3rd-Gen Prius To Be Half-Size, Price

— By Julia Whitty

| Fri Oct. 26, 2007 3:41 PM PDT

prius.jpg Okay, Toyota's got my attention. But will this 3rd-generation Prius be enough of an improvement over my gas-only, LEV Civic to make the switch environmentally compelling? Toyota announced today it'll slash the price and size of its hybrid system by around half for the next Prius model, plus use a nickel-metal hydride battery instead of higher-energy lithium-ion, Planet Ark reports. But what about the all-important MPGs?

No release date yet. Maybe late 2008.

Julia Whitty is Mother Jones' environmental correspondent. You can read from her new book, The Fragile Edge, and other writings, here.

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Julia Whitty is the Environmental Correspondent for Mother Jones. Her latest book DEEP BLUE HOME: An Intimate Ecology of Our Wild Ocean will be out in July. For more of her stories, click here.

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Comments

Submitted by Steve Williams (not verified) on Mon Oct. 29, 2007 10:57 AM PDT.

I love my 2005 Hybrid Civic. . . 50mpg + except wintertime with studded snows and gas reformulation, down to mid to low 40's. Honda's are great--if they will only make a plug-in hybrid now!

Submitted by Executive.Director (not verified) on Mon Oct. 29, 2007 11:32 AM PDT.

I have an '07 Prius and I love it... but would love it all the more if it had lithium ion batteries and the "run on electric" only button like they have in Europe! Cutting the size and price doesn't surprise me as they are now trying to recoup their investment and aren't so concerned with development since the US auto makers are still a long way behind!

Submitted by Miki Davis (not verified) on Mon Oct. 29, 2007 11:38 AM PDT.

YES ... this looks promising. Looks like it would bring it down to my price range. Maybe I can trade my 1998 Rav4 in on one. Should be perfect here in Southern California. We need all the help we can get.

Submitted by jim (not verified) on Mon Oct. 29, 2007 12:18 PM PDT.

6'4", 215lb. Will I fit? I hope I can, I hope I can. My 2000 Civic can't last forever.

Submitted by Pat Tibbs (not verified) on Mon Oct. 29, 2007 11:43 PM PDT.

This would definitely bring the car into my price range. I would love to own a Prius so I hope this happens soon.

Submitted by Loonesta (not verified) on Tue Oct. 30, 2007 7:34 AM PDT.

That Nickel-Metal Hydride battery is akin to the old 1990's notebook batteries (or some low-range mp3 players) before Lithium became the standard. They discharged rapidly and their life was around 1/2 of a Lithium type. Do you really want that in a car? Want the Prius' economical engine already? Get a Yaris or any of the Scions - the engine on all models gets 34 miles to the gallon on the street & 40 on the hiway.

Submitted by Rory Finneren (not verified) on Tue Oct. 30, 2007 10:21 AM PDT.

This headline is confused/misleading. Toyota will cut in half the size and price of the HYBRID SYSTEM, not of the entire car.

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