Dana's Mixed Bag

The new, Third Generation Prius recently hit dealer lots, and Toyota has redefined their premium packages. As before each level builds upon the lower level one, meaning that it includes all of the lower level features. The new package scheme also adds navigation and solar roof to each of the non-basic tiers. To illustrate how all of the packages relate, someone at Fred Anderson Toyota put a chart together, which I have recreated here.

Additionally the new series of Prius comes with a revamped color scheme, too. The big change is the inability to get a bisque interior with black paint. Instead, customers can now get the bisque interior with the blue paint, unlike before. An combo chart showing the availability is found below, too.

2010 Prius Packages
Prius V (Model 1229) 17" Alloy Wheel, LED Headlamps w/ cleaner and fog lamps	add=>	Navigation + Backup Cam	add=>	Solar Roof with Auto Ventilation and Pre-A/C + Nav
Prius IV (Model 1227) Leather Seats, Steering Wheel, & Trim, Heated Frint Seats, Power Driver Lumbar Support, 3-Door Smart Key, Step Lamp, Illuminated Entry, Water Repellant Glass, Upgraded Front/Center Pillar Material, Plasma Cluster, Homelink, Auto-dimming Mirror	add=>	Navigation + Backup Cam	add=>	Solar Roof with Auto Ventilation and Pre-A/C + Nav
Prius III (Model 1225) JBL + 2 speakers + Bluetooth + Integrated SAT Radio	add=>	Navigation + Backup Cam	add=>	Solar Roof with Auto Ventilation and Pre-A/C + Nav
Prius II (Model 1223) Drivetrain: 1.8L Engine, EV Mode, Eco/Power Mode Safety: VSC, Rear Disc Brakes, Driver Knee Airbag, Active Headrests Audio: MP2/WMA Capable Audio, Auxiliary Audio Jack, SAT Ready (Roof Ant. + Wiring) Convenience: Enhanced Multi-Info Display, Touch Tracer, Driver Door Smart Key, Cruise Control, Telescopic Steering Wheel,, Dr Seat Vertical Adjust, Tonneau Cover, Seat Back Pockets, Heated Outside Mirrors, Auto Up/Down on All Windows

Here is a look at the exterior/interior color combinations (photos of the colors are on Toyota’s website).

Color	Dark Gray	Misty Gray	Bisque
Black
Blue Ribbon Metallic (Blue)
Barcelona Red Metallic (Red)
Sandy Beach Metallic (Gold)
Winter Gray Metallic (Dark Grey)
Classic Silver Metallic (Silver)
Blizzard Pearl (White)

There are a few additional items that were only cleared up once I visited the dealer and got my hands on one of the new cars:

• Only models with a Navigation Package have the interactive screen on the dashboard. Non-nav systems have a traditional radio in that space. Because of this, Toyota has moved the hybrid system data display (mpg, power source, etc) to a low-consumption LED next to the speedometer.
• There are two cupholders. One is under the flap just down the slope from the gear selector. The other is canceled in the sliding armrest. Driving with the sliding armrest open is not irritating.
• There are three power settings: an economy mode, a performance mode, and an all-electric mode.
• Because not all models have a display, Toyota moved the Climate Controls to a traditional cluster below the radio. Also because of display absence, only the Nav Package models have the rear backup camera. Presumably Toyota feels the display is an energy drain.
• The driver’s seat now has vertical movement, and the steering wheel how has full telescopic and tilt movements.
• The Bluetooth connection now accepts music players in addition to cell phones.
• It is unclear, but it appears that Package V has more to it than just wheels and headlights. Apparently Dynamic Cruise Control, Pre-Collission System, Lane Keep Assist, and Intelligent Parking Assist are only available at the Package 5 level. Based on the info on the last page of the Prius brochure, it appears that this set of performance options actually replaces the Solar Roof Package option that is in the far right, upper box in the above chart.
• Another possible error in the chart pertains to SAT radio. According to the brochure, it appears that only Package III and up is wired for SAT radio, and does not include the receiver itself. More research is needed here.

Tags: Cars // Comments Off on Understanding 2010 Prius Packages

As you may know, AddThis is a great way to add a social networking link to the end of each of your blog posts. There are many ways to implement AddThis for WordPress, but the published means only use the four stock button styles. Those styles are alright, but they feature del.icio.us, Digg, and Microsoft Live icons. It is 2009! Get with the program and update those icons, man!

In order to implement a custom AddThis button for a stand alone WordPress installation, one must download the AddThis plugin for WordPress, upload it to the plugins folder, and activate the plugin from WordPress’ dashboard..

You should see AddThis as an item in the Settings section in the left sidebar of the Dashboard. Select AddThis, and select “Use dropdown menu" and “Show on homepage”. Once you hit “Save Changes”, you should see an "AddThis” button appended to each of your posts. The order of sites shown in the pop-up hover window is determined by what is written in the “Drop-down options” entry in the AddThis Settings window. These must be in all lowercaps, and separated by commas. I set mine to “twitter, favorites, facebook, email, digg, friendfeed, delicious, myspace, stumbleupon, reddit, more” and have been happy. The stuff for common people shows in the left column while the geeky links are in the right.

So far we only have a stock button, though. Go make a 16-pixel tall button in your favorite graphics program, and save it as a .gif file. Then you’ll have to alter the addthis_social_widget.php file (which is found in your wp-content/plugins/addthis directory). Open the file (I had to download it and open it in Wordpad to edit it).

Find the “$addthis_styles” line, which is very close to the top of the file. The items in the group of lines following determine what options are offered in the “Button style” pull-down box in the AddThis Settings window. As the helpful comment says, you can add your own style by copying their sample line and editing the graphic location. You’ll also want to specify the width and height of your .gif file (so the browser doesn’t stretch it when rendering). Mine reads:

                      ‘plus’ => array(‘img’=>’sm-plus.gif’, ‘w’=>16,
‘h’=>16),

                      ‘customGGR’ => array
(‘img’=>’http://www.gogoraleigh.com/wp-content/themes/df_
3col_theme/images/share_button2.gif’, ‘w’=>125, ‘h’=>16)

                      /* Add your own style here, like this:
                        , ‘custom’ => array
(‘img’=>’http://example.com/button.gif’, ‘w’=>16, ‘h’=>16) */
                    );

Be careful that the syntax is consistent with the default entries (commas, apostrophes, etc). My graphic is 125 wide and 16 high, and lives at gogoraleigh in the images directory. You’ll need to upload your graphics file to the location you’ve specified, and you’ll need to replace your old addthis_social_widget.php file with the one that includes the new call for your custom button.

Return to the AddThis Settings page in the WordPress dashboard and refresh the page. The Button style pull-down should now include the custom button you’ve added. Select it, hit “Save Changes”, and refresh your view of your site. You should now see your AddThis graphic at the end of each post.

Tags: Tech // 1 Comment »