Top Gear fluctuates between totally hating the Prius and giving it awards, but nonetheless many of us are still fans of the British car show. Season 13 broadcasts its premiere on BBC America on Monday, January 25th at 8/7c.

Can't wait for the 25th? Top Gear fans can catch up with Season 11 and Season 12 on DVD as of January 12th. These two seasons boast 14 full episodes with Season 12 including over 2 hours of bonus features - like never before seen footage and all-new commentary.

The Prius has been a popular target of pop culture since its inception into the mainstream back in 2004. Probably the most (in)famous reference was in the South Park episode entitled "Smug Alert!". But the car has appeared as a character, prop, or backdrop in numerous other TV shows, movies, and music videos.

I was catching up on some DVR'd TV programs last night and noticed on The Office that Ed Helms' character, Andy upgraded from his Gen 2 Prius to a spankin' new 2010 Gen 3. Those of you who watch the show regularly know that Andy's 2nd Gen Prius was somewhat of an extension of Andy's character and has played a prominent role in a few scenes.

Looks like a PriusChat member is about to become famous!  Ken@Japan, PriusChat's wonderful Japanese resource, will be a part of a program called NIKKEI Japan Report tomorrow, with the subject being "The Present and the Future" of the Japanese green economy.  Don't worry, it's an English-language show!

You'll be able to watch the show online on http://jibtv.com/ on the following schedule:

jibtv (UTC): 2009/6/26(Fri) 00:30 / 4:30 / 8:30 / 12:30 / 16:30 / 20:30