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.

Is it possible to buy a car that's both inexpensive and ultra cool? Can a $22,000 Toyota Prius really get you the same respect from the valet as a $70,000 BMW? That's what "Wired Magazine" wants to know, and they're asking readers to decide which of five relatively cheap cars they would feel coolest driving.

So far, the most expensive of the bunch, the Prius, is in third place with only 18% of the vote. Behind it with 11% is an early-'90s Volvo and a 25-year-old Mercedes 300 SDL. In first place, with a big lead over a used Ford Mustang, is a 1995-1997 Jaguar XJ6.

If you're already stretched paper thin under the financial weight of a thirsty, expensive vehicle, getting out of it for something more fuel efficient might seem like an unattainable dream. Fear not, the smarties over at Consumer Reports have rightly pointed out that since depreciation accounts for nearly half of the cost of a car during its first five years of ownership, buying a used miser is the best way to save money and resources.