Word: priuses
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Morrissey first heard about the Prius from a brother who lived in Japan, where 36,000 of the cars have been sold to a consumer market much more accepting of alternative-fuel cars. "I could have bought a BMW or another luxury car," she says. "But I really wanted that Prius to tour the wine country or load up my mountain bike...
Enter the Toyota Prius, a revolutionary gas-electric hybrid car, which is causing a flurry of excitement in California. The bubble-shaped auto is a favorite among Silicon Valley execs who hanker after the newest technology, retirees who value its great gas mileage and green-minded folks who champion its super-low emissions. Since last August, San Francisco Toyota has received orders for 200 of the $21,000 vehicles, and dozens of customers are on a three-month waiting list...
Besides, she had to consider her companion on these adventures. The windows of the Prius are just the right height for Morrissey's black Lab-mix, Cinders, to hang out her head and enjoy the breeze. And the backseat is ideal for a doggy playpen, with a black quilted seat cover and a bowl on the floor. "We're a modern California family," jokes Morrissey. "Dog, car, career woman...
California is particularly suited to the Prius. Gas prices have skyrocketed from $1.60 a gallon last summer to nearly $2. And the state has some of the toughest vehicle emissions regulations in the nation. Morrissey, full of environmental evangelism, has already persuaded one co-worker and one neighbor in her affluent Mill Valley suburb to go hybrid. "You always hear that the Japanese are better at copying and refining than actually creating an idea," says Morrissey. "But the Prius is an example of true innovation...
...Hybrids allow people to feel they are doing the right thing for the planet," says Michael Feinstein, a Santa Monica councilman who just bought a Prius for his mother. That's nice, but the breakthrough is that Americans finally have green cars that are convenient enough and cool enough to drive...