This isn't the first time we've heard that Toyota might spin off the Prius as a separate brand much like Scion. But we now have the most concrete news about the automaker's plans we've seen yet.

Even with the $5,000 difference between the Prius and non-hybrid Toyotas, there was a time when Toyota lost money on the car. Even when the car entered the black, and even though they halved the cost of the hybrid system from one generation to the next, Toyota still didn't make the margins on it that they did with their go-to sedans. Yet with plans to start making batteries for the Hybrid Synergy Drive in the U.S., Toyota says it should be able to halve costs again, and bring the next-gen Prius profit to near parity with the Corolla.

Vandals who mess with other people's cars are scum -- bottom-feeders who are beneath contempt. It doesn't matter what the vehicle being damaged is. Cars are a major purchase, there's often an emotional connection to them, and most importantly, they generally represent the owner's primary source of mobility -- getting him or her to work, to the store, to pick up the kids, and so on.

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2009 Toyota iQ.

If vehicles could be sainted, stained-glass artists all over the U.S. would be busy figuring out the best colors for the Toyota Prius to shine in. Brand new examples of the motorized mollusk that everyone can't wait to buy spend just five days on dealer lots. Last year's model lasts just fifteen days more.

The real coup, however, is in the prices. An unused Prius requires about $26,672 to take home. The used version, with fewer than 10,000 miles, goes for around $27,945. That's right, nearly $1,300 more. More incredible: a 2007 model with more than 22,000 miles will only save you $276 compared to the price of a shiny new 2008. We're not sure you can even call that depreciation.

New spy photos of Toyota's next-gen Prius have surfaced on the web, and for the first time we're looking at an actual prototype rather than a mere mule built out of pieces and parts from the current-gen Prius. The new spy shots reveal that the 2010 Prius will indeed retain the current five-door hatchback shape of the current model but will grown in both length and width. While NextAutos is reporting that the Prius will become more powerful with a larger engine (Car and Driver reports that a 1.6L Atkinson four-cylinder will replace the current 1.5L from the old Echo), we're hearing that it will continue to use nickel-metal hydride batteries rather than newer lithium-ion batteries. Toyota is, after all, building a whole new factory in Japan to produce more nickel-metal hydride batteries that should be operational in 2010.

Click above for a high-res gallery of Honda's new hybrid.

Honda's oft-discussed, yet never spied Prius-fighter has been caught by the merry minions at KGP. A parade of three cars were shot in the desert, including the prototype you see above, a facelifted Civic Hybrid and the new model's arch rival, the Toyota Prius.

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Toyota Hybrid X concept.

The Nikkei business daily in Japan is reporting that the next generation Prius - due out next year as a 2010 model - will supposedly be fitted with solar panels to power a variety of electrical accessories, including the air conditioning. The source informed Nikkei that the solar panels, which would be a first on a production vehicle offered by a major automaker, would be equipped on "high-end" versions of the Prius. There was no mention of what kind of premium Toyota will charge for the solar-equipped Prius, but it confirms earlier reports that ToMoCo plans to expand its lineup of hybrid models.

[Source: Reuters]

Toyota pretty much has the hybrid market cornered right now with its Prius sedan, and the automaker is reaping the benefits of the model's fuel efficiency in the form of record sales. This fact also makes Toyota the envy of various other automakers, considering that their hybrid sales make up a sliver of the overall market. This being the case, nearly every competitor is currently developing advanced hybrid models of their own, including Hyundai, which plans on offering hybrid models for sale in the year 2010.