The Toyota Prius was revealed earlier today to what had to be the most crowded press reveal we saw over the two days. The release was done in the Ballroom of Cobo hall away from all the other stands. Alright time to get down to the nitty gritty fun stuff. The vehicle was introduced back in 1997 to the Japanese market and then in 2000 to the American market. This third generation model is poised to touchdown in over 80 countries. Since its introduction to our United States market, Toyota has seen more than 670,000 of them sold off of dealer lots. Worldwide the figures grow even more. In its years the car has sold over one million units. The first generation Prius posted 41 combined miles per gallon, the second put up 46. This newest model improves upon this by posting 50 mpg combined driving. We have heard a lot of talk these past two days about mpg's but Toyota has the beef to back up its claims. These numbers are in your day to day driving, not just under optimal conditions. The interior grows as well; unfortunately it's not in the areas where it is desperately needed. Due to new technology, the battery shrinks in this redesign. Because of it the interior gains 5 feet of cargo space. Most of that space is found in the back seat for passengers legs. The engine component is a larger and more powerful 1.8 Liter Atkinson-cycle four cylinder engine. Toyota says "Contrary to conventional wisdom, the larger engine actually helps improve highway mileage. By making more torque, the new engine can run at lower average rpm on the highway." The use of an electric water pump and new EGR or exhaust gas recirculation add to the engines green footprint. We are wrapping up filmiing and driving back to Rochester this afternoon so we look forward to reporting more when we return. Stay tuned for part tw of the Prius report.