Report: 75,000 Toyota Priuses headed to U.S. by end of 2011

In a rare twist of events, Automotive News (sub. req.) reports that one of the world's leading newswire services mistakenly let slip (i.e., issued a press release) that boatloads (75,000 to be exact) of Toyota Prius hybrids will ship out from Japan and arrive in U.S. showrooms by the end of 2011.

Now, that release is supposedly nowhere to be found (not true). As it turns out, the newswire agency had accidentally issued the release and upon discovering the fault, issued an instant "kill, kill, kill," according to AN. This untimely release put Toyota's public relations staff in a frenzy, says AN.

Was the release inaccurate? Doubt it. According to AN, the statement included a quote from Toyota boss Bob Carter and photos of Priuses at the Port of Long Beach in California. AN closed with a statement of its own: "Don't be surprised to see this release re-released next Tuesday." Without the immediate retraction, we'd assume.

Photos copyright ©2011 Drew Phillips / AOL

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]