At The NY Auto Show

Got into My prius with my son this morning and took a trip to the NY Auto Show. It is a 75 mile trip. I got there at 10 am and got 57 mpg. Toyota had a very large Prius display with th Prius V, Plug in and Prius C. They had many people there to answer questions and demonstrate the Plug In.
GM had the whole newly constructed section of the Javis Center. They had many Volts on Display. I finally got to sit in one and was very impressed. The seats were very comfortable with plenty of room for my 6'3" frame. The problem I have with the Volt is all the hype that its an electric car when everyone knows its a Hybrid. The only reason they claim its an electric is so that the government can qualify it for the $7,500 rebate. Otherwise no one would pay $41,000 for it. I am also not impressed with it's Hybrid technology and Primium gas requirements. They also had many Cadillacs and Buicks on display. E-assist is being used in some of the new Buicks which is a mild Hybrid system that boosts it's MPG.
There were two cars that Impressed me at the show. One was the new beatle. They did a great job redesigning the car. It is totally new while retaining the original beatle look.
I was also very impressed with the New Fiat. Again, a totally new design while retaining the original Fiat look.
They had a track downstairs which they ran the Leaf and the Mitsubishi electric car. There was a long line for the novel electric car rides.
It was a great day and the show wasn't crowded. After a full day of sitting in alot of cars, I was happy getting into my Prius for the drive home in a truly advanced car.

 

I park at a garage on 42sd street where I drive and park it myself. Its a few blocks away from the javits Center, an OK walk. It cost me $32 to park there. If you arrive before 9 am it will cost only $12 for 12 hrs. The show starts at 10 am. The closer you park to the center, the more expensive it is. Across the street from the center you can park for $50 PLUS 18% NY parking tax. It won't cost you alot for gas if you drive a Prius but it will cost alot to park.

 

I didn't have to try the rear seats after looking in the back after I got out of the driver seat. There was no leg room. However, I was able to extend my legs further than in My Prius. I recently installed Extend-My-Seat in my Prius and I was able to extend my legs as far as in the Volt. Now there is no leg room behind the driver's seat in the Prius after putting the seat all the way back with Extend-My-Seat.

 

Here are a few pics I took of the Prius V and C

 

Have you noticed the wheels on the V and C? Would have been nice to put them on the current Gen III.

 

So is the Prius.

 

Notice your interior shot of the C with the seat's headrest. That is total concept. The final will not have seats like that. Where as the V is complete. What you see in the V is what your going to get. That is why they had the doors open on the V at the car show. Should the C come in 2012, It will be very late 2012. I see 2013 as a more realistic intro date.