Jon Lancaster Toyota

Toyota has been looked at as the auto industry's leader of technology for the greater part of the decade. This perception is highly due to the success of the Prius.

Despite the recent rise in competition from market competitors, Toyota is doubling its bet on its decade old hybrid technology, which combines a traditional gasoline powered engine with an electric motor to boost fuel economy.

At the 2011 Detroit auto show, Toyota unveiled the first of a family of new models expected to carry the Prius nameplate. It is the first time that more than one car will wear the Prius badge. And, this notable development will effectively work to establish Prius as a brand in its own right.

Toyota's new variation is called the Prius V. It will offer one and a half times more cargo space than the current model. In addition, it will sport a slightly higher roof line, similar to that of the Matrix wagon.

In addition to the Prius V, there are two other hybrid vehicles that will likewise carry the Prius name in the future. One, expected next year, is closer in size to the Toyota Yaris subcompact. There is also talk of a plug-in Prius, coming next year as well. The battery would be chargeable via a power outlet. However, it would also have a gasoline engine.

In total, that gives Toyota a fleet of four Prius? Or, is it Prii? Toyota is betting the initiative will spur sales in the U.S., where more cars are sold than anywhere else in the world. James, Letnz, President, Toyota Motor Sales, believes the Prius nameplate will be the best-selling in the company's entire U.S. portfolio, even surpassing the beloved Camry by 2020.

"Frankly, it will happen before 2020-as we see fuel prices rise," Lentz speculated at the Detroit auto show. "That's why our belief was that a Prius family of vehicles was the right thing to do." Lentz went on to say that gasoline prices could reach $4/gal in the U.S., this summer, driving interest in hybrids like the Prius, and that over the next decade they will only push higher.

Many drivers of SUV's and trucks have been quick to not give the Toyota Prius a chance as it is not a "manly" vehicle. As Toyota tries to target a different market they may be considering a Prius hybrid pickup truck to add to a new line-up of vehicles.

Speculation across the web began just prior to the 2011 North American International Auto Show. Toyota is considering reviving the "Advanced Breakthrough Aero Truck" hybrid pickup concept. This vehicle was originally unveiled three years ago, also at the NAIAS.

Toyota has been planning an onslaught of Prius models for the…