New Prius gets 50 mpg -- and the solar roof rumors are true:
Toyota Motor Corp. finally lifted the veil on its completely redesigned Prius. The big news: 50 miles per gallon.
Toyota's Bob Carter, group division head and general manager, spoke to an audience about the new car at the Detriot Auto Show.
Carter said the third-generation Prius would beat its predecessor by 4 mpg, a 9% improvement in fuel economy, thanks to a more-efficient engine and smaller, lighter components. At the same time, this Prius ups the engine-only juice to 98 horsepower thanks to a new, 1.8-liter four-pot. The combined electric/internal-combustion hybrid potency is up to 134 horsepower (the second-gen Prius pumps out 76 hp and 110 hp, respectively). Rumors of a solar-roof option proved to be true, but not as people had imagined. Instead of a solar-powered air conditioning system, the new Prius has a solar-powered ventilation system. Carter explained that this would take some of the load off the air-conditioner by pre-cooling the interior of the car on hot days.
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