The Prius That Shook.. - VFAQ Prius Site

three-row system. There will be another time to try again.
This is an honorable retreat." At last he had made up his
mind to go back to the three-row system.
After the decision was made, work went swiftly. In fact, it
was imperative that they quickly redesign for the next
prototype from the two-row to the three-row system. In May
1997, the hybrid system was installed in a Corona Premio
for a Test Drive Event for automotive journalists and news
reporters at Higashifuji Technical Center. Two of the hybrid
systems used for the event were still equipped with the two-
row cooling system, but were driven despite temperature
concerns. The cooling group was busy redesigning the
layout of pipes and hoses for the final Prius prototype so had
no time to fix the ones for the event.
By the time the layout arrangement for the pipes and
hoses was finished and the whole cooling system was
finally complete, it was almost summer and just before the
official prototype would be built on an actual production
line. The cooling system was ready in time for the final tests in
the summer. The inverter was cooled properly, and the air
conditioning worked. The targeted summertime fuel
economy also was achieved.
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