Zoomi Life

The 2010 Prius officially goes on sale in mid-May in Japan. They expect to have pre-orders of over 40,000 units by then and have already accepted more than 20,000 with more pouring in.

Read More: Toyota Expects 40,000+ Pre-Orders on Prius

Opel, one of Europe’s premier automakers, has released the new 2010 model of the Insignia (the 2009 version was Car of the Year). The new four-door sedan gets 45.2mpg (US) and has an amazing coefficient of drag at only 0.26. That’s getting close to the Prius and Insight, but with much better looks (in my opinion).

Read More: Opel Insignia ecoFLEX: 45.2mpg, 0.26 Cd, Good Looks

Toyota’s Certified Used Car program is now extended to include hybrids like their Prius. This means their warranties on used vehicles that have been certified will now include all of their hybrid models as well.

Read More: Toyota’s New Certified Used Hybrid Program

Recognizing Honda’s Insight as a real challenge to the Prius’ reign on the hybrid market, Toyota has announced that they’re cutting the base price of the 2010 Prius down to $21,000 (about $1,200 higher than the Insight).

Read More: Toyota to Slash Prius Price to Compete With Honda

Driving smarter can save fuel. Huge amounts of fuel, even for non-hybrids and gas guzzling SUVs. Most of the newer vehicles, especially hybrids, are now featuring “eco-driving” displays or prompts integrated into the dashboard of the car. Ford, Honda, Toyota, and many others have them. The Chevy Volt is expected to feature one and even electrics like the Ford Transit will have it.

Read More: Eco-Nagging: The New Eco-Driving Systems Coming to a Car Dash Near You

The 2010 model Toyota Prius will enter dealerships nationally at the end of May. We’ve talked a lot about this car, but now some journalists have put it through some paces and are reporting amazing results.

Read More: 2010 Prius Tests at 70+mpg!

Toyota has lowered the price of a Prius to match the current price of the Honda Insight in Japan. The move was expected, but still surprising. The Prius’ price is now down to $19,250 USD. This is the current 2009 model, however, and no announcements have been made for the 2010 model.

Read More: Could the Japanese Prius Price Change Be Done Here Too?

We’re excited to find out that the upcoming 2009 California Truck Jam and Car Show will feature a day-long Electric Vehicle Festival too! The event will take place on July 18th at Hollywood Park, California from 2pm to 10pm.

Read More: Electric Vehicle Festival to Accompany 2009 California Truck Jam!

Ever since Toyota announced that the 2010 Prius would be a plug-in (PHEV), there’s been some noise from the community about whether this is really a big change for the little hybrid. After all, most foreign models already have an “EV” button that allows the car to run on battery alone for short distances.

Read More: How to Hack your Prius and the Debate Over the “New” 2010 Model

I know, the NAIAS Detroit Auto Show isn’t actually over. In fact, only the press show is done, the public show starts this weekend. All of the major announcements that were going to be made, all of the cars that were going to be debuted, and all of the pontifications on how such-and-such company promises to be this-that-or-the-other in the future have been grandstanded. So we feel confident in giving a roundup overview of this year’s show.

Read More: NAIAS Detroit Auto Show Roundup