Miscellaneous Facts

• The Wall Street Journal reported in 2007 that some blind people find the silence of the cars like the Prius to be a challenge in crossing the street.
• Due to the success of both the engineering and sales of the Prius, in 2005, Toyota has released a hybrid V-6 engine for the Lexus RX400h and a hybrid engine version of the Highlander. In 2006 Toyota’s #1 selling car, the Camry added a hybrid version to the line-up.
• Starting with the 2004 model, Toyota is now producing the Prius on a standard mass-production assembly line, resulting in one being produced every minute instead of one every 8 to 10 minutes. The use of a standard assembly line has dropped the manufacturing cost significantly, allowing Toyota to deliver a substantially upgraded model, which in turn has generated publicity and popularity. The limiting factor in Prius (and Lexus RX400h) production now appears to be third-party component availability, particularly batteries.

• The battery pack of the 2004 Prius is warranteed for 160,000 km (100,000 miles) or 8 years, although Toyota has stated that they expect it to last 15 years. The warranty is extended to 240,000 km (150,000 miles) or 10 years for Prius in California and several other states that adopted the Californian emission control standards.
• In June 2002 the Prius became the first ever hybrid car to complete a FIA rally. Driven by UK journalist Nik Berg and co-driver Tim Bampton, the Prius finished the 2002 Midnight Sun to Red Sea Marathon in 15th place after completing 8,000 km (5,000 miles) in 20 days of rallying.
• The NHW20 Prius fuel tank holds 45 litres (11.9 US gal), although the internal bladder in American models limits the fill (particularly in colder weather), giving a range of up to 1,000 km (600 miles) under good conditions. The fuel tank capacity for a European NHW11 without the bladder is 50 litres.
• * In March 2007, an editorial in the Central Connecticut State University Recorder alleged that the total cost and environmental damage to produce a Prius greatly outweighs that of producing a non-hybrid vehicle[34]. According to this editorial, over the lifespan of the vehicle, the Prius will cost more to operate than most other vehicles, and cost more energy initially for production of the batteries and other equipment. To truly be efficient, one would be more effective in purchasing a Toyota Scion xB, which costs a paltry $0.48 per mile to operate, as opposed to the $3.25 of the Prius. This editorial cited a study by CNW Marketing Research, Inc.[35], and was cited by a number of news sources[2]. However, in a letter to the editor of the Washington Post, a Toyota Motor Sales vice president refuted the CNW Marketing study[3]. Furthermore, the author of the Recorder article later questioned the authenticity of the CNW numbers on which he had based his original column.[36] The other primary source for the CCSU article, a piece titled “Toyota Factory Turns Landscape to Arid Wilderness” published in the Mail on Sunday newspaper was subsequently retracted and a correction published in its place.[37] The amount of misinformation in the CNW study and CCSU articles lead to a long piece being written at The Car Connection titled Prius vs. Hummer: Exploding the Myth