The Prius plug-in hybrid is a promising vehicle that Toyota has been touting. Toyota has decided to show off its Prius plug-in at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit to drum up excitement for the vehicle.
In November, Toyota had given its Prius plug-in test cars to two University of California outlets in Davis and Irvine, so the schools could put the PHEV through its paces. When one talks about miles per gallon of a standard automobile this is typically a straight-forward calculation.
With a plug-in hybrid it’s a little more difficult since the vehicle will be able to run from 20 to 40 miles on all electric power alone before the internal combustion engine kicks in to extend its range. CalCars.org has been promoting plug-in hybrids for a few years now and have finally overcome the resistance of the automakers, who needed to re-engineer their marketing plans as much as the vehicles themselves.
Toyota first unveiled the Prius plug-in back in July 2007 in order to compete with the Chevy Volt that had been announced earlier. Now, however, Toyota is embracing its PHEV and is showing it off at every opportunity.
Turn on, plug-in, drop out as Timothy Leary may have said as the hip hippie of the 60’s. A couple of years from now the Prius plug-in will be the hip car to have.