This week we use our final episode of the year to grill Chelsea Sexton on her experience with the Chevy Volt, then we spend the 2nd half of the episode going over our favorite stories from 2010. What Drives Us will return in 2011, we'll see you then! Thanks for a great first year of podcasts!

Hosts: Danny Cooper, Russell Frost

Panelists: Tony Schaefer, Linda Weidemann, Jason Holder, Chelsea Sexton

Episode #: 45

Hey, what is that dusting the Prius on GT 5 track? A Nissan Versa?

Check out below for another screenshot from Gran Turismo 5 and below that for a YouTube video of the 2nd Gen Prius in Gran Turismo 4.

An easy, step-by-step tutorial on how to add a USB power outlet was first pointed out here on PriusChat back in December 2009 and this week it has been making the blog rounds, so I thought I would take a moment to post the article from Instructables here on the front page of PriusChat.

PriusChat member Radarguy has put together a great video on all of the different neat ways you can use the Prius' Intelligent Park Assist function over in this PriusChat forum thread. Intelligent Park Assist is a feature found in the 2010 Prius V Advanced Technology Package.

That's right, they're finally in-stock! 2010 Toyota Prius Fog Light Kit - OEM Quality

Product Description:

Did you want the fog lights from the 2010 Prius model V, but didn't want to pay the hefty premium or lose out on other features? So did PriusChat, and that's why we are proud to bring you a factory-quality fog light kit that is easy to install and comes with everything you need to have that factory fresh look.
The kit includes:

Prius sales were up 50% in April 2010 compared to April 2009. usbseawolf2000 put that number in perspective on the PriusChat forums:

12,555 Priuses were sold. 1,880 Insights were sold. That's 6.7: 1 ratio.

Prius outsold Fit, S2000, Insight, Element and Ridgeline combined!

Prius outsold Odyssey.

Prius outsold the entire Acura brand!

By now you've probably seen or heard from Toyota what you should do in the case of an emergency in your Prius. Shift the car into Neutral, apply brakes, pull over. If that doesn't work, hold the Power button for 3 seconds to shut the car down. There's only one problem with these instructions - they are exactly the opposite of what Toyota has written in the 2010 Prius manual.

As you can see in the image above from the 2010 Prius owners manual, the manual says on Page 155 under Chapter 2-1 Driving Procedures:

If you just finished watching the hilarious version of "How to Stop a Prius" and are looking for something a little more bland and, um, corporate, here's a video for you. Toyota has put together an official demonstration video of what to do to safely stop your hybrid vehicle in the case of an emergency.

Leave it to a PriusChatter to figure out the best way to explain the easy fix if you ever find yourself with brake problems in your Prius. PriusChat forum member Gasitman has created a hilarious NSFW (not safe for work or children) YouTube video where he lays out the steps to stop your Prius. Yes, there are about 40 F-bombs in the video. And, yes, he does look strangely like Walter Sobchak from "Big Lebowski".

It's award season, and not just for those fancy moviestars. After winning MotorWeek's Best Vehicle of the Year award a couple of weeks ago, the Prius has now been nominated by journalists for the 2010 World Car of the Year award and the World Green Car award. The Prius' competitors in the World Car of the Year race are the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the Volkswagen Polo.