All About Prius

We saw our very first 2010 Toyota Prius parked on the street today, and there will be many more to come. But before we get all carried away with the new kid in town and its shiny solar moonroof, we want to take a moment. It's only fitting that we pause and pay tribute to the 2009 Toyota Prius, the last model year of the car that really and truly put hybrid-electric cars on the map. For six model years (2004-2009), the second-generation Prius defined the very image of "hybrid car". Its high-tailed hatchback shape came to signify maximum fuel economy and a light touch on the earth, plus the tantalizing promise of electric drive. It was lauded by green car fans and environmentalists around the world, hailed as an engineering triumph, and perhaps even paved the road for Toyota's takeover from General Motors as the world's largest carmaker. On the other hand, the Toyota Prius also stood for nerdy and annoying environmentalism. It was reviled as the 'Pious' and, in that role, even starred in its own episode of South Park. Absolutely shocking But it's hard to overstate how shocking the 2004 Toyota Prius seemed when it was unveiled at the New York auto show in spring 2003. Even the usually understated Toyota called it, "a world premiere of true global significance." With a wheelbase fully 6 inches longer than the 2000-2003 Prius it replaced, and so much interior room that it was classified as a midsize car by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the 2004 Prius delivered hybrid power to mainstream buyers. Over the past six years, the second-generation Prius has seen two boom-bust cycles. Initially, it did better than the smaller, less powerful car it replaced. Its 46-mpg combined EPA rating saw sales soar as gas got pricier a couple of years after its launch. But by early 2006, with gas prices back down below $2 per gallon, Toyota dealers had to offer rebates to move pretty much any Prius off the lot. That all changed when gas prices hit $4 per gallon in 2007; then there wasn't a Prius to be found for love nor money. The cars literally stayed only hours at the dealer before being delivered to buyers aching to pay far more than sticker for the miracle gasoline miser. Made in Mississippi, one day Those sales led Toyota to announce that its next US plant, in Mississippi, would not make trucks as originally planned. Instead, it would bring Prius production to the US--the car's single largest market, and the only site outside Japan to make the car in volume. Those plans were put on hold late last year, when the global economic slump devastated auto sales. Toyota's US volume plunged 30 percent or more, and the company moved fast to contain costs. When the plant will resume construction is anyone's guess. Meanwhile, give a nod of respect to the nearest 2009 Toyota Prius and its brethren from earlier model years.  As the car that made hybrid technology a reality in the global auto market, it is truly a milestone. And it did all that quietly, unobtrusively, and with the peculiar, quirky Prius personality that leads people to love 'em or hate 'em. We can say that very few people can ignore a Toyota Prius--and that alone is a mark of its success. COMPARE: 2010 Toyota Prius vs 2009 Toyota Prius

June is about to exit, so once again it's time for the five most popular posts for the month on AllAboutPrius.com. # 1: 30 Days of the 2010 Toyota Prius: Your Reference Guide. Hanging onto its perennial top ranking, this one remains by far our most popular content page. We meant it to offer an easy way to find all the basics on the 2010 Toyota Prius, and it seems to be working. Bottom Line: Start here for all the info you need on the 2010 Toyota Prius! # 2: 2010 Toyota Prius: Overview. This one stays in the silver-medal position it regained last month after a fall to # 5 for May. Bottom Line: As before, our # 1 post is probably a better place to start if you're looking for a way into our full "30 Days of the 2010 Toyota Prius" series. Over the weeks, that index page will come to include pretty much every angle of the world's best-known hybrid car. # 3: 2010 Toyota Prius MPG Commercial With Even More Colorful Nature-People. This one was rather a surprise, frankly, but it ranked as our third most popular post for June. Bottom Line: We still think the making-of-the-ad video (our # 5 post, below) is more interesting, but the ads continue to intrigue us. # 4: 30 Days of the 2010 Toyota Prius: Day 1, First Impressions and 70 MPG.  This one fell back a notch, but it's a perennial favorite by now: our first thoughts after a drive in the 2010 Prius. Not surprisingly, that "70 MPG" headline is a big lure too. Bottom Line: We can only quote our colleague Marty Padgett here: The 2010 Prius is significantly improved over the prior car in dozens of small ways. Along with exceptional fuel economy, it benefits from a taller, more airy cabin and improved driving feel. It's also a more upscale effort in general. # 5: Behind the Prius Scenes: How They Made the Harmony Commercial. We've watched it several times now, and the "Harmony" ad for the 2010 Toyota Prius still makes us grin each time. Here's how they did it.  Bottom Line: Toyota's fascinating video shows how the ad was digitally composed from individual shots using many, many people in colored leotards. Though as we wrote, We wonder how it feels to spend a day as one of a few hundred people paid to crouch on all fours in a green bodysuit while wearing a Burger King-like crown, covered in what looks like a sheepskin, waiting for the cue to rise in a continuous wave.

Three weeks ago, when Jay Shoemaker from The Truth About Cars reviewed the 2010 Toyota Prius, he didn't hold back. He hated it. Loathed it. Despised it. He didn't like the car, its looks, the driving experience, the interior, or the instruments. We poked some fun at him, and at the cranky, dyspeptic tone of the website grandly known as "The Truth About Cars". But then, last Friday, the site published another review of the 2010 Toyota Prius, entitled "Take Two". And in this one, reviewer Paul Niedermeyer gives the 2010 Prius a full 94 points out of 100, against Shoemaker's stingy 55 points. His opening paragraph glows with appreciation: There are very few inanimate objects which inspire my personal appreciation, respect, and interest as much as the 2010 Toyota Prius does. It’s a happy-faced, slick, aerodynamically-optimized, practical, comfortable and dead-reliable vehicle which exists for the sole purpose of letting concerned Americans feel like they are making a small but genuine difference in their efforts to reduce their consumption of the world’s finite resources. What happened? Well, it seems that Shoemaker's excoriation (on June 8) prompted a huge backlash in the comments. Then came an editorial by Jack Baruth (on June 17) noting that he, too, loathed the 2010 Toyota Prius. But Baruth also included a poll asking readers to specify what they wanted out of road tests. Turns out a full 86 percent wanted the site to "Rate the car in accordance with how well it performs its particular intended mission." Imagine: Rating a 2010 Toyota Prius on its ability to transport people and goods using very little gasoline rather than, say, comparing its acceleration and handling to that of a Ferrari or Bugatti. How radical. How shocking. How utterly ... obvious. Niedermeyer followed the wishes of his audience, and focused largely on fuel economy. His best was just a hair over 50 miles per gallon, right in line with the EPA combined rating for the 2010 Prius. His conclusion: Cars are kind of like people: they’re happier when they stick to their intended life mission and are judged accordingly. The Prius knows its mission and carries it out well. It has earned a bit of smugness along with its five stars. It seems The Truth can be changed. REVIEWER REVIEWED: NY Times Blogger Likes New 2010 Toyota Prius (With Video) REVIEWER REVIEWED: Surprise: Troglodyte Auto Writer Hates, Loathes, Despises 2010 Toyota Prius! REVIEWER REVIEWED:  Business Week on 2010 Toyota Prius: We Like It. We Really Like It! [The Truth About Cars via MotorMouths]