How Does My Prius Work, Really?

June 23, 2010

I’ve been driving a Toyota Prius for 5 years now and have had nothing done other than scheduled maintenance and the replacement of one headlight bulb. So I’m a satisfied customer and feel sorry about all the bad press the company has gotten this year.

The only unintended acceleration I’ve experienced has been the result of  my own lead-foot driving. I experimented once and found that simply by observing the posted speed limit in my town I was able to achieve 59 MPG! Though, of course, I could never drive like that in real life.

But when asked to explain precisely how my car works I’ve mumbled around a few general principles and jargon, like “regenerative braking.” Now I’ve found where to direct people who are genuinely interested in this topic, a series of linked articles on the How Stuff Works? web site. For specific info on the Prius, go here.

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