Is it an ironic coincidence that Toyota unveiled a ‘bigger’ brother to their (run-away hit) Prius on Father’s Day weekend?
Whatever the case may be; the car is in the 3rd generation (since it’s initial release was panned mercilessly) and despite the fact that the technology is available (economies of scale are currently lacking) to exceed 50 mpg – that is still not a bad figure. Nor, for that matter, is that 97% of them are still on the road; 1 million (of 2) have been sold in America and the car’s batteries (among other parts) are completely recyclable.
Long story short; perhaps Dad’s and station wagons are somewhat synonymous (most likely in the States) but what matters most is that technology can work towards contributing to the betterment of the world (and, by extension, the environment) particularly; when consumers are obviously willing to purchase products that are (not just) ‘green’ in orientation (despite all of the naysayers that argue otherwise).
From the WSJ: http://goo.gl/NIdIU