Non-Professional Photos of 2010 Prius Thread.

So, it's the "MPH" located between the two blue circles?
Works for me (it's not like the Bmw Mini, where the speedo is two feet from where you normally have your eyes). Do you know if the Prius has the option to dim the dash lights all the way down to "blackout" ?

 

Haha! I'll bet fifty Japanese guys rushed you! "American man take our Prius!!!"
So that explains the photo in another member's Flickr album of the president of Toyota dragging you by the ear and escorting you out of the building. LOL.

update: Well, I guess if the gasoline engine didn't start up, no one would have known, right?

 

Excellent. Thank you. I especially like the pics that show the drivetrain. http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ew0L-V8SdRE/SW1m-RLSO-I/AAAAAAAACeA/JcjP_ZgZyBk/s640/P1010017.JPG It's nice to see that the lights on the console buttons are green instead of blue or white. I wish the LCD display wasn't blue though - that can be blinding at night and create a fish bowl in your car. http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ew0L-V8SdRE/SXDfbcdzv_I/AAAAAAAACao/4GmudgXHlZY/s640/P1000989.JPG

I didn't see a photo of the engine/transmission/motor cut in half (to reveal the inner workings). Do you have a photo of the inside? (sizes of MG1, MG2, and layout)
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EXCELLENT ARTICLE !!!!

"Ford Flex crossover - To his surprise, in hundreds of tests at Ford’s Wind Tunnel 8 southwest of Detroit the original edges produced less drag than curved substitutes, Mr. Koester said. 'Round is not always aero,' said J Mays, group vice president for design and chief creative officer of Ford."

So I suppose it comes down to the specifics. In some cases, unrounded corners will work (depending on it's surroundings an the whole overall design), but in general, I always think back to high school biology class ... over millions of years, the square fish were slow and eaten and the shape of the fish we know today are fastest. Apparently, airplane engineers understood this; the shape of 747s today resemble fish. And, I'm sure commercial airliners are as aerodynamic as possible; as 0.01 difference in drag coefficient could cost billions of dollars in jet fuel annually.

Unlike fish and airplanes, cars must remain on the ground at 80mph if they hit a bump while driving into a wind gust; there must be downforce (the windshield and hood are not on a continuous plane; the windshield acts like a downforce spoiler). Additionally, the bottom of a car is flat (I suppose it could be shaped like an airplane; like an Aptera). As a result of these facts and that cars (look at my picture of the Prius to the left) are flat on the bottom, not a continuous plane on the top, have wheel wells, an intake radiator, side mirrors, etc, they are already NOT as aerodynamic as fish and airplanes. As a result, unconventional aerodynamics can be employed to try and make the best of this airflow. Example: "next generation Prius hybrid .. The aerocorner pushes airflow out to reduce turbulence around the front-wheel housing, he explained."

"The idealized low-drag shape, the earliest aerodynamics researchers decided, was the teardrop form: a rounded front and a long tapering tail, like a drop of water falling from a faucet. But by the 1930s, after research by Dr. Wunibald Kamm in Germany, it was widely understood that slicing off the back of the vehicle produced an aerodynamic result that was nearly as satisfactory and eminently more practical."

 

In April, you will receive a personal invite by Toyota and your local dealer:
"Come test drive the new Prius, then enjoy a complimentary full bar from our very entertaining finance manager."