Anyone who doesn’t care about advocacy for a cleaner environment can probably skip this entry (he says with tongue in cheek).

Okay, so I admit that the 2004 Toyota Prius is now my hybrid car of choice. It’s got the highest ratings through Car and Driver, some damned good safety ratings from Consumer Reports (last I checked, at least), and has some really interesting statistics. I particularly like the dashboard. Coool.

A really, really nice Prius site is john1701a.com. John was once an owner of a 2001 Prius but now owns a 2004 Prius. Of particular interest to me were the Prius Misconceptions, the Prius Selling Points document (PDF), and the Prius Info Sheet (also PDF). The Selling Points document still seems to reflect the 2001 Prius, but seems like it’s still applicable to the 2004.

In addition, there are IntelliChoice reviews, a US Department of Energy article on the Prius’ technology, and a review from The Car Connection.

Bottom line: test drive, anyone?

Update (11:46PM): I got bored and priced my ideal Prius through toyota.com, just for fun. Never let it be said I had nothing better to do.