Hybrid History

http://www.techcentralstation.com/011905E.html

Attempts to combine internal combustion engines (ICE) and electric power date back at least to 1897, evidence that, conceptually speaking, there is little really new under the automotive sun.

I tested both the Insight and Prius for The Reader's Digest back in 2001. Both cars impressed me far more than I had expected. I found the Prius particularly comfortable, versatile and very much like a good "normal" small car in driving and handling. But it was a bit homely and had an "almost but not quite" quality about it.

Since then Toyota has gone from almost to way past quite.

...the Prius is a rolling clinic on what can happen when advances in know-how and materials catch up with elegant ideas and daring dreams.