REPORT: 2010 Toyota Prius ditches Incredible Shrinking Gas Tank for conventional unit
2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery
Ever notice that you your bladder seems to shrink when its cold outside? Apparently, the Toyota Prius feels your pain, and while we don't have any good solutions to report for your own personal problems, Toyota has found an easy fix for its hybrid. Unlike previous generations of Toyota's fuel saver, the new 2010 model won't have an underperforming bladder when it's cold outside.
Since its introduction back in 2001, Toyota has equipped the Prius with a synthetic fuel tank bladder that collapsed as gasoline was slowly pumped out of the tank and into the engine. Due to complaints that the last-gen car wasn't able to take its full 11.9 gallon fuel allotment whenever the temperature was below 70-degrees, the third-generation Prius comes equipped with a more conventional rigid fuel tank made from lightweight resin. In order to retain its coveted low-emissions rating in California, the latest Prius also reportedly features an improved vapor-recovery system that will help reduce hydrocarbon emissions.
Gallery: 2010 Toyota Prius
[Source: Chicago Tribune]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Tmoguy 6:26PM (7/06/2009)
Thats the most flattering picture of the prius yet. Still wouldnt buy it but, better.
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Jo Schmoe 6:35PM (7/06/2009)
sorry to break it to you, but no one really gives a rats ass if you care to buy this car. it's selling like hotcakes without you.
MoonRover 8:17PM (7/06/2009)
It may be selling like hot cakes but it looks like a bar of dove soap, and I wouldn't have one.
Adis 8:37PM (7/06/2009)
Funny, People come read a blog about the Prius, then comment on how they wouldn't buy one or it looks ugly.... Seriously....get a life. If you dont like the car, dont read about it... simple.
This car has created something that a lot of auto makers would wish to do.... and it did that with being "ugly".
ufgrat 12:08AM (7/07/2009)
@ Jo Schmoe... the Camaro sold nearly 9.5 thousand cars in June 2009, the Prius just over 11 thousand.
Of course, there's a waiting list for the Camaro because they can't build them fast enough. ;)
Noz 2:09AM (7/07/2009)
Ugfrat:
Goes to show that people with even worse taste that the ones who like the Prius are out there.
The Camaro looks like ass...not to mention you've got some serious issues to want to drive a retro POS.
UCJR 6:46PM (7/06/2009)
So... the Prius suffers from shrinkage when it's cold?
Heh heh... just like that one Seinfeld episode:
# Jerry: Do women know about shrinkage?
# Elaine: What do you mean like laundry?
# Jerry: No, like when a man goes swimming afterwards.
# Elaine: It shrinks?
# Jerry: Like a frightened turtle!
# Elaine: Why does it shrink?
# George Costanza: It just does.
# Elaine: I don't know how you guys walk around with those things.
# George Costanza: I was in the pool! I WAS IN THE POOL!
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chopper 6:55PM (7/06/2009)
Now if they would only ditch that hideous bulging logo on the front of the car.
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the4thheat 8:25PM (7/06/2009)
How bad was the shrinkage? I'm pretty sure at 50mpg it would go pretty far anyways, although I suppose it would be kinda annoying.
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JZeke 8:46PM (7/06/2009)
I think it actually looks better in person, least the foward 3/4. The side sculpting is rather nice. The chrome-o lights are still whack though. Toyota ought to study at the BMW school of cool-taillights for a semester.
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Harrison 8:58PM (7/06/2009)
Shrinkage? You drive a Prius. How much more can your manhood shrink? Oh wait, we're not talking about that kind of shrinkage...
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cWj 9:16PM (7/06/2009)
Um. Did I miss the part where they explained what they point of the collapsing fuel bladder was?
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Dave 1:19AM (7/07/2009)
Bladders help prevent fuel vapors from developing in the gas tank, which will create hydrocarbon emissions. Thusly, toyota is using a vapor recovery system on the new rigid tanks to keep emissions equal to what they are on bladder-equipped-priuses.
Nick 3:29AM (7/07/2009)
The new Prius definitely is no boding looking soap bar. It looks very modern and fits well into its time (unlike its static looking parent).
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ImSteevin 4:02AM (7/07/2009)
Toyota's F1 investment at work. BA DOOM CHISH!
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Choco Wolf 5:32AM (7/07/2009)
I'd like to find out whether toyota fixed the sudden-acceleration bug from the 2nd generation. I'm gonna be weary of this one until I do. : /
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JDM Life 9:35AM (7/07/2009)
I love how the Pruis looks.
The small little changes made a big difference.
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Joan of Arc 9:58AM (7/07/2009)
It's a decent car for what it is... I wouldn't buy it for environmental purposes, of course, but it's a decent sized car to get good gas mileage without having to purchase a compact.
To the guy who commented on the shrinkage of your manhood: If you have to buy a giant car to feel comfortable about your masculinity, then so be it... I think it takes a real man to buy what he needs instead of what he wants. But to each his own.
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dukeisduke 10:40AM (7/07/2009)
I saw one of these this morning (in "Sandy Beach Metallic"), and it doesn't look as good as the Gen II car. That front end is just plain ugly. The Sandy Beach color doesn't help, either.
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tahoochi 12:41AM (7/14/2009)
@ ufgrat: This article is about the Prius gas tank... what are you talking about???
Nevertheless, the world you live in must be so small... let's talk global sales, not US sales. The Prius sold 26,000 cars world-wide in June '09 (http://www.hybridcars.com/hybrid-sales-dashboard/june-2009-dashboard.html)... how many did the Camaro sell?
Does anybody know how much the shrinking gas tank shrank? I doubt any customer would have even noticed before Toyota mentioned it... might there be another reason why Toyota changed it?
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