The Toyota Prius - A Car to Save the World

The Prius is confirmed to be one of the most well-known hybrids in the US and it's is primarily due to the reputation of Toyota itself. Add to that sensible design and a practical, city-sized ride and you have a car everyone can feel much better about buying and looking good while doing so.

The Prius was launched as a lightweight automobile globally in 2000 although launch of the Prii started in Asia beginning in 1997. The first gen Prius in the US was a great success due to its mixture of contemporary features and design along with its ranking as an Ultra-Low Exhaust Automobile which offered customers the opportunity to get a $2000 tax credit for their purchase.

In 2004 the Prius was remodeled as a mid-size liftback designed to fill the gap between the Camry and the Corolla. Besides all of the other upgrades it is now categorized as a SULEV (Super Extremely Low Pollutants Vehicle) and is certified by Florida Air Sources Panel as an “Advanced Technological innovation Partially Zero Exhaust Vehicle” (AT-PZEV).

So, what do all of the elegant shortened forms really mean? Well, according to the EPA, this year's Prius gets an impressive 48 mpg in the town and 45 mpg on the road. But, asides from the considerable benefits Prius owners enjoy due to its great fuel-economy, the Prius also tells the world that you're environmentally conscious and responsible. The beauty of the car though is that it looks like what you anticipate to see in a hybrid: its got innovative styling cues, flared and expanded headlamps and a liftback that makes your vehicle look like a space probe you would expect to see in intergalactic space.

The Top 5 Electric Cars on the Market

With all of the dire predictions about the environment more and the high cost of gas, more and more people are expressing interest in purchasing completely electric cars. In the following breif post we will take a moment to list the most popular, gas-free vehicles on the market.

1. Nissan is the first automaker to produce an all electric volume in any real volume and, as we have already showcased in a previous post, this vehicle is the Leaf. Nissan Leaf The 2012 Leaf includes DC Fast Charge and backup camera and has a price tag of under $40K. The great thing about the Leaf is that it is battery-electric with a 100-mile range per charge.
   
2. GM currently offers the plug-in hybrid Volt but its first completely gasless vehicle will be the Chevy Spark. According to GM the Spark is the quintessential city-car destined to compete for parking spaces with Smart cars and Mini's from Manhattan to LA. Check out this interesting little blurb from the product page:
   

   Spark be nimble, Spark be quick

   Spark is compact, so we worked a little harder to pack in
   all the attitude we could. What is attitude? It’s five doors’ and
   four seats’ worth of “bring your friends along.” It’s parking
   where most fear to parallel. So the next time someone says
   it’s impossible to keep a car in the city, you can turn to them,
   smile and tell them why they’re wrong.

3. The Ford Focus Electric is available now and is meant to compete directly with the Leaf fro non-gas supremacy. The Focus Electric is, however, a little pricier than the $35K Leaf coming in at around $40K before taxes and title. An interesting side note us that, beginning in 2013, hybrids will also have electric motors and lithium batteries as Ford invests heavily in an electric future. 
   
4. The Mitsubishi i (poor name to be sure but maybe they're trying to capitalize on Apple's success with the vowel) can be reserved for a cool $30K which makes it a steal in comparison to the competition. Closely related but slightly larger than its Japanese cousin, the more powerful U.S. version of the iMiEV has an electric range of 62 miles (EPA adjusted) with a 16kWh lithium battery.
   
5. Our last entry for today is the 2013 Fit EV and will be priced at $36,625. The new EV will use Blue Energy lithium-ion batteries.
   
   Anyone who is interested in a more complete break-down of both the hybrid and completely electric vehicles beig offered in 2012 and 2013 should definitely check out the following link: http://www.cleanfleetreport.com/top-electric-cars-2010/
   
   Thanks for reading and look forward to our next post where we will look into the enviromental impact of all-electric as copared to gas only vehicles. Be well!