I was at our Toyota dealer yesterday getting the oil changed in our Lexus NX, so took a second look at the Prius Prime. I could not believe how tiny the trunk was on that thing, it almost doesn't have one unless you count the space above the cover. Ridiculous.
Yes, I did the PDi along with my sales person while I was waiting in a long queue at F&I. My sales person got the car into the service dept and plugged her in while I did the PDI checklist. 3 hours later, everything checked out and drove home with a full charge.....
I think I’ve mentioned before that in aviation there’s a name for checklists that are checked without actually doing the work: Pencilwhipped.
The Clarity is probably sold by Honda in just enough quantities to meet their compliance needs. It is a shame because it is such a wonderful car. The Clarity is loved. She is a rare but barely known gem. I hope this is the car that will make people take notice and demand PHEVs the way Tesla invigorated the EV market perhaps Honda will do the same for PHEVs with the Clarity.
Penclewhipped! Ha! That is perfect and so apropos for my world. Yes, there are a lot of pencils involved in any product, all are not the required #2 we used to use for tests. I have had a few complaints about the Clarity PHEV, but all are those that based on a small amount of 'due diligence" I knew about before going to the dealer, or after the test drive. I still bought the car because I love it's overall design (technical, not really body style) and "bang for the buck." Tesla was not an option for a number of personal reasons and Chevy was just to small for the family. I came from an Acura TL-S and wanted something more comfortable. I drove Cadillacs prior to the Acuras. This car checked 90+% of the boxes. I fixed the stereo issues that I perceived to my liking, and also a few delivery bugs. I actually enjoyed working on the car, it was fun! I like that there is still a "car" wrapped around the batteries and hi tech, and also feel fortunate to be conformable in my lamen's understanding of the HV side of the powerplant. The dealers have a long way to go to reach roadside service for this vehicle - but so far I do not see any single "stranding" item on the failure mode software fallback list publicly available from Honda. They seemed to have designed the vehicle with compromise to attempt to the best of their abilities in making it a "reliable Honda." I hope so. However I do really enjoy the vehicle - everything I am doing to it now is just icing for the cake. Yes, I would prefer to have a Tesla P100D with Ludicrous mode but I also enjoy still being able to take the kids on vacation - or out to eat... I personally appreciate Honda making this car, as even when I look at economies of scale from a distance, I don't think this was easy. It is likely a loss leader. Which if from another company would concern me. However my personal goal is to have the HV Batt fail capacity at 7.9 years, and get a brand new higher cap solid state HV battery in it's stead. Fingers crossed but would buy another one tomorrow! Cash
Take a look at the Clarity video ad by Honda at https://automobiles.honda.com/clarity-plug-in-hybrid# or at
The Clarity is like the Chevy Volt in public vs owner perception As a former Volt owner I visited various Volt forums and the car was universally loved. I loved the car. But you might remember FOX News attacking the car when it was introduced because it was not a full electric or didn't get the range they expected. They didn't' understand the purpose of the Volt. We seldom put gas in the Volt because my wife was the principle driver and rarely put more than 30 miles on the car a day. Unfortunately Honda, like Chevy, seems to be withholding advertising and promotion of the car. When a car manufacturer does that it probably because the car is meant for other things than making a profit.
^^^ that makes sense. Advertising costs a lot of money and since they put in a ton of engineering & R&D costs into the Clarity, Honda created the Clarity for CARB/CAFE reasons or a test vehicle prior to a new series of models upcoming. Makes sense that Honda released 3 trims of the Clarity - EV, FCV, and PHEV to gauge how customers like/dislike the propulsion system. We have unknowingly become part of the "guinea pigs in a real world" test cycle.
Honda is letting all the owners of the Clarity down by not promoting it to the consumer and their dealers. Here in Arizona the dealers don't even show it and if someone wants to see it it's parked on the back lot with no charge and most of the salespeople don't know much about it.....a sorry state... The Clarity is a good vehicle and with a few minor upgrades could be a great one ---and one that is well suited for the growing EV industry.....
It's funny how people stop by and ask what type of Honda I am driving. They have no idea this model existed. When I tell them about the advantage and features, their eyes just light up! Wish I had the CA HOV purple carpool stickers on it when people ask because that's the huge clincher for CA congested driving...
With more and more Claritys being sold, public opinion should only get better and better. When I first got my Clarity 10 months ago, I could go a week without spotting another. (except for the other full electric one from my neighbor.) Now days I often see 2-3 other Claritys coming to and from work. I will say the initial "WOW this car is great" feeling has worn off a bit but I still love the car.
