US buyers less than enthusiastic about Toyota Prius 'anime' design

Chicago

THE Toyota Prius that Kendall Greuel bought six weeks ago does what he wanted, which is save money on his daily 100-mile round trip commute. Just one thing nags at the Oklahoman.

"Sometimes I catch a glimpse of the car," Mr Greuel said, "and think it's kind of ugly." The 31-year-old IT worker from Muskogee has his finger on the latest vexation for Prius, the gas-electric hybrid that established Toyota Motor Corp as an environmental leader two decades ago. At a time when American customers were already defecting from Prius because of cheap petrol and a shift to trucks, the carmaker pushed through a polarising redesign - one that's been a hit at home in Japan but has failed to stem a sales slump in the US