The first comment on Toyota Prius, a hybrid car, by U.S. mass media appeared on the New York Times's November 19, 2000 issue. It is a short article titled as "It's Easier to Be Green" written by Mr. Andrew Pollack." As I reported on a page of December 15 of my travel diary, the U.S. mass media did not make any comment on Prius although four months passed since it was announced in U,S. market. Mr. Pollack said Prius is a compliment for an alternative vehicle. It can be driven just the same way of gas engined cars. It consumed little gas and has little emission. Its price is higher than conventional vehicles but can be affordable to many individual customers. Zero-emission vehicles have not been sold well while Prius will have customers over 10 thousand a year. The car is a practical solution for clean air, he commented. And also he said a few world manufactures including U.S. manufacturers will start to manufacture and sell them after the next year,
Although he said that the fuel consumption of Honda's two seater hybrid "Insight" is better than Prius which carries five passengers including a driver. It is wrong to compare two seater with five passenger sedan directly. I do not think the writer had driven the vehicle for long enough to understand its function and performance well. So his comment lacks many important points. But he admitted Prius, a hybrid, is better and much more practical than he imagined. I evaluate his understanding on this point. If you put "Prius"in a search box of New York Times's archive, you will get this article ($2.50 for print.)