There's one thing we know for sure about the future of the automotive market: fuel-efficiency is king. There are more hybrids on the road than ever before, not to mention electric vehicles, as well as vehicles powered by fuels other than gasoline. Not that we're complaining - we love all of the things Toyota has done with their hybrid lineup since the first Prius hit the market more than a decade ago.

Back in 1997, the Prius was the first mass-market hybrid to hit the streets. Today, the whole family represents the future of mobility. At least, that's what we think when we see the new third-generation Toyota Prius, the new Toyota Prius v and the forthcoming Prius Plug-in and Prius c. And we have no doubts that they will continue to make a powerful impact on the automotive market.

Toyota COO, Yoshi Inaba, explains that since the year 2000, the Prius has saved an estimated 1.1 billion gallons of gasoline, 16 million tons of CO2, and $2.9 billion in fuel costs. He says, "As long as anyone here can remember, gasoline has been the fuel for cars and trucks in America, and it will continue to be for the foreseeable future. But fossil fuels are tough on the environment and supplies are not keeping up with demand."¹ He goes on to say that for these very reasons, Toyota has continued to explore fuel-alternatives and fuel-efficient technologies.

Some of these initiatives include fine-tuning internal combustion engines as well as body style for lighter-weight options that reduce gas mileage; creating solid-state and metal-air batteries with performance that doubles that of traditional lithium-ion batteries; using carbon neutral plastics; and by 2015, releasing a zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.

Inaba explains, "So there is much more to come from Toyota, a lot more...In short, it's a great time to be in the auto business. We're entering an era of innovation that will significantly alter transportation in the 21st century...I can't promise you flying cars or Star Trek remotes that beam you up, but I can promise you that Toyota and the rest of the auto industry will be eagerly developing new cars that look great, are fun to drive, easy on fuel and the environment and will help us reach our dream in the future."²

Sounds good to us! Stop by Hanford Toyota, 1835 Glendale Ave Hanford, CA 93230 to learn more about all of the innovations Toyota has been hard at work on since before the first Prius launched in the 90s. There's no doubt that you'll find a fuel-efficient and feature packed newToyota to love.

Source: ^1,2http://www.autoremarketing.com/retail/toyota%E2%80%99s-inaba-spells-out-why-oem-can-rebound-2012#ixzz1mHEATzR2