Newbie Help Questions from a New Yorker-Oregonian

Hi All,

My wife and I just joined the club. Neither of us has needed a car in the last 12 years (living in NYC), but now that we're in semi-rural Oregon we decided to plunge into hybrid-dom with a 2004 Prius. (30K miles, excellent documented service history and pre-purchase approval from 2 different mechanics.)

I have a few general questions about the car, and I know most of this has been covered in some form or another many times over, but given that the discussion record of the forum is so voluminous, a couple quick answers or points to pertinent threads could really save me some time, so:

1) How do I tell what package it is? It didn't come with an owner's manual, and although one is on the way from the dealer, I know it has the navigation and premium sound system. Supposedly it had everything but the leather seats, but I'm an information hound and want more detail.

2) What's the best way to protect the hood and front end of the car? I noticed a couple small spots on the hood where the paint apparently chipped off due to debris on the highway, and I've seen mention of the 3M, the bras, the Ventureshield, and the hood deflector, and could use a little advice on the pros/cons of the options.

3) What options are there for modifying the sound system? The lack of an auxiliary input, and the lack of mp3/data cd capability, really put a damper on my enthusiasm for my listening experience in the car. I see the Dice ipod car integration unit in the shop, and I'm wondering if there's an appreciable difference in sound quality between that and a cassette adapter? Does the Dice work as well for non-Apple mp3 players? Also, are there any easy ways to reduce the rattle caused by the upper/window speakers?

4) What are the basics for optimizing gas mileage? Since we've bought it we've put roughly 300 miles on it but are only averaging 40-41 miles per gallon. I will be doing mostly highway driving on my commute and we do live in hilly country, so I imagine that will eat into the savings quite a bit, but I wonder what I can do to optimize it even so.

5) What options are there for an extended warranty? I know the battery is 8 years, so we've got a year left on that, and the dealer offered us a 5 year extended, Premium level warranty for $2710, so we've gone with that temporarily, but would like to find a better rate and cancel that plan if possible.

6) Are there any superior vehicle covers for the 2nd gen Prius? Unfortunately there's no garage where we're living and it rains pretty much every day here, so I'm thinking a vehicle cover is essential.

7) Are there equivalent options to the Weathertech floor mats worth considering?

8) How often should the transaxel fluid be changed? The mechanics told us 60k and 75k miles respectively, and while I would normally take that assessment at face value, I'm wondering if the age of the fluid should also be considered.

9) Lastly, any tips or user-friendly sites focusing on preventative maintenance and general enjoyment of the car that anyone could pass along would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any responses and for your patience in dealing with my naivete.