Japan's sl-o-o-o-o-o-w race to show off Prius

GAMAGORI, Japan -- With steely stares and clenched hands, the drivers peer from their crash helmets as the race marshal slowly raises the green flag. Then the flag drops

And they're off! But with deafening silence and snaillike lethargy. The field of Prius hybrids inches from the line to start the race.

No roaring engines, no squealing tires -- and no wonder. The so-called Prius Cup pits Japan's Toyota dealerships against one another in a contest of gas mileage and crew service -- not speed.


The Prius Cup pits Japan's Toyota dealerships against one another in crew service and mileage, but not speed.
(Credit: HANS GREIMEL/Automotive News)


The circuit is Toyota Motor Corp.'s latest tool for promoting its popular hybrid, sharpening dealer familiarity with the product and creating buzz before the new-generation Prius debuts this year. The sixth running of the Prius Cup, outside Nagoya in December, drew 22 dealer teams from central Japan.

"Through this race, our teammates will understand exactly how these cars work, and I think this will benefit all my associates," says Kazuo Oguri, executive vice president of Nagoya Toyopet Corp., one of Japan's biggest Toyota dealers with 70 stores in Aichi prefecture.
Dealers don't have to participate in the Prius Cup, but most want to.
"It's better than playing golf," Oguri says.

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