Toyota squeezes more miles — and power — out of Prius

DETROIT — Toyota finally lifted the veil from its completely redesigned Prius on Monday at the North American International Auto Show. The big news about the popular hybrid: 50 miles per gallon.

The new car is due out in the U.S. and Japan this spring.

Toyota executive Bob Carter said the third-generation Prius would beat its predecessor by 4 mpg, a 9 percent improvement in fuel economy, thanks to a more-efficient engine and smaller, lighter components.

At the same time, this Prius boosts the engine-only juice to 98 horsepower thanks to new, 1.8-liter engine, and the combined electric/internal-combustion hybrid potency is up to 134 horsepower (the second-generation Prius pumps out 76 horsepower and 110 horsepower, respectively).

And the new Prius has a solar-powered ventilation system.

Carter explained that this would take some of the load off the air-conditioning system by precooling the interior of the car on hot days.

Toyota sold about 160,000 Priuses last year.