The Prius That Shook.. - VFAQ Prius Site

serve as a production tryout vehicle prior to the production of
Prius. The team, therefore, planned a car with a
conventional engine and a highly efficient automatic
transmission in an appealing package.
Their plans had to change quickly, however, when their
mandate suddenly shifted.
When Uchiyamada and Ishida went on a Friday in
November 1994 to brief Wada on the recent progress of G21,
Wada said to them, "By the way, your group is also
working on the new concept car for the Motor Show,
right? We recently have decided to develop that concept car as a
hybrid vehicle. That way, it would be easy to explain its fuel
economy. We are not talking about production here, so show
us your best ideas."
Tokyo Motor Show is the premier opportunity for
auto makers to show concept cars based on their
ideas for future automobiles. G21's car was going to be one of
the major attractions at the coming Motor Show.
With less than a year to go before the Motor Show, the
team now had to design each unit from scratch. Even
though concept cars are only for show, creating them means
serious work. As a matter of fact, the group would have
had more time to develop a hybrid vehicle if its production
were scheduled for year 2000.
Shocked by what he had been told, Ishida ran back to the
red carpet room.
"Hey, Ogiso. We have a major problem."
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