What is it?
2000 Toyota Prius
What's special about it?
Toyota has announced the price for this environmentally friendly, hybrid-propulsion vehicle -- $19,995, lower than its competitor, the Honda Insight. Furthermore, this is a five-passenger family sedan that comes standard with ABS, air conditioning, power windows, mirrors and locks, and we can't leave out an eight-year/100,000-mile battery and hybrid system warranty. The American version will see a boost in power since its original rendering from its motherland, as the Japanese don't place a premium on the rush of speed due to their traffic quagmire. Horsepower peaks at 70 at 4500 rpm while torque tops out at 82 foot-pounds. Okay, so you won't be winning any drag races, but how many muscle cars do you know that have Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle status in all 50 states, need no special treatment and still get 52/46 mpg in city and highway driving?
Why should you care?
With the price of gas fluctuating due to the mercurial temperment of those OPEC dorks, and, oh, let's quit abusing the environment while we're at it, it's about time that carmakers started weaning themselves off of the exhaustible supply of the fossil fuel teat. The Prius is a good progression. In June Toyota will initialize a rental program that allows you to live with the vehicle before you buy it. We're also getting reports that sales will be strictly through the Internet. We'll keep you posted on the hearsay.
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