Auto News 5

No shoes were flung when the 2010 Toyota Prius debuted at the recent Detroit auto show. Considering the grim mood in the Motor City - with domestic automakers on death watch and frozen credit paralyzing sales - and the fact that a gallon of gas costs little more than a can of beer, that's remarkable. Detroit was hardly the opportune place for a fuel-scrimping, technically advanced Asian import to bow. Then again, consider the Latin meaning of the word Prius: to go before. Defying skeptics is this car's cause. The Prius's mission has always been venturing ahead of the gas-saving, earth-hugging curve.