The Toyota Prius

The Toyota Prius is currently the number one selling hybrid car and has been popular since its release in 1997. Now ten years later, there are nearly a million of them on the road throughout the world as sales continue to grow.

The Toyota Prius offers a rather smooth, and incredibly quiet ride. When the car is in its all-electric mode, the silence of the engine is amazing. With a combined horsepower of 110 and a 0 to 60 rate of 10.2 seconds, the Prius is definitely able to hold its own. It's distinctive style sets it apart from other vehicles, yet somehow it still has all the same comfort and familiarity as conventional cars.

With safety in mind, the Prius features a stability control system, causing it to rate high on safety crash tests. The car also has a surprising amount of storage space along with plenty of leg room. The mid-sized, four-door, hatchback Prius offers a decent amount of interior space but still doesn't skimp on features.

Besides the standard features, the Prius also offers the latest technological bells and whistles that car buyers look for today. Keyless entry, high-tech dashboard displays that feature real-time fuel economy values, and rear-view camera systems for parking and safety purposes are just some of the Prius' extra benefits.

The Prius boasts an estimated EPA combined city/highway fuel economy rating of about 52 miles per city gallon, 45 mpg on the highway, and 89 percent fewer emissions that produce smog than the average new, conventional vehicle. Of course as with any type of vehicle, the driver's driving habits, road conditions, and the type of roads that the car is driven on may all affect a car's fuel economy rating.

A favorite amongst environmentalists, the Prius is certified as an AT-PZEV, which stands for an advanced technology partial zero emission vehicle. In layman's terms, the car is certified has having near zero emissions and zero evaporative emissions. This great distinction is achieved through the use of Toyota's sophisticated power train system that is referred to as the Toyota Hybrid System or the Hybrid Synergy Drive.

Using a 1.5 liter engine, an electric motor, and something called the power split device, the Prius creates a limited amount of emissions by utilizing electrical power in conjunction with the gasoline-powered engine. The power split device is a series of gears that ensures the car is running at its peak performance, dictating which power source should be used and when.

With a price tag generally in the mid-twenty thousand dollar range, the Toyota Prius may be a few thousand dollars more than comparable non-hybrid cars. But owners of the Prius insist the savings can't be compared in terms of the car's fuel economy and minimal impact on the environment, as opposed to the many gas-guzzling cars that are on the roads today.

In 1994 the executive vice president of Toyota put forth a challenge to the company's engineers to create a hybrid vehicle that would double the fuel efficiency of the average, conventional car. Engineers on the team balked at the possibility, especially in light of the time frame they were to work with. However, ahead of schedule in Japan of December 1997 Toyota debuted the first mass produced gas-electric car, the Prius, which made its way to the United States by the year 2000.

By the time 2004 rolled around, the second generation Prius had debuted receiving rave reviews making the midsized sedan an award winning sensation. Ten years after the first vehicle was completed, Toyota has now also sold more Priuses than all other hybrid cars combined with customer satisfaction rates at an astonishingly impressive 98 percent.

In 2008, the Prius will be redesigned yet again, making the next generation of the hybrid car available for buyers in 2009 with promises of an even more efficient, and visually appealing successor. The buzz in the automotive industry is that the possibility exists that Toyota will establish the Prius as its own separate brand. Creating other versions of the vehicle such as an SUV and a much smaller one suitable for city driving would make the car appeal to a wider range of people.

Whichever route the company chooses, they're sure to create a Prius that outdoes the last generation's by a mile.