FIRST PERSON - Socket rocket: Plug-in Prius shows potential in test runs

TOKYO — I had to go to Japan to do it, but I finally got my hands on a plug-in hybrid.

Not one of those hacked Priuses that after-market modifiers will produce in exchange for several thousand dollars and a canceled warranty. This was the real thing, built by Toyota at its research labs in Japan as part of its program to get a workable plug-in hybrid to market.

Toyota Motor Corp. sells more hybrids than any other carmaker, though that hasn't stopped some critics from questioning the company's commitment to advanced fuel-efficient powertrain systems.

So with the automotive media in town this week for the Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota perhaps decided it was opportune to demonstrate it has been spending time and money finding ways to replace the environmental disaster that is the internal combustion engine -- and has the sheet metal to prove it.

Which is how I came to be at a Toyota test track near the foot of Mt. Fuji, surrounded by engineers, interpreters, PR types and about half a dozen plug-in Priuses -- cars that may have a lot to say about how we get around in the future.

Hybrids such as the current-generation Prius use a traditional gasoline engine as their primary power source. A small, battery-powered electric motor powers the car for very short distances at low speeds and provides additional power at higher speeds. The payoff, in the Prius at least, is the highest miles-per-gallon rating of any mass-produced car in the U.S.

(Toyota and other automakers are working on plug-in hybrids with larger battery packs that would enable the car to travel several miles at highway speeds on electricity alone; the batteries would be recharged at night by plugging into a household outlet.)

Besides the bird decals and other eco-cute touches, the Priuses at Toyota's Higashi-Fuji test track looked a lot like the 2006 model that I drive from Glendale to work in downtown L.A. every day.

Other than the steering wheel being on the right, Japanese-style, the major difference in the interior was on the dashboard touch screen. In addition to the usual engine-motor-battery schematic, it displayed colored bars indicating whether the car was running on electricity alone or in hybrid mode. It also included a gauge that counted down the 10-kilometer, electric-only range.