Prius's are like male underpants (perhaps why certain segments of the community like them) - the knobs are on the inside.
A Prius is a marketing persons dream outcome. Rather than making something light and efficient, make it heavy, put in multiple drive systems. Loads of things to go wrong, make it that you require specialist tooling and training to service it (so you have to bring it back to the dealer or someone trained by the dealer) and sell it as an environmentally conscious car at a premium of nearly twice a comparable sized car - that is about half as economical as a same sized Diesel engines car.
Marketing Wank over Substance - you bet.
