Prius Keeps Car Dealers Busy

One of the most efficient, reliable and technologically advanced hybrid versions of Toyota available in the U.S market currently is the Toyota Prius.

Toyota Motor Corporation Limited had introduced Prius in the United States market in 2001. Till now, the number of Prius units sold in the U.S. have been 163,000. Out of these, around 53,991 units were sold during 2006. In 2007, the company has predicted the sales of Prius units to be around 110,000.

The main feature of a hybrid vehicle is that it is a technology that utilizes two power sources. One is the conventional combustible engine that generates power using gasoline while the other one is an electric motor. According to Dave Hermance, who is the executive engineer for advanced vehicles at the Toyota Technical Center USA, the computer programming inside the car is an electronically controlled mechanism that determines the transition from electric system to the gasoline powered engine. However, the engineering lies in designing a faultless transition while the vehicle is in operation. Apart from giving 55 miles per gallon, another revolutionary feature of Prius is that it does not require any battery replacement for the entire life of the car.

When the Prius was initially launched, it was not well received by consumers and critics. Some of the common problems were improper ignition controls and faulty breaks. Toyota had to redesign the car and was successful in introducing an improved second generation Prius hybrid version in 2004. According to various technicians and service engineers around the country, there are very few customers who are coming to the service department with a problem in their Prius.

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