof Navigation (includes Navigation Package) (with options)" for $4,280. Put in ZIP Code 10001 (New York, New York) and the same "Solar Roof Navigation (includes Navigation Package)" is only $3,830, or $450 less than in California.
Where you put in your ZIP code it warns "Changing your zip code may change the vehicles options [sic] available".
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FT-86
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« Reply #2 on: December 24, 2009, 10:25:19 am » |
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It's only available in some states, like California and New York. That's pretty lame. I wonder why they do that. Maybe there's a shortage of solar cells?
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warlock
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« Reply #3 on: January 05, 2010, 06:08:41 pm » |
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It's only available in some states, like California and New York. Put in "90210" (Berverly Hills, CA) for your ZIP code, select the "Prius II" trim level or higher, and in the Options screen you get "Solar Roof Navigation (includes Navigation Package) (with options)" for $4,280. Put in ZIP Code 10001 (New York, New York) and the same "Solar Roof Navigation (includes Navigation Package)" is only $3,830, or $450 less than in California. Makes you wonder what other options are unavailable or cost more in different states. Why wouldn't they want everyone to have a solar roof? I could see if it only worked in warm states or something but New York is not a warm state.
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FT-86
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« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2010, 11:42:52 am » |
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Would be a cool feature to have on any car though, not just a Prius. The car would already be cooled off or warmed up before you even opened the door, much less turned a key. No more cold leather seats or boiling hot steering wheels. Let's hope Toyota is going to be putting this on other cars in the lineup!
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M
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« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2010, 12:09:59 pm » |
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Would be a cool feature to have on any car though, not just a Prius. The car would already be cooled off or warmed up before you even opened the door, much less turned a key. Pre-warming and pre-cooling is great for an electric car, too. The car can be cooled or warmed while it's still plugged in, saving the battery from having to use that energy after you've unplugged. The plug-in Prius won't be for sale until 2011, but I wonder if the solar roof wasn't introduced to prove the concept of pre-treating the environment.
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V for Venza
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« Reply #6 on: January 07, 2010, 04:27:29 pm » |
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The car would already be cooled off or warmed up before you even opened the door, much less turned a key. No more cold leather seats or boiling hot steering wheels.
Why can't they just do this now? Computers have increased the convenience of everything, cars are no exception.
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M
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« Reply #7 on: January 08, 2010, 03:27:32 pm » |
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Why can't they just do this now? They can. The solar roof is just for cooling; it's not connected to the Prius electric drive system. They could put the same solar roof on any car. But would you pay $4,280 extra on your next car just to have it pre-cooled on a hot, sunny day?
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GT-Four
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« Reply #8 on: January 10, 2010, 06:30:07 pm » |
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Why wouldn't they want everyone to have a solar roof? I could see if it only worked in warm states or something but New York is not a warm state.
I bet that either Toyota can't get enough solar roofs built to meet potential demand in all states, or else they're selling it at less than cost to meet some kind of requirement in NY and CA. That's usually the reason for availability issues. Or Toyota has only trained service techs in those states how to fix it, it could be that, too.
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