We all know the Toyota Prius, it’s the most popular hybrid car out there, having conquered almost everyone with it’s eco-friendly nature, being the car to have if you want to help the planet. One thing though has received mixed oppinions, the design, people saying very different things about the exterior of the car.

Recently some spy shots appeared of a presumed facelift to the Prius, but it would now seem that it wasn’t just a facelift, Toyota planning a totaly new body for their top notch hybrid. Although there have been talks about the new generation of the Prius, even a launch date of January 2009 at the Detroit MotorShow being fronted, new rumours state that this new model will be available around 2010.

This new model will be wider and longer, leaving more space for the passengers in the back and for the trunk. This new space would ultimately be used to develop more vehicles based on this new Prius, and according to Jim Lentz, Toyota USA President, we might see body versions from 2-door coupe to wagon or commuter car. But the design hasn’t been the only thing that Toyota engineers have taken care of, the fuel economy is expected to improve, so is the top speed. Also the NiMh batteries which now power the Prius will be replaced by lighter and smaller Li-ion ones in the effort to increase storage space.

Read More: "New spy photos of the next generation Toyota Prius"

Toyota confirmed that the Prius hybrid will be built in USA and that production will begin in 2010. The production of the Tundra will be moved to the San Antonio plant in Spring 2009.

A new Prius can run to around 48 miles (77 kilometers) per gallon of fuel in city traffic compared to a large SUV which may run to 13 miles (21 kilometers) a gallon depending on how each vehicle is driven. The car retails for around 21,000 dollars and Toyota reported 11,765 Prius sales in June, marking a 25 percent drop from a year earlier.

“The truck market continues to worsen, so unfortunately we must temporarily suspend production. But this good news about production mix demonstrates our long-term commitment to our North American operations and to our team members, supplier partners, and communities where our plants are located,” said Jim Wiseman, vice president/external affairs for Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America (TEMA). “By using this downturn as an opportunity to develop team members and improve our operations, we hope to emerge even stronger.”

Everyone knows about the Toyota Prius, the hybrid car, but not everyone knows very much about it. Well, in short terms, if everyone would have a Prius then the world could cleaner, dryer, relaxed, more silenced, and many more. But imagine the next generation of Toyota Prius, with a larger engine, more efficient, faster, cleaner and greener. This car will have a big launch at the Detroit auto show in January 2009.

Even America has fallen for this car and in a big way. There’s no doubt about that and through an extraordinary combination of style and engineering, this hybrid car remains the absolute gold standard for eco cars.

The next generation will have a bigger impact and that’s because it will be a touch bigger and offering more space and it will be stronger with a 1.8 liter hybrid performance.

January 2009 will mark the point at with Prius will change gear and moves up to the next level. Till now, this hybrid car was just one of its kind, just one model, but Toyota plans to spice up the action and will come with different Prius models as it closes it on its bid to be making over 1 million cars pers year till 2010.

With gas prices exploding, hybrids became very popular in the United States and are selling like crazy. However, we might see these cars’ prices rising, because some of these no longer qualify for the tax break or are about to see it reduced sharply. Affected by this measure are the three most popular hybrids sold in America, the Honda Civic hybrid, the Toyota Prius and the Toyota Camry hybrid.

After last fall the Prius and the Camry saw their $3,150 tax credits disappear, the Honda Civic hybrid’s tax credit was cut in half, starting Tuesday, July 1st, from $1,050 to $525. This happened after the original $2,100 tax credit was cut in half in January.

According to the 2005 federal law that established the hybrid credit, the tax break begins to phase out after a manufacturer sells 60,000 qualifying vehicles. Because of heavy demand for the Prius, Toyota reached that benchmark early in the program, and tax breaks for its Toyota and Lexus brand hybrids were gone by October 2007.

This tax credit cuts are not very popular, with a lot of people believing that the government should support hybrid sales, not increase the taxes. “We need to be reducing our dependence on oil, so why are we taking away something that will encourage people to do that?” asked Ailis Aaron Wolf, spokeswoman for the advocacy group 40mpg.org, which wants to raise mileage standards.

So, what will happen next? Will hybrid sales drop? Honestly, with gas prices skyrocketing, I don’t think so, on the contrary.
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Because developing the new battery technology will take Toyota a little more than they expected, the next generation Toyota Prius was delayed and Toyota is preparing a facelift for the current model, to spice it up a little. As we can see from these spy photos, the facelifted Prius features a new front part with new headlamps and grille and a new cut line in the hood. View more photos after the jump.
Read More: "Spy shots of the facelifted Toyota Prius"