I wanted to let everyone know about an opportunity from Toyota to see the 2010 Prius up-close and personal. Here is a message they posted yesterday in the PC forums:

The Seattle Times' Danny Westneat has written a column questioning whether plug-in cars need a reality check. His column cites the results of 14 plug-in Priuses operated by the city of Seattle driven a span of 17,636 miles as only achieving 51 MPG.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (aka the Stimulus/Spending Bill) will reach President Obama's desk this week and within the $787 billion bill are many provisions for new, energy-focused initiatives including major increases in tax credits for EVs and PHEVs.

Doug Coleman, Prius Product Manager for Toyota Motor Sales USA and friend to all PriusChatters, has provided PriusChat with the details on the 2010 Prius Models and Option Packages in an exclusive release

Bob Wilson (user bwilson4web) put together a fantastic analysis of what the January 2009 Hybrid sales report can tell us about who hybrid customers are and what drives them to purchase a hybrid automobile.

Edmunds just completed a head-to-head comparison test of the 2009 Prius Touring and the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI. I'll go ahead and ruin the climax for you: Edmunds picked the Jetta TDI over the 2009 Prius, saying that "Good fuel economy, above-average comfort and a low price win again."

PriusChat has a new look! We decided since the Prius itself is getting a fresh, updated look, then it was high time PriusChat do the same. I hope you enjoy the new look and I'll dive into explaining the new features soon! Danny

Article submitted by member cwerdna.

Article is a little confusing about the supposed US pricing.

"TOKYO (AP) -- Honda introduced Thursday the cheapest hybrid on market, starting at 1.89 million yen ($21,000) in Japan and under $20,000 in the U.S., hoping to turn around sluggish sales battered by the global downturn.
...
The big appeal of the Insight, a five-door hatchback, is its pricing.

Details of overseas pricing are still undecided. But it's cheaper than Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius, the top-selling hybrid, which sells for $22,000 in the U.S. and 2.3 million yen in Japan..."

New video found on the Toyota Pressroom site by usbseawolf2000. It shows very fine detail of exterior and then interior. Jump to the 16th minute to see the actual driving footage.

An interesting read. I might concede the point that the 2010 Fusion Hybrid is better than the 2009 Camry Hybrid, but I think the author's first drive of the 2010 Prius will change his mind. At least I hope so.

OK, let's just get it out there: The 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid is the best gasoline-electric hybrid yet.