..and he is insulting all those who put their faith in the Prius, only to be made to look a fool in front of the bragging heads, it's not about how good the car is, its about those who want to believe the car is rubbish and thrive on the lies spewed out by the Top Gear Wallies.

It's time Toyota did something, claims that the mining operations etc. make the car 'not green' are false.

Actionable claims by Clarkson include.

"It's badly made".

"IT only does 45mpg tops".

Nickel smelting - Sudbury Canada is quite sensitive to claims they
are an environmental waste bin. Clarkson claims there is a lot of
"acid rain" from it, which is a lie. Contacting Sudbury Chamber of
Commerce would be a good, first step.

Mileage claims contradicts the UK version of a vehicle testing board - in fact,
it also contradicts probably every serious lab that has compared the
Prius to other vehicles, including the German version. IMHO, this is
tantamount to making a false mileage claim.

He even had a Prius shot to pieces in 2002, who provided this car, is Clarkson being bankrolled to slag off the Prius??

And so on...

I'm aware of at least two people who have been put off the Prius by Top Gear, it's sad that people are influenced by this rubbish.

Other comments making it in to the public domain include "It's boring to drive".

If Toyota are not careful, they could find the Prius becoming not fashionable.

It's high time Toyota defended their and our honor.

Clv.

My view is that Toyota would be best served to stay out of any argument with Top Gear, or Clarkson in particular, for the inevitable further criticism they will come in for. In the most recent series, they burnt an Austin Marina, which led the Marina Owner's Club to contact the BBC in protest. What did they do the following week? Blow up another one instead.

Toyota's only crime is not marketing the Prius correctly to the car-buying public. While I'm sure for some owners, the reason for buying a Prius is environmentally-led (think of the Hollywood stars who bought the early MkII versions), Toyota's claims are extremely subjective, hence all the criticism. The car would appeal to more people if you told them factually that it costs £15 per annum in road tax, is [i]capable[/i] of 65.7mpg and came top of the JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey 2008 (and was joint top in 2007 with the Lexus IS200). Those were the reasons I bought my T-Spirit as well as the fact that it's ideal for my London commute (even though I don't drive into the congestion charging zone - it's exemption is another plus).

We're fortunate nowadays that greener motoring usually goes hand-in-hand with low running costs, and this is building the popularity of greener cars. Toyota should major on the facts instead, and the popularity will come all by itself. If anyone you talk to is put off by Top Gear's comments regarding the Prius, tell them how much the road tax is - it never fails to impress anyone I tell it to.

Clarkson has never grown up. Unless he is wrecking very fast cars and driving like a lunatic he is not happy. Top gear rarely feature family cars in a good light. It is a waste of time trying to persuade the top gear team what a great car the Prius is.
The top gear programme appeals to youngsters; it would be good if Clarkson and his team put over that driving very fast on some airfield is not what you do on normal roads and introduced road safety rather than speeding.
I think it is up to us Prius owners to spread the word on how good the car is.

It's not only the Prius. Clarkson is only one of many europeans who suffers from the prejudice that japanese cars are junk. This has it's roots in the fact that the early versions of japanese cars sold in Europe, were not very well protected against rust, suposetly because it wasn't that big a problem in Japan.

Whatever the reason, i've noticed that allthough Clarkson can be entertaining to watch, he allways has something negative to say about japanese cars in general and Toyota/Lexus in particular. Maybe no worse than the remarks that i myself make about lets say Ford and Opel, but him saying them on television makes people believe them

Toyota are doing the wise thing by staying out of it.... JC is an entertaining plonker that far too many people regard as something of an auto guru

Yes he has the ability to find out many good and bad points about cars but his views are seriously clouded by prejudices that are based on myth

Look at his choice of a recent car that he paid a fortune for as he thought it was great.... yes the newest Ford GT40.... what an attractive heap of a car So surely this tells you a lot about him

Clarkson is a T*SER end off story

[quote name='corolla_dude' post='837814' date='Jan 4 2009, 12:02 PM']Clarkson is a T*SER end off story [/quote]

a carefully reasoned argument there, with a most accurate summary I fully endorse

I also saw some other car prog last month that tested the Aygo against 5 vitally important critera, such as how far away can you hear the audio setup - if people really take these kind of pathetic and irrelevent reviews as a basis for deciding to buy or not, they need more help then just working out what car to buy!

Topgear should be taken for what it is. A show, where 3 guys give us their opinion about what a good car is and what a bad car is. Their opinion is not necceseraly more correct than yours or mine, but none the less entertaining to some extent. And actually Clarkson did give the Avensis credit for safety, without pointing out that he also found it boring.

Happy New Year all.

Toyota is the number 1 manufacturer and holds the record for a top selling car - Corolla. Does any more have to be said?


Stompe

[quote name='stompe' post='837879' date='Jan 4 2009, 03:15 PM']Happy New Year all....[/quote]
Happy New Year Stompe

[quote name='stompe' post='837879' date='Jan 4 2009, 03:15 PM']....Toyota is the number 1 manufacturer and holds the record for a top selling car - Corolla. Does any more have to be said?


Stompe [/quote]
When put that way how can anyone really argue

I just watched an episode where Clarkson is in the US. Obviously his opinion about american cars is not that much different than that of japanese cars. Nor for the country and it's inhatitans

[quote name='SF695' post='837890' date='Jan 4 2009, 03:42 PM']I just watched an episode where Clarkson is in the US. Obviously his opinion about american cars is not that much different than that of japanese cars. Nor for the country and it's inhatitans[/quote]

Clarkson is getting paid for contriversal statements against other companies regards who will pay the highest price, this makes him more un-popular but earns him lots of money, the more people that talk about him the more money he gets, as far as technology is concerned he poses none, we all reconise this so why bother talking about him. ?

is this a serious thread - Ohhh lets all get together and bash clarkson for being nasty to our Prius.

Personally i have no problem with the car, i conisdered buying one, but found the performance poor, the handling rather limited, and its actual practicality lacking - i have 2 kids and a wife to shift around the place, so i went for a larger, cheaper to buy Avensis, again it has its postive and negative points.

The prius isnt perfect, its a nice step towards a commendable goal, but perhaps toyota realises this is only ever going to be an interesting toy and that the future lies in Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles - so why cause and arguement over something so childish.

As for Clarkson - seriously anyone put off buying a car on the advice of a celebrity is obviously so weak willed they are close to pointless - why not do what i did, and get of your backside and have a go - i tried the Prius and the Honda Hybrid, i found the Honda better styled and more dynamically enjoyable - but even less practical than the Prius space wise. Oh and final point, who-ever said that old Jeeza is always negative about japanese/Asian/American cars must have missed him raving about the Nissan Skyline GTR, Subaru Legacy, Corvette etc etc etc.... get your facts right - and yes he's paid to be contraversial, but who ever hinted that he's in the pay of some evil corporation set on rubbishing its opponenents is a fool, i've found him to be equally cruel about any rubbish car he comes across - perhaps the man has high standards - something increasingly rare in this -it'll do society where every idiot thinks his or her opinion counts!

Don't get sucked into the misconception that driving a Prius will save the world - if you want to make an impact start killing some cows

Nah I got a Prius cos its so cheap to run compared to my Avensis, and I find Clarkson hysterically funny, but totally divorced from reality. Top Gear is an entertainment show, it entertains me but I won't buy my car based on it, I will go take a test drive...common sense really.

Clarkson is very good at a few things, one thing in particular is to make you laugh

If anybody gets the hump over comments he makes about cars then you really don't get the point about Top Gear. The programme is an irellevent nonsense, and unless your car has a V8, 10, 12 or whatever under the bonnet then frankly it will hardly get a mention unless it is to make fun of

Strangely enough, [url="http://www.topgear.com/uk/toyota/iq"]TOP GEAR [/url]give the new iQ a brilliant write up "Utter brilliance from Toyota – the car the Smart ForFour should have been" How weird is that? considering it's a 3 cylinder town car

[quote]Clarkson is a T*SER end off story[/quote]
Now that is funny

Kingo

[quote name='SF695' post='837835' date='Jan 4 2009, 01:25 PM']Topgear should be taken for what it is. A show, where 3 guys give us their opinion about what a good car is and what a bad car is. Their opinion is not necceseraly more correct than yours or mine, but none the less entertaining to some extent. And actually Clarkson did give the Avensis credit for safety, without pointing out that he also found it boring.[/quote]
Spot on - never take Top Gear too seriously. Remember when they "raced" a Prius around the track with a new V8 M3? The Prius turned in worse fuel economy than the Beemer - it was around 17mpg if I recall - but clearly the BMW didn't need to try at all whereas the Prius was being thrashed to death. It was a short piece and even Clarkson admitted afterwards that "it's how you drive the car".

Back at work, a couple of my colleagues took the mickey about it. I simply said I'd bet my mortgage I could get three times better economy on my London commute than a new M3, and, well, they were quiet after that.

The Prius, is so god damn ugly!

Why can't Toyota give us more Hybrid options in the UK like they do in America??

As for Clarkson people think he's rude, arrogant and extremely blunt about what is and isn't good.

I think you will find the correct term for Clarkson's personality is "Yorkshire"

This is what us Yorkshire folk are like, we will tell it how it is!!

If you don't like him don't watch Top Gear (or visit Yorkshire!)

yep i agree clarkson is a ****** on what he says. ive bought januarys top gear mag an it shows the new avensis but most negative comments about apart from build quality an safety. they also say about the old avensis saying its dull an boring against other cars like mondeo. i find nothing wrong with mine an i love driving it and dont find it ugly looking. they keep saying a lot the accord. i have seen the accord and dont like it at all, the interia is terrable. everything is all big.

i have nothing against honda though. but toyota is my fav car co. and i know they make the most reliable cars in the world an i havent had a problem with any of my cars. i bought my avensis bout 3 weeks ago because my corolla was a write off cus sum ****** hit into me. i wanted an avensis for my next car. this is my 4th toyota now an if you have owned toyotas 4 a long time you know about them an how gud they really are. yes clarkson is a *****. when they showed the lotus with the celica engine every1

laughed a little. why? because its a toyota. clarkson didnt slag it off he liked the vvtl-i. only people who own a toyota know what a toyota is like to drive.

It's just his opinion and he does give credit where it's due. Remember the Hilux?

(It was funny that Toyota brought out the 'Hilux Invincible' after that episode came out )

I'm not a big fan of the Prius; Batteries are probably one of the worst choices for energy storage for something like this; Admittedly it was probably the least crap thing they had to work with back then, but IMHO they should fund more research into supercapacitors and/or fuel cells.

On a slight tangent, I wonder how long before they start certifying the D-4D's for use with Biodiesel? I want to try it out but don't know if all the seals and pipes are up to it on a long term basis, esp. since biodiesel eats non-synthetic rubber!

I think very few would claim the Prius is the ultimate solution - but you get somewhere in technology by developing. Toyota's declared development path involves fuel cells.

Also the battery in the Prius is only a temporary store - a more valuable idea IMHO than losing the rear seats to get a battery big enough for city use (the Mini).

The thing that impressed me when I finally got into this and test drove / researched and bought a Prius is how much of a multi - pronged attack on the problems of fuel efficiency Toyota are taking. Once you free the ICE from "normal use" you can adopt a more efficient cycle etc - there must be a long way to go on this - and maybe future hybrids won't even have an ICE.

But engineering logic never had much to do with male pub talk about cars - I have always been horrified at the tendency to buy cars with huge engines and then use them at incredibly low efficiency - it's sort of criminal in my mind using a 3 litre engine to potter the children to school but thousands do it.

But then this is why I've never been able to partake in pub car talk !

[quote name='Aamir2892' post='838816' date='Jan 6 2009, 10:11 PM']yep i agree clarkson is a ****** on what he says. ive bought januarys top gear mag an it shows the new avensis but most negative comments about apart from build quality an safety. they also say about the old avensis saying its dull an boring against other cars like mondeo. i find nothing wrong with mine an i love driving it and dont find it ugly looking. they keep saying a lot the accord. i have seen the accord and dont like it at all, the interia is terrable. everything is all big.[/quote]

[quote name='Aamir2892' post='838828' date='Jan 6 2009, 10:25 PM']i have nothing against honda though. but toyota is my fav car co. and i know they make the most reliable cars in the world an i havent had a problem with any of my cars. i bought my avensis bout 3 weeks ago because my corolla was a write off cus sum ****** hit into me. i wanted an avensis for my next car. this is my 4th toyota now an if you have owned toyotas 4 a long time you know about them an how gud they really are. yes clarkson is a *****. when they showed the lotus with the celica engine every1[/quote]

[quote name='Aamir2892' post='838834' date='Jan 6 2009, 10:38 PM']laughed a little. why? because its a toyota. clarkson didnt slag it off he liked the vvtl-i. only people who own a toyota know what a toyota is like to drive.[/quote]

Any reason why you made 3 posts one after the other instead of just 1??

[quote name='Norfolk n Chance' post='838936' date='Jan 7 2009, 10:39 AM'][quote name='Aamir2892' post='838816' date='Jan 6 2009, 10:11 PM']yep i agree clarkson is a ****** on what he says. ive bought januarys top gear mag an it shows the new avensis but most negative comments about apart from build quality an safety. they also say about the old avensis saying its dull an boring against other cars like mondeo. i find nothing wrong with mine an i love driving it and dont find it ugly looking. they keep saying a lot the accord. i have seen the accord and dont like it at all, the interia is terrable. everything is all big.[/quote]

[quote name='Aamir2892' post='838828' date='Jan 6 2009, 10:25 PM']i have nothing against honda though. but toyota is my fav car co. and i know they make the most reliable cars in the world an i havent had a problem with any of my cars. i bought my avensis bout 3 weeks ago because my corolla was a write off cus sum ****** hit into me. i wanted an avensis for my next car. this is my 4th toyota now an if you have owned toyotas 4 a long time you know about them an how gud they really are. yes clarkson is a *****. when they showed the lotus with the celica engine every1[/quote]

[quote name='Aamir2892' post='838834' date='Jan 6 2009, 10:38 PM']laughed a little. why? because its a toyota. clarkson didnt slag it off he liked the vvtl-i. only people who own a toyota know what a toyota is like to drive.[/quote]

Any reason why you made 3 posts one after the other instead of just 1??


[/quote]

It wouldnt let me type further, So i had to make a new one. I did all 3 on my PSP so sorry for the spelling.

The Prius isn't by any means the perfect hybrid, but then it arrived around the time when hybrids first came to market. Remember the first diesel-engined passenger cars? They were always seen as a quirky choice back in the eighties, but now you can't drive down a road without passing a turbo-diesel. And I bet those first diesel cars got the same flak from Clarkson.

Clarkson is fantastic at what he is paid to do, simple as that....... my kind of humour

Personally i could watch TG all day, so entertaining ....

This thread did make me ....

I think Clarkson [b]has[/b] done some damage. I drive my Prius as a taxi and am continually getting people telling me I'm responsible for global warming because the car has a toxic battery in the back and Clarkson says its less economical than a BMW diesel! When I show them I get 50mpg in a smooth, quiet, comfortable car they do start to change their minds.

There again, many also think that I have to plug it in at night!!!! And/or think that once the main battery is flat then that's it until I next plug it in.

I know it's obvious to us (because we own one) but I think there is a [b]LOT[/b] of misunderstanding about the Prius and Hybrid systems in general. Perhaps an advertising campaign by Toyota clarifying that real world results are good and that the car self charges and doesn't need plugging in might be in order?

Honestly, I get asked about 5 times a day about where do I plug it in?!?!?

Just tell them to keep feeding the meter with pound coins

For all of JC's bashing, the gen3 Prius did get the Top Gear city car of the year award.

[url="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/06/et-tu-clarkson-i-top-gear-i-names-toyota-prius-its-city-ca/"]http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/06/et-tu-c...us-its-city-ca/[/url]

The award probably came from the magazine side of the business and the not the TV show.

[quote name='Grumpy Cabbie' post='952118' date='Dec 14 2009, 04:39 PM']Honestly, I get asked about 5 times a day about where do I plug it in?!?!?[/quote]

I had a conversation with a Council leader looking to put Prius into the fleet because of the "green" aspect of the car, he was worried about the extra infrastructure and expense required for "plugging it in at night"

Kingo

I know how to raise up the Prius in Mr Clarkson's esteem. Point out it will never be seen towing a caravan.

[quote name='Parts-King' post='952398' date='Dec 15 2009, 03:56 PM'][quote name='Grumpy Cabbie' post='952118' date='Dec 14 2009, 04:39 PM']Honestly, I get asked about 5 times a day about where do I plug it in?!?!?[/quote]

I had a conversation with a Council leader looking to put Prius into the fleet because of the "green" aspect of the car, he was worried about the extra infrastructure and expense required for "plugging it in at night"

Kingo
[/quote]

WEll Toyota have now brought out a Plug In Prius.... and yes it does need charging up...and yes you need to plug it in....Not connected to a normal 13amp plug though....need something with a bit more zing......So Kingo best get that councilor back on the phone and order him up couple.......

[quote name='chatman' post='953662' date='Dec 19 2009, 08:27 PM']WEll Toyota have now brought out a Plug In Prius.... and yes it does need charging up...and yes you need to plug it in....Not connected to a normal 13amp plug though....need something with a bit more zing......So Kingo best get that councilor back on the phone and order him up couple....... [/quote]

Sorry Chatman, your wrong.

From the Toyota press release:

"The Prius PHV can be charged using an external power source such as a [b]household electric outlet [/b]and is the first vehicle produced by Toyota to be propelled by a lithium-ion battery. "

HYBRID SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS

Drive battery
Lithium-ion

Capacity
5.2 kWh

Rated voltage
345.6 V

[b]Charging time [/b]
Approx. 180 minutes (AC100 V)
[b]Approx. 100 minutes (AC200 V)
[/b]

[quote name='mfs1011' post='953658' date='Dec 19 2009, 08:16 PM']I know how to raise up the Prius in Mr Clarkson's esteem. Point out it will never be seen towing a caravan. [/quote]

Not in the UK anyway.
Plenty of USA Prius owners have fitted a tow bar.

A story appeared a while ago of someone complaining that there was no female in the Top Gear team, drawn to the attention of the appropriate Ministry the reply came back - "There is no need, Mr Clarkson already drives like a big girl."

Pkram

I enjoy watching top gear for its laughs & the challenges they do, but i take no notice of their reviews, and they would not influence my judgement/decision in the purchase of a new car.

I do feel sorry for the manufactures tho who have to put-up with his bad (or good) marketing.

When I went to look at the new ford fiesta (which I was considering, before buying the aygo) one of the first things the salesman said was “Clarkson thinks highly of it”...so what.