With the launch of the 2015 Toyota Prius, this model vehicle turns 18 years old and
remains the hybrid against which all others are judged.
The Toyota Prius is manufactured by Toyota Motor Corporation and first went on sale in
Japan in 1997.
The name Prius is Latin and means "to go before", and that is what Toyota Motor
Corporation hoped that it would be, namely the first hybrid that would come before
others that would eventually follow.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Prius is the most fuel efficient car that is sold in
the United States.
For example, its batteries have been prone to dying if the the vehicle sits unused for
over a month.
Toyota recommends to owners that if the vehicle is going to sit for an extended period of time that a battery trickle charger be used to keep the battery in the vehicle charged for
use.
When the Prius was first offered for sale in the United States, not everyone was
impressed with its preformance.
Regardless of this less than steller performance, sales of the Prius exceeded
Toyota's first years projections.
Then in 2003, the Prius was introduced with a significant redesign and potential buyers
found it to be a bit more stylish.
The end result was that sales skyrocketed and buyers found themselves having to wait for months to get their hands on their own
vehicle.
With today's gas prices it costs me about $25 to fill up and I can drive over 500 miles
on that single tank of gas.