Toyota Announces Contest Finalists and Event Partners for Prius 10th Anniversary Celebration

TORRANCE, Calif., Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- After two weeks of online contest submissions, Toyota announced the 10 finalists vying for the opportunity to host the official 10 Years of Prius Anniversary Celebration in his/her hometown. These finalists were chosen from among the Facebook contest participants who uploaded photos and videos displaying their passion for Prius.* The public will be able to vote from August 18 at midnight until August 27 at midnight to determine the most passionate Prius fan. The winner will be announced on August 31.

To celebrate Prius' milestone, Toyota will create a unique 10th anniversary celebration party on October 10, 2010 or 10.10.10. Toyota will partner with Outstanding in the Field, SHFT.com and Reverb.org to create this unique event and invite the community to share in this celebration of sustainability, food, music, art and design.

Outstanding in the Field (www.outstandinginthefield.com), a roving culinary adventure -- literally a restaurant without walls -- will provide an incredible culinary experience. Founded by chef and artist Jim Denevan in 1999, Outstanding in the Field will set up outdoor meals from the local markets. Local farmers, producers, culinary artisans and celebrated chefs from the region will help prepare the meal. Wherever the location, the consistent theme of each dinner is to honor the people whose good work brings nourishment to the table.

SHFT.com (www.shft.com) will help curate art, music and sustainable design products to be incorporated into the event. SHFT is a new media platform, offering original video series, curated shopping, and a host of resources that speak to a modern, inspirational, eco-conscious lifestyle.  Actor/activist Adrian Grenier and film producer Peter Glatzer, along with sustainability/design expert Lauren Gropper, have built a platform that uses media to curate the myriad sustainable choices now available and to highlight the cultural shift taking place.

Reverb.org (www.reverb.org), a non-profit organization deeply rooted within the music and environmental communities, will work with Prius to help reduce the environmental impact of this event while engaging local environmental groups to take part in the 10 Years of Prius Anniversary Celebration. Founded in 2004 by environmentalist Lauren Sullivan and her musician husband Adam Gardner of Guster,  Reverb provides greening programs for the music industry at large while conducting grassroots outreach to music fans everywhere. Recently, Reverb has worked with Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews Band, Sheryl Crow, Arcade Fire, Drake and many others.

The 2010 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (PHV) is part of an ongoing demonstration program that allows Toyota to gather real world vehicle-use feedback to better understand customer expectations for plug-in technology.  The PHV will also be displayed at the Prius event for attendees to check out.  This vehicle expands Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive technology with the introduction of a first generation lithium-ion battery that enables all-electric operation at higher speeds and longer distances than the conventional Prius hybrid.  When fully charged, the vehicle is targeted to achieve a maximum electric-only range of approximately 13 miles and will be capable of achieving highway speeds up to 60 mph in electric-only mode.  For longer distances, the Prius PHV reverts to "hybrid mode" and operates like a regular Prius.  This ability to utilize all-electric power for short trips or hybrid power for longer drives alleviates the issue of limited cruising range encountered with pure electric vehicles.  Toyota has announced that a PHV will be arriving in dealerships in 2012.

To view the top 10 finalists and cast your vote, visit the Toyota Prius page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/prius). 'Like' the page for updates on the contest and celebration.

About Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. is the marketing, sales, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion. Established in 1957, TMS markets products and services through a network of more than 1,400 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealers. Toyota directly employs more than 34,000 people in the U.S. and sold more than 1.77 million vehicles in 2009.  

For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyota.com, www.lexus.com, www.scion.com or www.toyotanewsroom.com.

*Contest applicable to the 48 continental United States. Visit the Toyota Prius Facebook page for official contest rules. No purchase necessary.

SOURCE Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.