The new 2010 Toyota Prius will be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show next January along with a Lexus badged derivative. When the third (or fourth depending on whether you count the original U.S. model as a second gen) Prius debuts it will retain the current hybrid setup with a nickel metal hydride battery pack. The gas engine is expected to be updated and grow from the current 1.5L to 1.6L. The five door hatchback body style is also expected to grow a bit although the fuel economy is not expected to suffer. If the rendering produced by Car and Driver is anything to go by, not much of the new Prius design will come from the Hybrid-X concept that Toyota showed at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show. In 2010, Toyota will start building a few hundred Priuses with lithium ion batteries and plug-in capability for commercial and government fleet testing. A high volume retail version won't appear until 2011-12.

[Source: Car and Driver]

After evaluating supercars to see which could go furthest on a gallon of gasoline, the crew of Top Gear decided to try again. What they apparently set out to do was demonstrate the impact of driving behavior on fuel economy. All hypermiling enthusiasts will gladly expound on how modifying your driving style can take you above and beyond the EPA mileage ratings. Of course, Jeremy Clarkson had to demonstrate this by taking the negative approach. He pitted a Toyota Prius against a new BMW M3. No one would ever expect the 414hp V8 powered M3 to get better mileage than a Prius. Unless, of course, you pushed a Prius around a test track as fast it would possibly go and then pacing the hybrid with the M3. Not surprisingly, thrashing a Prius around a track for ten laps provides less than stellar mileage results. Check out the video after the jump to see if the Prius or M3 won this HYPO-miling contest.

[Source: YouTube]

Toyota has issued a clarification to reports earlier this week that it would introduce a third dedicated hybrid model in January at the Detroit Auto Show. At this year's show company president Katsuoko Watanabe announced that the company would bring two all new hybrid-only models to the 2009 show one each for Lexus and Toyota. That is all Toyota will unveil in Detroit. There will not be a third new hybrid. One of the new cars will be the new Prius. An additional model remains a possibility for introduction at some other show. This could either be a larger car or it might be the plug-in Prius that will debut in 2010 for fleet testing use.

[Source: Toyota]

Sebastian is joined by Jeremy for AutoblogGreen Podcast #23, since Sam was hanging out with Bob Lutz and his Vectrix scooter when we recorded. Jeremy recounts his experience with Piaggio MP3 scooters on a ride from New York to Connecticut, and we move on to talk about the limited Prius supply as of late. We also touch on some developments at GM: the impending doom that may befall Hummer, and the coming of the Volt, which GM wants to build in Detroit. We go on for a while about hybrids and EVs for a while before wrapping up. Thanks for listening, we'll see you soon!

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May was a tough month for almost every automaker doing business in the U.S. Only Honda and Toyota showed gains among the major full-line manufacturers. Mighty Toyota which seemed impervious for so long dropped by 7.9%. While a dropoff in sales of Tundras, 4Runners and FJ Cruisers was certainly no shock, there was one distinct outlier. Even as gas prices topped $4/gallon in much of the country, sales of the Prius dropped nearly 40 percent from 24,009 last May to only 15,011 this May. After climbing steadily for many months, a drop like this comes as a surprise. We checked with Toyota's VP Communications Irv Miller about the situation. Miller explained that:

Last year at this time we required incentives to move the Prius that were accumulating in dealer stock and it was a big month. While the numbers are off for the month compared to last year, we ended the month with less than 1 day supply. You can see that our business is ahead of last year and we are constrained by battery supply on a global basis. With the plant announcements to increase battery production we should be on course to reach the next level with annual Hybrid production.

Only after the new Prius arrives (it will debut next January in Detroit) is the supply problem likely to let up. So if you absolutely must have a hybrid you'll need to look elsewhere for now. At Toyota, the next most affordable hybrid is the Camry, while Nissan offers an Altima hybrid in about a dozen states. The Ford Escape hybrid also offers mileage that easily tops 30mpg.

[Source: Toyota]

The used Toyota Prius market is heating up rapidly in the face of high gasoline prices. A quick check on eBay Motors shows that, despite the complicated systems which make up the world's best-selling hybrid, bidders are snatching up the Prius at a very high rate. Historically, mechanically-savvy individuals have been able to get a detailed manual in order to tackle vehicle maintenance and repair themselves. Will newer high-tech vehicles with more computer processing power than the original space shuttle dissuade do-it-yourselfers from tackling their own hybrid vehicle repair work?

Apparently, the good chaps at Haynes Manuals were able to get their hands on a Prius, which they then proceeded to strip down completely and rebuild. The process was completely documented and can be found in the new Haynes Manual for the 2001-2008 Toyota Prius. As we've mentioned, the complex and often dangerous electrical systems are rather robust, so perhaps the new-tech hybrid vehicles won't put a damper in the DIY spirit of the home-repairman too significantly.

The increasing demand for cars with low carbon dioxide emissions in the UK has meant that they are in short supply. The Volkswagen Polo Bluemotion is a particularly extreme example with wait times of up to 9 months for factory orders. Certain trim levels of the Honda Civic Hybrid require five months of patience. Some of this is clearly due to the fact that cars that emit less than 120g/km of CO₂ are exempted from London's congestion charge. The rise of gas prices to around $9/gallon has also undoubtedly played a big part in driving demand for cars that use a bare minimum of fuel. With the most in-demand models unavailable in showrooms, dealers are trying desperately to push other models that are nearly as efficient but that don't quite meet that 120g/km threshold. About the only major low CO₂ model that is fairly readily available is the Prius, with wait times of only three weeks on average.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Some see the success of the Toyota Prius, compared to such competitors as the Civic Hybrid, as proof that green cars need to look different from their normal siblings. While it may be a bit early on in the game to make this assessment, Ford's North American director of car design, Pat Schiavone, suggests that there could be a trend towards "green" styling cues. For instance, cars like the Honda Insight and GM EV1 are easily recognizable for their teardrop shape and covered wheels, both of which help with the vehicles' high efficiency. While nobody that I can think of considers covered wheels "sexy," Schiavone indicates that could change, saying, "This sort of science-project look could end up sexy, or perceived sexy." We've seen some rolling science projects on these pages... although often supremely practical, not one of them has been all that sexy. Also mentioned as earmarked for the future are the wings and spoilers used by Indy racers in the 1970s. Now that could be pretty cool!

[Source: AutoWeek]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Toyota Prius

Recently, we heard that Toyota managed a sixty-seven percent increase in sales last month over the previous April while slashing incentives for its popular hybrid sedan. That increase in sales has allowed Toyota to announce that it has sold over a million Prius hybrid sedans worldwide as of last month. The official tally, for those keeping tabs, is 1,028,000 units sold so far since its introduction in Japan in 1997. Of course, the majority of the Prius sedans we see on the road today are second-generation units, which Toyota introduced in 2003. With the growing interest in fuel efficient vehicles, Toyota doesn't expect it to take nearly as long to hit the two million mark, and we tend to agree with them. There is a new generation Prius waiting in the wings, which we plan on seeing first-hand next January when it's introduced in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show.

[Source: Toyota]

With sales of many car and truck models cratering in recent months as gas prices continued to climb and the real estate market has continued its melt down, there has been one notable exception. Toyota has seen sales of the pioneering hybrid car climb by more than 67 percent in April compared to 2007. Toyota has been able to achieve this while slashing the incentives that they introduced after federal tax credits expired for the Prius. In 2007, Toyota spent $1,471 per vehicle in sales incentives, an amount which dropped to only $123 this year.

Even Toyota hasn't been immune to the overall sales downturn, as sales have dropped 3.3 percent so far this year. Toyota is currently capacity constrained for Prius production although that situation should change in 2009 when extra capacity is expanded along with the introduction of the third-gen model.

[Source: Detroit News]

For the eighth time in the last five years, the powertrain of the Toyota Prius has been recognized by jury of the International Engine of the Year competition as one of the best. This time around Engine Technology International magazine replaced the previous best fuel economy category with Best Green Engine. The change was done to recognize the desired for both reduced fuel consumption and emissions. The Prius engine and hybrid transmission combo achieves tank-to-wheel efficiency of 34 percent compared to 14-15 percent for most internal combustion engines. The Prius has also been rated at 104g/km of CO₂ on the European driving cycle. The 76hp 1.5L four cylinder combines with a 67hp electric motor/generator to achieve these results. The points spread from the 65 member jury of automotive journalists from 32 countries was actually pretty close for the top two spots with the Prius getting a narrow victory over BMW's single turbo 2.0L diesel with start/stop capability.

[Source: UkipMe.com, via Toyota Open Road]

Click above for a high-resolution gallery of the 2007 Toyota Prius Touring.

J.D. Power and Associates' 2008 UK Customer Satisfaction Index Study, produced along with What Car?, indicates that owners of the Prius are rather happy with their cars. For the second consecutive year, the second-generation of Toyota's iconic green machine, the Prius, has won the award as the highest scoring model in the U.K. on the Customer Satisfaction Index Study, setting the gold standard with a score of 901 of 1,000 possible points. Owners reported high quality and reliability when polled.

Miguel Fonseca, Managing Director for Toyota in the U.K., said: "We place a high emphasis on customer satisfaction in every aspect of the ownership experience. For us, the findings of the J.D. Power and Associates study and the award for Prius are a vindication of the work done throughout our company and our center network to support great products with exceptional service. I view this as an endorsement by customers of hybrid technology as a powertrain for today as well as the future." So, not only is the vehicle an excellent choice because of its green credentials, but also for its reliability. Score one for Toyota.

[Source: JD Power / What Car?]

Click on the image for more shots of this custom Prius convertible

We would surely welcome a convertible Prius to Toyota's official list of offerings, but we doubt it would end up looking much like this one. Custom ordered by someone who goes by the handle 'exproducer' on Prius Chat, the Waveline Blue sedan has had its roof professionally removed, raising the cost of the Prius from about $28 grand to $46 grand. That's a lot of dough, to be sure. Four-door convertibles are quite rare, and they rarely look as good as their sportier two-door cousins. In this case, beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. The owner loves their car, which is, of course, all that really matters. Still, the general consensus, even among Prius owners, seems to be that this particular Prius lost more than just its roof in this conversion. Whatever your opinions on the looks (we would prefer the window-frames removed), the work that went into this particular custom was very well done. On an efficiency note, the owner claims that their Prius convertible managed to pick up four miles per gallon while driving with the top up, and a loss of just two miles per gallon with it down.


[Source: Prius Chat]

Click on the photo for a gallery of high-res images of the Hybrid-X Concept

There's a good deal that we already know about Toyota's next Prius. For instance, we expect it to make its formal debut in 2009 at the Detroit Auto Show, along with a possible Lexus sister. We know that Toyota plans to increase production by 60 percent in 2009. We also expect Prius V.3 to be equipped with nickel metal hydride batteries to start, though lithium ions could go into the Lexus model. A recent article on Auto Observer reinforces all of these points and adds that Toyota is planning to increase the displacement of the new Prius' internal combustion engine to 1.8 liters from today's 1.5 liters. This should offer twenty-five extra horsepower from the engine, pushing total power to a combined 160 horses. Even with the added gumption, the next Prius is expected to post an efficiency increase of around 10 percent, possibly achieving 50-55 miles per gallon in the real world.

The next-gen Prius is expected to grow a bit larger and could get a wagon option as well, though the assorted hybrid bits will actually decrease in size. If the next Prius grows too large for your needs, rumors indicate that a smaller hybrid under the Prius banner is also possible. Auto Observer quotes an anonymous source as suggesting that the next generation Prius is "still Prius-eque, but a bit bigger and more solid looking." The current Prius' styling is an acquired taste, but most consider Gen-2 better looking than Gen-1. We have high hopes for the next Prius redesign, and the possible Prius brand as well.

[Source: Auto Observer]

Click above for a high-resolution gallery of the 2007 Toyota Prius Touring.

Sure, hybrids such as the Toyota Prius are already considered by the masses to be the pinnacle of green automotive technology, but they are still most certainly in their infancy. We've already looked at ultracapacitors, diesel, biodiesel and cellulosic biofuels as potential green technolgies, but each of those could be paired with an electric motor as part of a hybrid drivetrain. Although GM would like you to consider the upcoming Volt as an electric vehicle, the fact remains that it also carries a small internal-combustion engine onboard, making it a hybrid of sorts although many people (ourselves included) are referring to it as an extended-range electric vehicle. Because so many potential breakthroughs include hybrid technologies, we look forward to the idea carrying on as one of the most promising ways for automobiles to go green.

Now, what's Number 1?