Three years ago yesterday, on a Jalopnik-TTAC joint podcast, a certain Robert Farago foresaw the rise of a “hybrid aesthetic” in automotive design. In order to break into the consumer psyche, went his logic, a hybrid car must look unmistakably like . . . a hybrid. Fast forward to 2009 and the new Honda Insight seems to confirm that looking like a hybrid means looking like a Toyota Prius. Chevy’s Volt might someday become the third member of the Prian party, while the forthcoming Lexus HS250h looks to be a Prius rebadge of GM-level laziness. If hybrids are the cars of the future, are we doomed to inherit a world of identical, beetle-shaped rides?
The obvious explanation for Prian design influence run amok is found in the wind tunnel. The outgoing Prius boasted a low-low coefficient of drag (Cd) of .26, making for one slippery hybrid. But the current Mercedes S-Class and Lexus LS460 also earn the exact same rating. For a four-door, the Prius’s CdA (Cd multiplied by area) is also surprisingly good at 6.24. But that’s not much better than, say, a 1991 Subaru Legacy which scores a 6.81.
The point is that the pursuit of wind tunnel efficiency does not lead inexorably to the Prian form, like some aerodynamic Mandelbrot set. There’s more to the wave of Prius-aping than mere laws of nature. The hybrid, writ large, has entered the American psyche. And it looks just like a certain Toyota.
To many Americans, the outgoing Prius was more than just a car. Through eight years of George Bush’s presidency, the Prius became symbolic statement of iconic power. It would not be unfair to say that, in 21st Century American iconography, the Prius took on the role of the Volkswagen Beetle to Bush’s Richard Nixon. It’s distinctive looks, unsullied by visual association with humdrum “regular cars,” created an undeniable statement. The bumper sticker had wagged the car.
The always-incisive cartoon South Park tapped into the Prian archetype in its send-up of self-satisfied hybrid drivers, “Smug Alert!.” The episode portrays the “Pious” and “Hindsight” as near-identical Prius-alikes, a subtle metaphor for the lockstep conformity of their “enlightened” owners. And with Honda’s latest hybrid so sincerely flattering the Prius’s looks, the South Park critique clearly had some merit.
But the real threat presented by the Priusification of the hybrid sector is not a looming cloud of smug. Rather, the very soul of automotive expression could become a victim of trend-following. Mass-market automotive offerings have long lost any stylistic luster, but more profitable “dedicated hybrid” models offer new opportunities to shape the automotive zeitgeist. In the face of this opportunity, automotive stylists seem to have raised the white flag, surrendering to (and thereby reinforcing) the power of the Prian archetype.
And this doesn’t just hasten the dystopic day when car buyers are forced to choose between a few flavors of hump-backed hybrid. Chasing the Prius’s self-defined segment too closely forces a comparison of the pretender to the original in which the newcomer may not fare well. The new Insight seems to have already fallen victim to this vicious dynamic. With so little separating the driving experiences of the Toyota and the Honda, reviewers are forced to conclude that the Insight is a slightly cheaper Prius without usable back seats.
Beyond this model-specific self-sabotage, the pursuit of the “dedicated hybrid” segment creates other dangerous temptations for automakers with hybrid ambitions. The early stages of the hybrid market favored unique models that identified their owners as early adopters. But as hybrid technology filters into the mainstream, Prius-like “dedicated hybrid” models will lose their unique appeal. If South Park jabs doesn’t get ’em, technological proliferation will.
Honda may have traded in its Hybrid Civic and Accord efforts for the Insight due to weak sales, but it may well have missed out on the “dedicated hybrid’s” moment in the sun. The third generation of the Prius hits dealerships this year, and early reports indicate that its blockbuster predecessor has been relentlessly improved upon in typical Toyota fashion. Oh, and the looks haven’t changed much. Honda’s decision to attack the Prius on price alone may run into some heavy competition.
If the Insight sells like gangbusters, the Farago principle will play out with a grim determinism. This scenario would not only prove that the hybrid market still demands visual representations of eco-awareness; it would also permanently cement the Prian form as the distillation of this hybrid aesthetic. But the automotive future is simultaneously too exciting and mundane to be represented by a single, instantly-recognizable (and baggage-carrying) form.
On the one hand, hybrid technology must eventually enter the mundane realm of the Fit, Corolla and Matrix. On the other, truly cutting-edge technology must be packaged in ever-more inspiring new forms. Not just another Prius.
SMUG ALERT!!!
“The Fargo Effect” sounds like a great scifi novel but when I first read it in the paragraphs above I had to go back and remind myself that the rise of the wedge was predicted by a Mr. Fargo. At first I thought we were talking about Cohen Brothers movies.
Hey my first year Chevy Celebrity had a .26 coefficient of drag and that was in 1982.
Symbols of rebellion and individualism eventually morph into conformity. That point will be reached very soon, rendering the Prian form to be uncool. Punk rock, tattoos, Prius; all will follow the pattern.
The hatchback Prius is actually shaped like the original 2 door Insight, not the other way around.
I think the conformity will discombobulate itself in due time.
There was a point in the late 1990’s when the majority of midsized sedans looked very much alike. That too has come to pass.
The fact is the the words Prius and Hybrid are virtually interchangeable for many Americans… and perhaps a few Europeans as well. Honda has to make the Insight look like a piece of ‘advanced hybrid technology’ and usually that translates into mimicking the silhouette of the market leader.
carguy622:
My eyes don’t see it that way. They see much different proportions, with the original Insight being much lower and sleeker. In fact, as noted in my new Insight review the original Insight looked a lot like…GM’s EV1.
My eyes also see quite a bit of difference between the 2009 Prius and the 2010. They’ve shifted the peak of the roof rearward and otherwise tweaked the surfaces and proportions to yield a far more attractive car. The 2009 Prius was ugly. The 2010 isn’t.
So, what is the iconographic hybrid look? What does a Hybrid look like? The Prius-look in itself is not really that inspired, though its distinctive. It looks like they tried to ape the Citroen GS forty years after the fact.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroen_GS
My point is, the Prius look-alikes only apes the Prius because it’s successful. And the Prius only looks like it does because it’s vaguely futuristic at the same time that it’s distinctive enough from non-hybrid cars. The Prius and its design language suffer from the desease of the silent vacuum-cleaner. If Hoovers were silent, no one would believe they actually worked. The Prius design works because it works. If they changed, no one would believe it was a hybrid.
So, when will the design-language evolve? When someone sees a window of opportunity to steal some sales through better looks. Or manage to come out with the message that hybrids actually can look like something else than Priuses. The point is, someone will have to take to bold step first. And knowing the conservativity of Toyota, they will continue to evolve the Prius look as long as they see it profitable. Honda had a chance to do something else, but perhaps they burned themselves on the first-gen Insight? Too futuristic is not good either….
How much is the shape driven by European pedestrian safety regulations? (The high hood is said to prevent head injuries, for example.) Maybe Toyota is (cleverly) getting the US used to a “world shape” for new cars.
educatordan:
Hey my first year Chevy Celebrity had a .26 coefficient of drag and that was in 1982.
LOL
It would not be unfair to say that, in 21st Century American iconography, the Prius took on the role of the Volkswagen Beetle to Bush’s Richard Nixon.
I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re trying to say here.
Ingvar: So, what is the iconographic hybrid look? What does a Hybrid look like? The Prius-look in itself is not really that inspired, though its distinctive. It looks like they tried to ape the Citroen GS forty years after the fact.
Mais Ingvar, that Citroen has a certain je ne sais quoi that is totally absent from the Prius and its clone(s?). Which means, style is still possible, even if it’s low cd uber alles.
Of course, 90 percent of cars look a lot more alike than the 1964 lineup of Chevies. Or Buicks. Or Olds. Or (name your big 3 division that has more than one model).
Having said all that, I still think the Insight is definitely Honda, as opposed to the Prius, and my gut strongly prefers the former. (My intellect hasn’t bothered to do a thorough comparison yet, but my gut definitely prefers Hondas generally.)
Indeed – the GS had a CdA of 6.24, just like the Prius does. But its Cd was not so special, in today’s terms.
If somebody wanted to do a sporty or “prestige” hybrid, they’d need to look no further than at the Opel (/Vauxhall/Holden) Calibra from the 1990s, which had a CdA of just 5.51. It was a sensationally good-looking car, in addition to its record-breaking wind slipperiness.
And the Prius only looks like it does because it’s vaguely futuristic at the same time that it’s distinctive enough from non-hybrid cars.
Ingvar nails it in one. I think the Prius is hard for car enthusiasts to understand because it’s not about the driving experience. I would claim that it’s not even about the efficiency or the environment. Most of the people I know who bought Prius’s didn’t buy them because of the gas mileage, but because when they drive a Prius, they feel like they are driving a spaceship.
Everything about the car – the bulbous exterior styling, the dashboard, the interior notes, the “engine is completely silent at low speeds” – screams “spaceship”. There’s nothing else quite like it, styling-wise, on the market. That, to me, is the real reason for its success.
Richard Chen :
Look it up. GM advertised that an 82 Celebrity sedan was slipperier than an 82 Porsche 911. Of course they also advertised that it was “The little car that rides like a big one.” I can attest to the truth of that, it rode like a junior Buick.
So GM, just find the tooling for the Celebrity somewhere in one of your warehouses, get Obama to relax the safety standards and slap the Volt’s power train in there and VIOLA! Instant world beater. ;)
1985 Chevrolet Celebrity, Cd 0.380, citation page 41. This particular car had a Stirling engine, no note of external aerodynamic aids.
No one here has mentioned Ford yet? None of their current and future Hybrids will llook like a Prius or an Insight…and they are just doing fine in the marketplace and with the MSM, thank you very much.
You can have your cake and eat it to – just have to be willing to look for something different and have an open mind. Of cource, many of the greens/ultra left liberals are as free thinking as the ultra right wing nut jobs.
Dang you know what you’re right. Darn my faulty memory. (Guess that’s what happens when your first car was built at the time you were in kindergarten.) But it was slipperier than a Porsche right? It did get over 30mpg with the sad little 151 cubic inch 4 banger. My apology, Sir.
It would not be unfair to say that, in 21st Century American iconography, the Prius took on the role of the Volkswagen Beetle to Bush’s Richard Nixon.
I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re trying to say here.
I think EN is saying that for the current generation the Prius is an icon of noncomformity. There may also be a political angle in that VWs in the 1960s were eventually associated with the counterculture, hippies etc., the antithesis of Richard Nixon. Likewise, while it may be a stereotype, there’s the question if those Priuses come from the factory with left wing, anti Bush, bumper stickers.
As for the styling of the Prius, Insight and Volt. Early acceptors like to stand out from the crowd, so it made sense for the first hybrids to look different from conventionally powered cars.
Regarding aerodynamics forcing styling, while aero obviously establishes some boundaries (no pun intended), most folks can tell the difference between F-16, F-15, F-22 and F-35 military aircraft. Edmund Rumpler, an aviation pioneer, in 1921 designed the midengined Tropfen-Auto, which has been measured to have a cd of .245. The Tropfen-Auto looks nothing like a Prius.
No prob, I was just a teenager without a license those years. Older sports cars weren’t terribly aerodynamic so the Cd < Porsche 911 is likely.
I’m glad to see the reference to CdA in there: most rags usually don’t get that frontal area is important, too. CdA isn’t a perfect proxy for “slipperiness”, however, and the Prius has many other tricks: flat underbody, rear diffusers (that actually work, unlike the bits on ricemobiles), low rolling resistance tires. All that achieved despite the mandated pedestrian-safe hood height as noted by another poster.
PSHAW!
insight, ev1, 911, gs, celebrity… blah blah blah.
Horseshoe crabs have been doing this S*&% for the past 400 million years!!!
WHATS OLD IS NEW AGAIN. WELCOME TO THE PALEOZOIC!
Everything about the car – the bulbous exterior styling, the dashboard, the interior notes, the “engine is completely silent at low speeds” – screams “spaceship”. There’s nothing else quite like it, styling-wise, on the market. That, to me, is the real reason for its success.
The other part is compromise, or lack thereof. The Prius requires very little change in the way you use your car, despite being a Car Of Tomorrow. There’s no real penalty, excepting mildly less performance and a mildly more cost, both of which are entirely reasonable, and offset by packaging and fuel economy. Even the Camry Hybrid requires sacrifices (trunk space, mileage) that the Prius does not.
The 2G Prius is a hybrid car that you can treat more or less like , costs only slightly more and gets much mileage than a Corolla or Camry.
Honda (pre-2G Insight) and GM never really understood that part: to them, hybrids were either/both and engineering tour-de-force, penny-pincher’s ride and/or social statement. They never understood that the hybrid has to be, above all, low in barriers to adoption.
Nicely written editorial, Ed.
I think the hybrid esthetic will morph to the mainstream as the cost penalty is reduced. When the hybrid premium makes economical sense, it will proliferate into the Fits and the Yarii. We are still in the phase where hybrid buyers want people to know that they’ve put their money where their mouth is.
I want to run Mazda for one vehicle cycle. Just one. Once I’ve finished my Rosetta Stone Japanese for Business lessons, my second order of business would be to call up Ford and make a deal to use the Fusion Hybrid system in a car that makes use of the Mazda Nagare design language.
The Prius-bubble design would be a distant memory once consumers were offered this as a purpose-built hybrid.
E-class coupe looks good (cd.24).
My car is getting 18mpg, it has 170hp and weighs 3450lbs. All new similar sized cars best it by quite a bit. Still I’m not complaining, and I don’t like most new cars as much as mine. Maybe a lot is lost. I am sad, angry, hurt and scared. Still I will not stop having driving fun, even If I feel some shame, I’m writing over that and being happy with me, and my nature. Even if I’m in a clutch, long live my clutch.
Props to you, good sir, for sneaking a reference to the Mandlebrot Set into an article on automotive hybrids. I am impressed.
I’m going to agree with many others on here that this the “Priusification” of cars is nothing more than another cycle that fashion typically follows. Next generation or two it will go out of style, and we’ll see the next wave of innovative/popular designs and their “me-too” counterparts.
Personally, I’m not offended by the efficient packaging that the shape offers. It’s like a blend of a sedan and a hatchback, with less of the phoniness that I associate with the bland- er, blend- of a CUV. I’m curious to see if a it’s possible to actually make modern one that looks good, rather than novel.
As others have said, the Prius succeeds not because it is a particular sort of car, but because it’s an entirely new kind of product. The design of the exterior, the interior and the drivetrain all contribute to the “prius-ness” of it. It’s more than just the shape, but the overall packaging and feature set too. It screams “fun techno-toy” more than anything else.
I’ve decided that I need to break out of the Prian form. I’m going to mount a steer’s horns on the front of my car and start calling it “Tex.”
It’s better than mouse ears on the roof. Okay, maybe not…
Giddyup!
As others have said, the Prius succeeds not because it is a particular sort of car, but because it’s an entirely new kind of product. The design of the exterior, the interior and the drivetrain all contribute to the “prius-ness” of it. It’s more than just the shape, but the overall packaging and feature set too. It screams “fun techno-toy” more than anything else.
No offense, but this level of exuberance reminds me of the dot-com stock bubble and all the giddy “new economy” talk which swirled around it. And we all know how that turned out.
Human nature never changes. I believe that as far as the Prius is concerned, today’s “entirely new kind of product” is tomorrow’s funny-looking shitbox with the blender under the hood. Nothing more.
As usual, people try to downplay the engineering achievement in the Prius by blaming people for being suckered into smugstorms by its shape.
Which one was more distinctive, the 2-door Insight or the Prius? If you say the Prius, please report to your closest medical facility for a brain examination.
The Prius took off because it’s a family-sized car with lots of useful cargo space that gets better mileage than any subcompact available in this country and every diesel that ever shows up claiming to be ready to take it on. Period. It’s not irrational smuggery; it’s purely logical utilitarianism – it’s almost as big as a Camry, has even more useful cargo space, and gets better mileage than a Yaris. DUH.
Never mind. Couldn’t make the link work. Sorry
The Prius is not my cup of espresso, but it’s definitely a decent car to drive. If I had to drive one, my quality of life woiuld suffer very little. And as Psarhj says, there is little compromise. Inside, it’s a nice, big sedan with a star-trekki allure. Outside, it’s funny-looking, and ugly to my eye, but so is almost everything else on the road, albeit in a different way.
The Plymouth Superbird had a cd of .28.
The Chrysler two-mode hybrid SUVs are listed as having 399 horsepower and 390 lb/ft of torque.
It seems obvious to me. Take the Challenger, give it the two-mode setup, a nose cone, and a giant wing. Then just watch the profits roll in!
The Prius, Volt, and Insight wouldn’t stand a chance!
The outgoing Prius boasted a low-low coefficient of drag (Cd) of .26, making for one slippery hybrid. But the current Mercedes S-Class and Lexus LS460 also earn the exact same rating.
That’s probably because they’re longer cars so it’s easier.
To maximize aero and stability, and maintain a reasonably human area, the prius shape seems more or less inevitable for a small light car like that.
It’s the shape of things to come, much like the contemporary creased look, and how rounded 90’s autos drew away from the 80’s box look, which supplanted the older muscle/bulb/fins.
I don’t think anyone buys a Prius because it looks great.
Great read. South Park often has an uncanny ability to predict the future.
The current-gen Insight is a rush-job. I remember not 3 years ago, Honda was (publicly) stating that they were still taking a wait-and-see approach to a dedicated hybrid model. This is the same schizophrenic “keep it simple” company that produces the interiors of the current Civic and Insight. They will eventually go their own route with exterior styling — What we see now is a stop-gap. (see: Honda Civic, 2006-present)
Oh, and I would like to change my handle to “The Farrago Principle.”
It seems obvious to me. Take the Challenger, give it the two-mode setup, a nose cone, and a giant wing. Then just watch the profits roll in!
Actually, since the two-mode is based around a sophisticated automatic transmission that pretty much replaces the conventional auto tranny the biggest obstacle to a hybrid Challenger would be where to put the battery, probably under the back seat. I know that there was some speculation that GM might make a two-mode Camaro.
The Tesla models are actually disappointing in how car-like they are – although the sedan styling is just about a million times better than the Panamerica.
The Aptera looks like a Cessna with its wings chopped off… not attractive but a bit weird. I was hoping that some more “futuristic” styling on the order of Minority Report/I, Robot/etc… would appear. Rather we end up with teh fugly…
I want to run Mazda for one vehicle cycle. Just one. Once I’ve finished my Rosetta Stone Japanese for Business lessons, my second order of business would be to call up Ford and make a deal to use the Fusion Hybrid system in a car that makes use of the Mazda Nagare design language.
If that means a goofy grinning grille… please, God, no!
The outgoing Prius boasted a low-low coefficient of drag (Cd) of .26, making for one slippery hybrid.
The 1990 Opel Calibra had a 0.26 Cd too, and people bought it because of the looks which weren’t goofy in any way.
I believe the “Smug Alert” image about sums it up. That particular episode of South Park should be mandatory viewing for anyone considering a hybrid.
Yes, the kammback Prius-shape is only a fad. There are other ways. I would say that the Honda Element is the perfect form for a hybrid. For city commuting, the large frontal area really doesn’t matter.
But the real threat presented by the Priusification of the hybrid sector is not a looming cloud of smug. Rather, the very soul of automotive expression could become a victim of trend-following.
I have to disagree with this statement and seemingly the crux of the thesis. In the early 80’s, the American car guys at Ford were desparate for fuel efficiency. Not having the R&D dollars to blow on all new engines and drivetrains to meet the CAFE standards set, Ford’s engineers found that the cheapest and easiest solution was to switch to front wheel drive and to round out the shape creating the “jelly bean” or “flying potato” look.
This aerodynamic body style still persists in car styling. At first – as the author points out severely with the Prius – this styling was so revolutionary that every American car manufacturer started to mimic the styling of the Taurus. The 1995 Toyota Camry is a good example of the Japanese finally getting in lock step with the program. However, this didn’t stiffle styling for long as cars and styling evolve and will continue to do so.
Point being, the Prius is the benchmark for Hybrid styling design just as the iconic Mustang is for Pony cars or the Explorer was for SUVs. The style will resemble the Prius for awhile until someone figures out that the American public is ready for another take on the same theme.
By any measure, the Prius is much less a symbol of exception than was the Beetle during the Nixon years. In 1969, VW was earmarking to the US — and selling — about 2500 cars per production day. In a country still just short of 200,000,000 people, and one in which domestic automakers maintained a commanding supermajority of the market, the Beetle in the US then outsold Prius this decade, in a country grown both wealthier and about 50% larger in population.
Prius is by comparison a pipsqueak in cultural influence relative to what Beetle and Mustang, for instance, wielded. Or for that matter the 1st-generation Taurus circa 1986 – ’94 relative to its market. The hybrid aesthetic is identifiable, but its market influence pales by comparison. Let’s face it, as a percentage of the market Prius after a decade is still a sliver and it’s spawned only one imitator in a decade.
The Prius form factor is defined by an initial understanding of what works for the type, in the same way that compared to what came before them, the aerodynamic trends in response to 1970s market conditions and regulations homogenized the design themes of all front-drive cars until more holistic design and engineering considerations yielded more variety and design freedom.
We learn faster now, and markets develp preferences more quickly. Plus, differentiation is ascendant still. Prius won’t nearly match the extended vector of influence the original Mini enjoyed.
Of Prius offense to proportion and beauty, this too shall pass.
Phil
“…looming cloud of smug…self-satisfied hybrid drivers…blah, blah, blah.”
Geez, why is it I’ve read this same editorial nonsense from several different automotive writers. Is it because they think it makes them cool to write that?
Could it be the only “looming cloud” is the one filled with trite, overused, hack phrases these writers produce?
If I had the spare cash for a new car right now, I’d be looking for a high mpg hatchback or wagon in the mid-size range. There aren’t a boatload of cars that fit that description here in the U.S.
I do a lot of stop and go driving, as many people do, so a hybrid like the Prius would work well for me, especially the model with 17-inch wheels.
Other people I know who have bought Priuses are regular folks who wanted a mid-size, fuel-efficient car capable of carrying people, dogs and stuff.
Sorry, but the Camaro doesn’t work for that. Sedans like the Fusion hybrid are nice, too, but hatchbacks are more flexible.