I spent the weekend in a 2010 Honda Pilot, leaving the Prius at home for my trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. We averaged a pretty painful 20.5 MPG overall (about 10% below the EPA highway numbers), but the added space was nice.

The Monday Morning Prius Diary seems to be getting A LOT more response over on our Facebook page, so feel free to become a "fan" of PriusChat and post your own comment about your weekend.

http://www.facebook.com/PriusChat

Prius owners are known for being some of the most technologically advanced car enthusiasts on the planet, so it only makes sense for PriusChat to have a smartphone/mobile version of the site.

The mobile site was mainly designed around Webkit browsers (iPhone, iPod Touch, Palm Pre), but it should work well for everyone.

There are 2 easy ways to get to the new mobile site - either visit http://priuschat.com/mobile or choose "Mobile/iPhone Style" from the style dropdown at the bottom left of every PriusChat forum page.

Dr. Sultan Rahaman, aka rahamanmd on the PriusChat community forums, is featured in an article in today's Orlando Sentinel. It's an interesting article about Dr. Rahaman moving from being a long-time BMW owner to a first-time Prius owner.

Toyota has come up with a fix for their floor mat woes - a 6-inch zip tie and a warning to use common sense.

Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons told Automotive News: "We have reviewed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration what we're calling a semipermanent floor mat installation process, and we're providing these instructions to our dealers."

Dealers also are to attach a label to the wire tie warning dealers and customers to ensure that the mat is secured with restraining straps and not to stack one mat over another.

The nominees for the 2010 Green Car of the Year have been announced, and to no one's surprise the Toyota Prius is on the list. Here's the full list of nominees:

• Audi A3 TDI
• Honda Insight
• Mercury Milan Hybrid
• Toyota Prius
• Volkswagen Golf TDI

Last year's winner was the VW Jetta TDI, and I don't expect the Prius to win this year given Ron Cogan and the rest of the award jury's lean toward diesel/performance vehicles.

The winner will be announced Dec. 3.

TOKYO — Toyota's Prius hybrid was the top-selling car in Japan in September for the
fifth straight month ... Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest automaker, sold 31,758 Prius cars last month, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.

Toyota said this week there was a backlog of Prius orders, numbering in the several thousands. Customers ordering the cars now won't get them delivered until after May 2010.

The Honda Fit is 2nd, while the Honda Insight has dropped back to 5th place.

It's time again for the Monday Morning Prius Diary! That's not my photo above (thanks, Flickr), but I spent the weekend as a groomsman in a very good friend's wedding. The weekend was a blast, but it left me no time to show my lovely 2010 any attention. We did take it on the trip, traveling from Charlotte to Greenville, SC and averaging about 53 MPG.

Toyota has confirmed that the Sai hybrid, a Toyota based on the Lexus HS 250h, will be available for sale on October 20th.  The Toyota Sai will most likely come with the same 2.4L HSD engine that is included in the Lexus HS 250h. And, like the HS, that increase in power will equal lower fuel efficiency (the HS gets 35 combined MPG). The Sai has a revised grille (with less chrome) and a new lower fascia and wheels. Different taillights distinguish the Toyota from the Lexus and, inside, there are fewer buttons and a revised mouse control.

I just received word from a Toyota dealership that Toyota has put a "stop sale" on the Prius All-Weather floor mats. That basically means that Toyota dealerships across the country will not be receiving any new shipments of all-weather rubber mats until an undetermined future date. Dealerships have not been told that they can't sell any stock that they have on hand, so if you want a set before the snow/ice season kicks in this might be the time to buy.

For any of you who ever drove and fell in love with a Honda CRX, these new photos of the Honda CR-Z will make you drool. According to Honda this is the near-production "concept" version of the CR-Z hybrid, due to hit the streets in 2010. Just like the CRX of old, the CR-Z looks fast and nimble.