Toyota just released a new car, it’s environment-friendly Prius (which I have heard good things about), this time with 10% better gas mileage than the last model, and with an interesting new feature: it parks itself.

Apparently, if you get into a tight parking situation, the car will do the job for you with built-in sensors detecting the close-by obstacles. It was only mentioned that the parking assist works “when reversing into parking spaces”; I am not yet clear on whether or not it parallel parks (which would impress me a lot more). The “intelligent” parking system is a $2000 add-on, and includes a DVD-navigation system.

Toyota has sold about 120,000 of the Prius model, and expects to sell another 74,000 next year.

The hybrid car runs on both gas and electricity, using flywheels for the brakes to gather up the energy that would otherwise be dissipated as heat. Especially while driving in the city (with short starts and stops), the energy returned from the brakes helps to sustain the battery for longer periods and increases energy efficiency.

I wouldn’t mind having one of those puppies.