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The Prius That Shook.. - VFAQ Prius Site

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20<br />

emerged.<br />

"If the fuel economy of a basic Corolla is 13 kilometers<br />

per liter (30.8 mpg), we should aim at improving it by 50%."<br />

"<strong>The</strong>n, are we talking about 19 kilometers per liter?"<br />

"Let's plan on 20 kilometers per liter (47.5 mpg), since<br />

it's a nice round number. By the 21 st century, engines<br />

with such high fuel economy should become available."<br />

After discussions like that, the group generally agreed to<br />

aim at a fuel economy of 20 kilometers per liter. Ogiso,<br />

who joined the G21 project from its genesis and was<br />

involved in the product planning throughout the<br />

development of <strong>Prius</strong> until its market-launch, looks back<br />

and says, "We thought that that was already a<br />

groundbreaking target."<br />

Needless to say, every member already knew of the hybrid<br />

system. However, they thought the system would not be<br />

ready for the G21 project. In other words, they thought<br />

that a real hybrid system would never become available<br />

to the public within this century. <strong>The</strong> members began<br />

studying the existing items to achieve the new fuel economy<br />

target.<br />

well."<br />

"I've heard the direct-injection engine performs very<br />

"How about a CVT (continuously variable transmission)?"<br />

<strong>The</strong> members agreed to try out many items from the

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