Ah, a few more teaser pictures before Christmas.
Toyota announced today that it will bring the NS4 plug-in hybrid concept to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this January.
The debut will be along with the production version of the 2012 Prius c hybrid — which is the tiny hybrid out of the trio in the new Prius family.
Toyota is remaining tight lipped on any details for the NS4 — though one should expect much better electric only drive on this plug in as it will likely have exotic lightweight materials and imaginary batteries. (Though it’s great to dream.)
However, the Prius c is the real deal. It’s sharp and if Americans can admit
that coupes are OK, it’ll be a great selling vehicle with fuel economy well above 50 mpg and the most exterior style out of any Prius.
Expanding the the Prius brand was a smart move by Toyota, as many consumers equate the word Prius to mean hybrid. Better yet, the Prius lineup have no gas-only counterpart for people to compare them to and that helps these hybrids.
The biggest problem the Prius c faces when it arrives are the relatively low gas prices. When people think gas is cheap, they don’t buy hybrids and they don’t by subcompact cars. Well, a few people do, but it’s usually a Versa.


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