Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2010 Toyota Prius There are reasons that the Toyota Prius is the best-selling hybird car in the world. It’s simple to use, gets better mileage than pretty much anything easily available, and you can turn it into a shuttlecraft if you want to. But, all that ease-of-use hides a lot of serious technical work. During a media event in Napa, California last week, Toyota gave us the details of just what and how the third-generation Prius came about after four-and-a-half years of work and literally thousands of meetings. In fact, Prius chief engineer Akihiko Otsuka joked that TMC doesn’t stand for Toyota Motor Company but Toyota Meeting Company. An old chestnut of a joke, perhaps, but totally true in this situation. Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager of the Toyota Division, told us that the official mileage rating for the 2010 Prius is 50 mpg city, 49 mpg highway. We already knew about the 50 mpg combined number from the Detroit unveiling, but those almost identical city/highway numbers are new. The difference between the city and highway ratings was something that current Prius owners wanted to see improved in this new model Carter said. There was a three-mpg difference in the second generation models; seven in the first. Production of the new Prius will begin in late-April and the first vehicles will arrive in late spring. Toyota is predicting that around 100,000 3rd-gen units will be sold in 2009; 180,000 in the full calendar year after that. That’s their forecast, but they will adjust building rate to the demand. A necessary decision considering the current economy. Toyota is confident there is demand for the new Prius, and believes the Prius could have a seven percent share of the midsize vehicle segment. One important factor will be pricing (and Insight competition ), which Toyota will announce much closer to launch. The new Prius won’t go on sale for another few months, but if you’re curious about what you’ll get when it becomes available, come with us after the jump. Gallery: 2010 Toyota Prius Continue reading Prius 2010 detail overload: will get 49 mpg highway rating; 100,000 sales predicted for 2009 Auto Blog: Hybrid , Toyota , AutoblogGreen Exclusive , Green Daily Prius 2010 detail overload: will get 49 mpg highway rating; 100,000 sales predicted for 2009 originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green

See the original post:
Prius 2010 detail overload: will get 49 mpg highway rating; 100,000 sales predicted for 2009