MSNBC Story
For all you anti-hybrid folks - how many people have been killed by a defective Prius? Now tell me how many have been killed by a defective Ford Explorer?
First Production hybrid
The Prius was the world's first production hybrid when introduced in Japan in 1997. Honda quickly developed the Insight and made it the first hybrid sold in the US.
A 1973 Oldsmobile was modified to use hybrid technology that was so much like the HSD, it's inventor was given a Prius later on. It was funded by the US government, but never followed up. The Oldsmobile had to be plugged in overnight due to the battery technology at the time.