So this is what it comes down to.

This is it -- this smallish car with the swooping hood and futuristic look is the thing that will save the world.

Okay. Half-jokes and hyperbole aside, the 2004 Toyota Prius is a landmark vehicle, the next generation of clean-running practical cars designed for urban, and suburban, drivers. And while saving the world is a tall order for a car, the Prius is one of those cars that could make a difference. Time will tell, however, whether the amount of space and performance that comes with this latest hybrid experience is enough to get people to buy the thing, and thusly how big of a difference that little swooping car will make. According to Toyota, making a difference is familiar ground for the Prius, as it was the world's first mass-produced electric-gas hybrid vehicle in 1997 and has since become the best-selling hybrid vehicle in the world. Again according to Toyota, U.S. market sales have steadily increased from 5,600 in its first year on the market to just over 20,000 in 2002.

Toyota expects better sales numbers from the 2004 version, thanks to more style and substance n the '04 model. And while the vehicle is greatly improved, it may be a tough sell. We, as collective Americans, can't get over the idea that you really need 360 horses to drive to work and home, that bigger and faster is always better. It's not -- when you're crawling along 50 miles of freeway every day. Fact is, it's piggish overkill. Sure, if you've got a free road, open up the throttle and let it fly -- that's where driving is driving and driving is fun.