History of an Electric Car

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.

It was introduced worldwide in 2001.

Now it is sold in over forty countries.

Toyota Prius Name Comes From Latin

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.

The technology has had its issues over time.

For example, its batteries have been prone to dying if the the vehicle sits unused for

over a month.

When the battery quits the vehicle has no electrical power and thus is completely

inoperable.

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.

The first Prius took thirteen seconds to accelerate from a stop to 60 miles per hour.

Regardless of this less than steller performance, sales of the Prius exceeded

Toyota's first years projections.

Toyota Prius And Hollywood

Then Hollywood came calling.

When some famous Hollywood stars started purchasing the Prius, others began to take

notice.

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.

I myself, have been driving a hybrid vehicle since 2004.

My vehicle is a Nissan Insight.

Even after eleven years I still get over 50 miles per gallon.

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.

The Prius model now has over 20,000 sales per month.

There are also many more models of hybrid vehicles to choose from today.

The Toyota Prius did in fact "go before" and now has its own place in hybird history.