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Toyota Prius convertible with slideshow
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Toyota Prius Convertible
Faithful readers will know that I recently bought a Prius not only to drive cross country, but also to do my part to decrease our need for foreign oil. After looking at many different cars from dealers to private sellers and auctions, I ended up buying a 2004 Prius with the navigation package and 65,000 on the clock.
You'll also note if you are a regular reader, that I love convertibles! There's nothing like cruising around on a nice day with the wind blowing through your hair and the sun shining in on you. Of course if you could combine the fuel savings and frugality of the Prius with top down tanning, well then you just might have the perfect car.
It seems that someone has already thought of that. Witness the topless Toyota Prius. Newport Convertible Engineering chopped the top to make a convertible version which echos the shape of the hard top Prius. The mechanism is similiar to the Solara and is operated by a button on the dash.
Four door convertibles are rare because of the inherent lack of structural rigidity that comes from removing the top. Newport Convertible Engineering got around this problem by leaving the window frames in and by adding a roll bar. It might not be the most esthetically pleasing solution, but it works! Are you listening Porsche Panamera engineers?
Gas mileage should not be affected because the weight savings of removing the top cancels out the additional weight of the canvas top and mechanism needed to stow it. Of course if you drive around all of the time with the top down, you will probably see less mpg's overall.
The heated rear window is borrowed from the Audi TT Convertible which means rear visibility could be slightly limited. But this is a small price to pay for the ability to cruise with the top down and still be saving the world at the same time. If you also consider $12,500 a small price to pay then you can have a topless Toyota Prius too!
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