Toyota showed off its Prius C 2012 concept at the New York International Auto show this week, which has some very unique stylings, even for a hybrid.

It didn’t dawn on me until I saw the Nissan Leaf in person, but car manufacturers are taking a lot of liberties with headlight design this year. This Toyota Prius C concept demonstrates the trend perfectly. At first you may believe the car has no headlights until you look up and see its peninsula of a hood floating between two hooked, bulbous headlights. This trend is most apparent in electric and fuel efficient cars, which have been feeling the need to be different to stand out. And thanks to their new types of motors and experimenting with where to put batteries and the engine, we’re seeing a greater range of possibilities than we have with traditional combustion engines, which have a form that is, more or less, set.

The Prius C is smaller and lighter than the current Prius, which should help it achieve greater fuel economy than current models. This car should hit dealerships in the first half of 2012.

Showing 6 comments

  1. Stephan Brunet at 10:53pm 29th September 2011 On that same note, Headlamps did not last anywhere near as long as they do now and with LEDs coming into play on many new cars they will last even longer.
  2. Joe at 9:39pm 9th July 2011 Use to be one could go out and buy a replacement sealed beam headlight for $5 and the same part fit virtually every car from the "Big Three" - sadly, not any more. Now each headlight shell costs at least $50 (not counting the bulb) and the way even fit the same model the next year.
  3. miguelC at 10:01pm 31st May 2011 Wow! This car is perfectly designed with a headlight that is not so obvious in the first look. Headlights are really important without it we will be driving in darkness. There's an interesting story behind the development of the headlamp, Popular Mechanics reminds us. Knowing how your front lights work is helpful for maintenance and to avoid crashes. I found this here: <a title="A car headlamp course" href="http://www.cardealexpert.com/news-information/the-expert-explains/headlight-primer/">Get to know more about your headlights, cardealexpert.com/news-information
  4. Stephan Brunet at 3:02am 25th April 2011 Power kind of defeats its purpose...
  5. Jamie Bustamante at 1:09am 25th April 2011 I love that Prius! wish it had some power though...
  6. Stephen Editing Hirst at 6:30pm 24th April 2011 let him whos with out sin cast the first prius
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