At this point, it seems certain that the old Prius versus Hummer "debate" is never going to die. Despite being proven false, the study continues to pop up every now and then as forum fodder or as ammunition for hybrid-haters all over the globe. It's alright if you don't like hybrids, but real factual data would be much preferable to lies and misconceptions of the truth. The most recent evidence of hybrid-hating comes from an article contained in the latest Autowritiers Newsletter and is penned by Bill Maloney, who cites the oft-debunked CNW Marketing study we mentioned earlier.

A bit of truth rings out from Moloney's column regarding some hybrid purchasers, as some Prius owners admit to basing their buying decisions out of a desire to appear green. It has been argued, and may in fact be true, that many consumers chose the Prius over another hybrid model due to the fact that it is readily recognized as a green choice. Still, to suggest that all hybrids are purchased solely to make a statement is ludicrous, as it is the savings in gasoline that prompt the vast majority of fuel-sipping choices.

[Source: Autowriters.com Newsletter]

Toyota has announced it will offer a plug-in hybrid vehicle with lithium-ion batteries (most likely, for lease, not for sale) in Japan, the U.S. and Europe by 2010. This is the confirmation of the success of Toyota's PHEV Prius plan and tests in Japan and in UC Davis. Batteries will be supplied by the joint venture that Toyota set up with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which will begin producing lithium-ion batteries in 2009 and will move into full-scale production in 2010. While this sort of official confirmation is nice, Toyota isn't revealing everything: the company said are working in a new type of battery which could outperform lithium-ion, but didn't explain further). It seems that Toyota doesn't want to fall behind GM's Volt.

During the press conference announcing the PHEV Prius, Toyota confirmed its plans to produce the Camry Hybrid in Australia and Thailand and showed off its improvements in gas mileage for both gasoline and clean diesel models (sold under the DCAT label in Europe).

Update: Don't get too excited yet. We checked with Toyota spokesman Curt McCallister who confirmed that nothing has changed with Toyota's PHEV plans Since CEO Watanabe spoke at the Detroit Auto Show in January. The Panasonic EV plant will begin making lithium batteries late in 2009. However, 2010 will only see a few hundred plug-in Priuses available to government and commercial fleets for testing. The PHEVs would not be available in higher volumes to retail customers until 2011-12 at least.

[Source: AP]

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

We've been hearing about the third-generation Toyota Prius for a very long time, and we're really looking forward to seeing it in person at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, where we are expecting its official debut to take place. What we don't know, however, is when the model will actually go on sale. A preliminary hint comes courtesy of Korea, as an un-named Toyota of Korea source is quoted as suggesting that the next-gen Prius will get an official launch in April of 2009 in the United States, Japan and Korea. Apparently, Toyota believes that the hybrid will be a very important model for the Korean market, and is set to price the vehicle very aggressively. Pricing information for the U.S. market is unavailable, of course. Getting back to Korea, the article also mentions that tax breaks are expected in that country for purchasers of hybrid vehicles, which, along with the high price of fuel, could make the fuel-sipping vehicles quite popular.

[Source: Digital Chosun Ilbo via Prius Chat]

Responding to a Tokyo Shimbun story that said discussions with GM were underway, Toyota says that no decision has been made about potentially building the Prius at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), the joint Toyota-GM plant in California. The AP reports that Toyota is stepping back from the rumor that the Prius could be built in North America for the first time. The Prius is currently made in Japan and China. Officially, Toyota's statement said, "We are always considering the best places for production, but nothing has been decided about producing the Prius at NUMMI." We do know that Toyota will build two new hybrid battery plants (and expand a third) in Japan for increased hybrid vehicle production. If the Shimbun story is true, then major components (like those batteries) would be shipped to NUMMI for final assembly. Something tells me we'll hear more about this in the future.

[Source: Automotive News Europe (subs req'd), AP]

The styrofoam hamburger container shape of the Toyota Prius elicits a lot of responses, good and bad. But when was the last time you saw one and thought, "wow"? Back when the hybrid was introduced, amazement might have been a common reaction, but we've seen the Prius in the U.S. for eight years already. What could possibly make us excited about the car now (well, aside from the high gas mileage). Toyota North America's head of product planning Mike O'Brien has been thinking about ways to bring the wow back to the Prius, and it all revolves around a plug. As US News talked to O'Brien and then tried to crack the truth from the rumors about the upcoming Prius refresh. Their guesses:

• An all-electric button to go a few miles on battery power alone. This is a pretty easy guess to make, as the EV button is already available on the Japanese Prius.
• Two-prong outlets. Power your laptop or DVD player right off the powerful hybrid battery? Could happen.
• Plug-in Prius. Um, yeah, this one we know about.
• Lastly, US News thinks that the new Prius could be used as an emergency generator. O'Brien told the magazine that, "There's enough power in a Prius battery to power a 1,200-square-foot house." This would be an option down the road - i.e., not in the Prius we'll be seeing in Detroit in January.

[Source: Rick Newman / US News via EV World]

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]

click to enlarge

Remember the big deal it was when the "Here & Now" version of Monopoly came out and there was a Prius pawn inside? Well, there's Monopoly Prius standing guard at the entry way to the AFVI expo hall here in Las Vegas this week. The hybrid is totally decked out in Monopoly money decorations and has landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge and the Seattle Space Needle painted on it. Aside from being a good conversation piece, the display takes care to note that the Prius is the first car in space - since the game's updated tokens were sent into orbit on the Space Shuttle at some point. Is this display a big deal? Not really, but when I get home from this trip, I'll post another batch of pictures I took a few months ago, just for fun. Who knew there was more than one person who wanted to decorate their car in Monopoly money?

Whether contemplating the possibility of a Lexus Prius or dreaming up a Prius convertible, people sure do like to tinker with Toyota's halo car. Of course, for many, the reason to mess with the hybrid is to squeeze more miles per gallon out of the car.

According to CBS Chicago, two brothers from Du Page county, Illinois - Chris and Andrew Ewert - have modified a Prius to get 100 mpge (the "e" here being very undefined in the original source), simply by adding more batteries (battery type? also undefined) and a charger to the stock model. While techy details are not forthcoming about this particular PHEV conversion, at least one message comes through nicely: "My brother and I built this, and car companies should be able to do it, too," Chris said.

If you'd like to see some technical information on how a Prius conversion looks like, check out what Kim Adelman is doing.

[Source: CBS Chicago]

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?]

Photo by OrangeLimey. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Starting in a few weeks (mid- to late-May) a Prius will cost you $400 more than it used to. Toyota announced across-the-board price increases to 2008 and 2009 Toyota and Lexus models today (Scion were "adjusted" back in April), and all Toyota models included in the list are up between $100 (the Tundra) and $500 (the Highlander hybrid). The price of the 2009 Camry hybrid has been upped $300 to $25,650. As for the smiling icon, the 2008 Prius' MSRP's new base price is $21,500 or 1.8 percent higher than before. On the Lexus side, the RX 400h is now $300 more and will cost you $41,580. As our friends at Autoblog point out probably won't slow down sales: in April 2008, 53.8 percent more Priuses were sold on average per day than in April 2007. Full list of price increases after the jump.

Don't accuse Seth "Robot Chicken" Green of getting a Prius just because it's the trendy thing to do. At the recent Tribeca Film Festival, Green was talking to Contact Music and said he's most impressed with the way his new Prius saves him money at the pump and that he can drive alone in the carpool lane. Whatever it takes, I guess. Green doesn't even like the way it looks; he said the car was "horribly ugly. It's not an attractive car at all." Still, he ramped it up to 111 mph on the way to San Diego (o rly?) and he's happy enough that he's willing to give the world's most popular hybrid at least a few props. Purely from a tightwad perspective, of course.

Photo by RavenU. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

[Source: Contact Music via Ecorazzi]

The Toyota Prius needs no introduction to any reader of AutoblogGreen. The hybrid has gained iconic status and is the poster-child for the green automotive movement. While we appreciate the current Prius, we're really excited at the prospect of plugging in the next-generation version. Even better would be a plug-in Lexus Prius with lithium ion batteries and all the best bells and whistles that accompany the Lexus name.

Check out Number 3.

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

All the way back in September of 2005, Solomon Technologies sued Toyota for allegedly infringing on a patent related to hybrid powertrains. Shortly thereafter, Solomon attempted to get the importation of the Prius and Highlander hybrid vehicles to the U.S. halted. The International Trade Commission ruled in Toyota's favor, leading to an appeal by Solomon. Their first lawsuit has been stayed awaiting the resolution of the ITC case. The latest page of this saga has Solomon completing their arguments to a three-judge panel in Washington appeals court. Of course, we have no idea how all of this will pan out, but we don't imagine that it's anywhere near over if the past is any indication.

It appears someone has it in for the Prii of Petaluma, CA. Over the past two weeks, at least half-a-dozen of the hybrids have been hunted down and had their windows shattered by bricks, rocks and a hammer. One Prius had a fender dented as well. While there doesn't appear to any sign of the attacks escalating to spray-painting or burning as had happened to Hummers in L.A. a few years ago, there are no known leads in the case and Prius owners may want to take extra parking precautions.

Although the motivation for the vandalism is unknown at this time, it is highly unlikely to be linked to pre-emptive attacks designed to protect blind pedestrians from the dangers these silent vehicles might present. However, if you do notice anyone in Petaluma carrying a white cane AND a hammer whilst feeling the contours of cars parked along the street, do your part to protect private property and pass along the information to the police.

[Source: The Press Democrat]

Over on the VWvortex Forums, forum member DoctorNo says that what you see above is a rendering of the new Lexus Prius. This new hybrid (in more than one sense) will feature lithium-ion batteries, all the luxury amenities one would expect from the brand and should be available in late 2010 or early 2011. This redesigned Prius would blend elements that made the Prius so popular (the hybrid synergy drive, of course, and some of design language) while moving into a Lexus look and a $30,000+ price tag. If li-ion batteries are included, then that's not too bad. No rumors about a plug, though.

Also, according to what DoctorNo translates from the scanned Japanese magazine text, Toyota's next Prius will use the 1.8L 2ZR engine instead of 1NZ.

[Source: VWvortex Forums]