"Company hopes to come up with a style that provides instant recognition."

"And you have to really squint to be able to tell that the Lexus RX 400h is a hybrid or pop the hood, where "Hybrid Synergy Drive" is written on the engine cover. And, yes, Lexus downplays its hybrid styling so much that the "h" in the crossover's name is lower case."

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...605030316/1149

For the last few days I've been wondering if maybe hybrids should have a light at the rear that would start blinking when the car is in "auto-stop" or Assist mode. It could have "EV" electric-vehicle mode or "ZE" zero emissions mode on it... then I figure it would be too smug... but maybe not.

A lot of cars have useless plates and markings, like AWD, 4-Matic, ABS, Diesel, etc. so why not ?

Best Tank = 54.2 mpg (Sep. 9'06)
Best Trip = 61.9 mpg

The article sounds like they've finally figured it out. When they came out with the Prius II, it was all about "being as unique as the driver" and other excuses/explanations/justifications for why it was so ugly. I think they took flack for that and tried to be more conventional on the Highlander, RX 400h, 450h and Camry. But I think they're too conventional looking, and I'm glad they agree. Looking for a happy medium is a good idea.

I used to find the Insight kind of ugly.. now I think it's the cutest car on the road. Of course, now I own one..

It's all relative

Honestly, I thought the Insight was a natural design evolution from the CRX.

And I like the Prius' exterior (it's the interior that I dislike).

Toyota would have to be careful about exterior lighting. My cousin in Virginia got a ticket for having blue lights in his wheel wells. (Blue is reserved for the police, red for the Fire Dept., and yellow for emergency services. I don't think green is spoken for yet.)

Personally, I prefer the fact that the only thing obvious about the new Civic is the discreet "Hybrid" badge on the rear. If you didn't know to look for the turn signals on the mirrors, the mast antenna, or the pie-plate wheels, you'd never know the difference. I enjoy it when people say, "OH! It's a HYBRID!" (usually when they're already in the car).

I honestly never even looked at a Prius becaues it looks so different, I wanted something that would blend in. I hot the HCH 2 times because it looks "just" like a civic and people are often surprised that it is a hybrid..."it looks so normal!!"