I'll admit it. I was skeptical of the Prius Family concept. Over the years, the Prius nameplate has attracted an insanely loyal, albeit non-traditional, customer and enthusiast base. Would Toyota ruin all that goodwill by producing a Prius on steroids that gets <gasp> under 50 MPG? Not so; the Prius v wagon has been a resounding success. In the 3 months since it hit the market, it has easily exceeded Toyota's sales projections, just as I said it would in my glowing review back in May 2011.

I've been lucky to attend a number of Toyota press events over the last few years and have always been amazed by the technical presentations they give before we go test drive the cars. It has always struck me as being exactly the kind of presentation PriusChat members would love to get on the various Prius models. At the Prius c event last week I remembered my video camera and was able to capture the full presentation.

 Toyota's full press release on the 2012 Prius c is embedded below. More details to come in PriusChat's full review.

PRIUS C BUILDS

Prius c One – $18,950
• Standard equipment only (see standard equipment below)

Prius c Two  - $19,900 - adds –
• AM/FM CD player with MP3/WMA playback capability, 6 speakers in 6 locations, auxiliary audio jack, USB port with iPod® connectivity, auto sound leveling, hands-free phone capability, phone book access and music streaming via Bluetooth® wireless technology
• Variable intermittent windshield wipers

Toyota was nice enough to furnish PriusChat with the official technical presentation used last week at the press first drive event. The first document embedded below is the Powerpoint presentation, and below it is the more detailed PDF that accompanies it.

It's a treasure trove of information for Prius enthusiasts. Remember, with great knowledge, comes great responsibility.

PriusChatter NGNeer, a member so new he still has that new-registration smell, was perusing Toyota's owner site the other day and discovered that Toyota has accidentally posted the full 552-page Owner's Manual a bit early. I took a few minutes to read through the 500+ pages and with the help of our community members in the Prius c forum, here is what we can gather about the standard and optional features on the Prius c:

Say hello to the new member of the Prius Family - the little brother, if you will. It's the Prius c. This video does a great job showing off its sporty looks (and pretty sweet looking wheels).

I just received word straight from Toyota's mouth about the upcoming Prius c, which will be officially revealed as the Aqua in Japan this week at the Tokyo Auto Show. The Prius c looks like it will bring MPG numbers that break past the 50 MPG number in the city, lots of technology that we've come to expect in the Prius line-up, and some funky colors.

PriusChat is proud to announce partnerships with a select group of Toyota dealerships across the country to launch the PriusChat Certified Dealer Program. This program is launching with the Prius Plug-in to ensure a great price and buying experience for PriusChat members.

PriusChat Certified Dealer Program | PriusChat

The program consists of the following benefits for PriusChatters: