Just ran across something related to the Battery Life Issue

I've seen this before, and it was posted again elsewhere in a different context bit in reading it I found something I hadn't noticed before.

http://www.sae.org/automag/globalvehicles/.../1-111-12-8.pdf

On page 3 it says:

Toyota’s latest nickel/metal hydride
storage battery, as employed in the new
Prius, forthcoming Lexus RX/Toyota
Highlander hybrid vehicles, and FCHV,
must be one of the most advanced of its
kind. The rectangular cassette-type cell is
compact and space-efficient, and
possesses high energy density. In its
three generations of development and
refinement, it has proven reliable and
durable. Toyota has built a dedicated
battery rebuild facility that is sitting idle,
according to a senior engineering
executive.


Another indicator of how reliable and long lasting the batteries are.