Toyota Prius Family of Vehicles Receive GreenCarReports' '2012 Best Green Car to Buy' Award

GreenCarReports.com has named the 2012 Toyota Prius family of vehicles as its “Best Green Car to Buy 2012.” Beginning with the 2012 model year, the Prius will expand to a family of four vehicles, including the third-generation Prius Liftback, the Prius v, the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, and the Prius c.

GreenCarReports editors choose the most significant new “green” car available to shoppers during the 2012 model year, taking into account new technologies, their practicality, and their impact on the environment. The GreenCarReports’ “Best Green Car to Buy” award recognizes mass-market, environmentally sensitive vehicles that are available below $60,000. Utilizing the TheCarConnection’s ratings as a starting point for their evaluation, the GreenCarReports editorial team applies their criteria to select the winner that will carry the “Best Green Car to Buy 2012” environmental message.

“The Prius is more than just one car this year,” said Green Car Reports Editor John Voelcker. “With a new Prius v and the Prius Plug-In Hybrid, it’s now a family of vehicles with some of the highest gas mileage on the market today, and the Prius name is likely to help encourage buyers to take the plunge into plug-in vehicles."

The Prius vehicles that won the GreenCarReports’ “Best Green Car to Buy 2012” award were chosen from a competitive field of environmentally sensitive cars that also included the Fiat 500, Honda Civic Hybrid, Infiniti M35h, Mitsubishi i, and Volkswagen Passat TDi.

The Prius Liftback is in its third generation and earned an EPA-estimated 50 mpg combined (51 city mpg/ 48 highway mpg) rating. The Prius v, which went on sale in October, will be an unmatched combination of versatility and fuel efficiency in a midsize. With 58-percent more cargo space than the Liftback, the Prius v has more cargo space than 80-percent of the small SUVs on the road today, while still accomplishing an EPA-estimated 44-mpg city.

The Prius Plug-in Hybrid, which offers seating for five, is expected to achieve a manufacturer-estimated 87 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent) in combined driving and 49 MPG in hybrid mode. With expected class-leading fuel economy better than 50 mpg in the city, which is the highest city mpg of any non-plug-in vehicle, the Prius c will be an entry into the Prius Family appealing to youthful shoppers seeking fuel efficiency, technology, and spirited driving dynamics in the subcompact segment. Both the Prius c and Prius Plug-in will go on sale in the spring of 2012.

The Prius vehicles rely on Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive, which benefits from 14 years of global market development, and pairs a highly efficient gasoline internal combustion engine with two high-output motor/generators, a large rechargeable battery, and an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission to help the vehicles attain class-leading fuel economy in their respective segments. The development of the systems that govern the operation, integration and regenerative capabilities of the Hybrid Synergy Drive system represent considerable engineering effort, and help enhance the efficiency and performance of succeeding generations of Hybrid Synergy Drive equipped vehicles.

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Toyota Wins Best Automotive Brand in 2012 Kelley Blue Book Resale Value Awards

Toyota was named the top brand in 2012 Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com 2012 Best Resale Value Awards. The awards recognize current and forthcoming vehicles for their projected retained value throughout the first five years of ownership.

Toyota Camry, the best-selling car in America for nine consecutive years and 13 of the past 14 years, took the honor of Best Resale Value in the mid-size car segment. The Toyota Tacoma compact pickup truck and FJ Cruiser mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV) were named Best Resale Value award winners in their respective vehicle categories and were also among the top 10 vehicles for Best Resale Value. 

“Winning the top brand in the Kelley Blue Book Best Resale Value Awards is a very significant honor as it reflects Toyota’s commitment to quality, dependability and reliability, which ultimately adds up to great value,” said Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager, Toyota Division. “Toyota will continue to deliver the finest cars and trucks consumers have come to expect for over half a century.”

Kelley Blue Book’s Best Resale Value Awards are based on projections from the Kelley Blue Book^® Official Residual Value Guide, which is determined by a skilled staff of automotive analysts. The projections are based on current vehicle data, sales data, market conditions for each vehicle, competition within vehicle segments, expectations of the future economy and the combined experience of Kelley Blue Book’s residual analysts. The awards honor vehicles expected to maintain the greatest proportion of their original list price after five years of ownership.

 

Courtesy of Toyota

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Prius Plugs into the Needs of Urban Drivers with Latest Green Award

Ready to offer city drivers up to 15 miles of all-electric driving—and hundreds of more at an expected EPA rating of 49 mpg—the new 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in was recently named Urban Green Vehicle of the Year by Decisive magazine. The honor is part of the annual Urban Wheel Awards, given out each January in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. 

“This is the Prius everyone has been waiting for,” said Lyndon Conrad Bell, editor-in-chief of Decisive magazine. “Endowing the world’s favorite hybrid with the ability to run purely on electric power for significant distances and recharge itself from an AC outlet remade an exceptional urban green car into the ideal urban green car.”

A key to that transformation: The Prius Plug-in’s advanced 4.4-kW lithium-ion battery pack, which can be fully recharged in just 2.5 to 3.0 hours using a standard 120-volt outlet or as little as 1.5 hours with a 240-volt quick-charge unit. Either way, the result is a significant no-emissions driving range at the equivalent of 87 miles per gallon. And it’s all wrapped up in the same versatile packaging that has made the traditional Prius such a success: Toyota has sold more than 1 million Prius models in this country since it first went on sale 10 years ago, and the car remains by far the most popular hybrid vehicle in both the U.S. and the world.

“We are pleased with the recognition of the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in as a well-designed, smart and attainable vehicle, especially in an urban environment,” said Jim Colon, vice president of Toyota product communications at Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. “We’re confident that the Prius Plug-in’s extended electric range, selectable EV mode, expected 87 MPGe and quick home charging are among the features that helped Toyota secure this distinction.”

The 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in is slated to go on sale in the spring of next year.

 

Courtesy of Toyota In the News

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Toyota Prius c Provides a Subcompact Entry Point to Prius Family of Hybrid Vehicles

Among the Most Advanced Vehicles in its Class Will Debut at 2012 NAIAS

TORRANCE (Nov. 15, 2011) –Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., will offer a fuel-efficient hybrid at a more accessible price when the Prius c joins the Prius Family of vehicles in the spring of 2012.  The U.S. debut of the Prius c will be next January at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

This highly anticipated subcompact member of the Prius Family will bring Toyota’s renowned Hybrid Synergy Drive^® technology to a new segment of buyers when it joins the third-generation Prius Liftback hybrid vehicle, the versatile new Prius v midsize hybrid vehicle and the Prius Plug-in Hybrid model, which will also debut next spring.  Positioned as an entry into the Prius Family appealing to youthful shoppers seeking fuel efficiency, technology, and spirited driving dynamics in the subcompact segment, the Prius c will offer:

• Expected class-leading fuel economy better than 50 mpg in the city, which is the highest city mpg of any non-plug-in vehicle.
• Proven hybrid technology, with 14 years of heritage, available at a more accessible price.
• A high degree of convenience features and premium in-car electronics, uncommon in a five-door configuration, creating a less compromised compact-car experience

As with other Prius models, Prius c combines its revolutionary Hybrid Synergy Drive^® with excellent aerodynamics to achieve outstanding fuel efficiency.  The new Prius c is unique in the Prius Family with a more youthful expression and a sportier dynamic character that offers a more fun-to-drive experience. The vehicle’s five-door format and flexible packaging will adapt to a broad range of owners’ needs.

The Prius c offers an unexpected level of convenience, capability and technology in a compact hybrid-electric at an attractive price. Bluetooth^® hands-free phone connectivity, steering-wheel audio controls, and nine airbags will be among the standard features on the 2012 Prius c.

In addition,owners will enjoy a new dimension of connectivity courtesy of the available Toyota Entune™ multimedia system.  Entune™ leverages the mobile smartphone to provide a richer in-vehicle infotainment experience with fully integrated access to navigation, entertainment, and information services.  It allows users to connect with popular apps such as Bing™, OpenTable.com, and movietickets.com.  Entune™ also provides access to real-time information services, such as live weather, traffic, fuel information (location and price), stocks, and sports. The Prius c also offers voice recognition, music streaming, and email/text to speech capabilities.

Toyota Entune™ brings one of the largest selections of music options available to a vehicle, including iheartradio’s 750+ stations and Pandora® internet radio’s personalized music. In addition, the driver’s personal songs from portable media players and iPods (via USB or Bluetooth® audio streaming), and more than 170 stations from SiriusXM™ satellite radio are also available.

Making premium technology available to compact-car shoppers, the Prius c offers superior fuel economy in a stylish, user-friendly package.

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Prius Family Specifications

	Prius c	Prius	Prius v	Prius Plug-in
Length (in.)	157.3	176.4	181.7	176.4
Width (in.	66.7	68.7	69.9	68.7
Height (in.)	56.9	58.7	62	58.7
Wheelbase (in.)	100.4	106.3	109.4	106.3
Gasoline Engine	1.5-liter DOHC four-cylinder, 16–valve with VVT-i	1.8-liter DOHC, four cylinder, 16-valve with VVT-i	1.8-liter DOHC, four-cylinder, 16-valve with VVT-i	1.8-liter DOHC, four-cylinder , 16-valve with VVT-i
Emission Certification	SULEV	SULEV with AT-PZEV	SULEV	SULEV with