Γεια σας από Κρήτη!

That means, "Hello from Crete!"

So I probably should have come here first, but I was seduced by the siren song of the 2010 Prius Forum. Long story short, I'm a California native who has managed to spend most of the last eight years in various places overseas, starting in Japan and currently living in Greece, along with a side trip or three to the Middle East. I'm on my way back home to San Diego next and have decided to make the Prius my next trusty steed, which brought me to you guys. Originally, I expected to be buying a Gen II Touring, but now that the 2010 is here, I think the car gods demand I go with that (if I can be so bold as to interpret Their will). My motivations are equal parts treehugging, the unfortunate geopolitics of the oil trade and the sheer joy of geeking out over new tech.

I would like to thank you all for the multitude of very helpful posts. I rented a Prius (2008) briefly on a recent trip back home and was impressed (I took her down Highway 1 on a rainy night to see how she'd do), but the experience was not without questions (like why the heck the gas pump kept clicking off). Most if not all of these questions were answered simply by lurking. This is a great site, and the level of discourse is much higher than some other places I could mention. I'm looking forward to being able to talk about the Prius with you as something other than a rank noob.