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N0KFQ > TODAY 11.03.16 18:02l 52 Lines 2262 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 87351_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Mar 11
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N0KFQ
Sent: 160311/1525Z 87351@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
2009
Toyota sells 1 millionth hybrid in U.S.
The Toyota Motor Company announces on this day in 2009 that it
has sold over 1 million gas-electric hybrid vehicles in the U.S.
under its six Toyota and Lexus brands. The sales were led by the
Prius, the world's first mass-market hybrid car, which was
launched in Japan in October 1997 and introduced in America in
July 2000.
When the Prius debuted in 1997 it was considered a "gamble,"
according to a May 2008 report on Wired.com, because "gas was
cheap, SUVs ruled the earth and global warming was only beginning
to penetrate mainstream consciousness." However, the Prius's
hybrid technology-which uses an electric motor to supplement
power from the gasoline, resulting in lower emissions and higher
gas mileage-quickly developed a following. Upon its arrival in
America, the Prius was an early hit in Hollywood and
environmentally conscious celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio
and Cameron Diaz were spotted driving their Priuses around Los
Angeles. For the 2003 Academy Awards, Toyota provided a fleet of
Priuses to chauffeur celebrities such as Harrison Ford and
Calista Flockhart to the ceremony. Between 2000 and February
2009, Toyota sold over 700,000 Priuses in America, or more than
half of the 1.2 million Priuses purchased around the planet.
Toyota went on to expand its stable of hybrids to include the
Lexus RX 400h, the world's first hybrid-powered luxury vehicle,
which launched in April 2005, and the Highlander Hybrid SUV,
which debuted in June of that same year. A hybrid version of
Toyota's bestselling Camry sedan followed in April 2006 and was
also the first Toyota hybrid to be made in the U.S.
In 2008, Toyota passed America's General Motors (GM) to become
the world's largest automaker. GM, which at the time had been
hobbled along with the rest of the auto industry by a global
economic crisis and slumping car sales, received criticism for
being the home of the gas-guzzling Hummer and for failing to
develop a hybrid vehicle when Toyota first launched the Prius
(the name is reportedly linked to the Latin for "earlier" and
meant to connote a car that's ahead of its time).
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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