PriusChatter NGNeer, a member so new he still has that new-registration smell, was perusing Toyota's owner site the other day and discovered that Toyota has accidentally posted the full 552-page Owner's Manual a bit early. I took a few minutes to read through the 500+ pages and with the help of our community members in the Prius c forum, here is what we can gather about the standard and optional features on the Prius c:

Say hello to the new member of the Prius Family - the little brother, if you will. It's the Prius c. This video does a great job showing off its sporty looks (and pretty sweet looking wheels).

I just received word straight from Toyota's mouth about the upcoming Prius c, which will be officially revealed as the Aqua in Japan this week at the Tokyo Auto Show. The Prius c looks like it will bring MPG numbers that break past the 50 MPG number in the city, lots of technology that we've come to expect in the Prius line-up, and some funky colors.

PriusChat is proud to announce partnerships with a select group of Toyota dealerships across the country to launch the PriusChat Certified Dealer Program. This program is launching with the Prius Plug-in to ensure a great price and buying experience for PriusChat members.

PriusChat Certified Dealer Program | PriusChat

The program consists of the following benefits for PriusChatters:

Did you miss the show during our end-of-summer hiatus? Good! This week on the PriusChat Show we are lucky enough to sit down and have an in-depth conversation with Toyota’s Prius Team, Doug Coleman and Erica Gartsbeyn. Doug is unfortunately moving from the Prius Team to another product within Toyota, so this interview covers a wide range of topics including Doug’s highest and lowest moments with the Prius.

We also talk with Erica about the future of the Prius Team and whether Toyota will continue to participate on PriusChat after the shake-up.

Remember about a year ago when we picked on the Japanese market for introducing an optional artificial noisemaker accessory for the Prius? Well, now the joke's on us, my fellow Americans. All 2012 models of the Prius Family will come standard with a required noisemaker, er, "vehicle proximity notification system".

A problem beginning to plague many Prius owners is not the big Nickel Metal Hydride battery that drives the Prius' HSD system like people have been scared into believing for years. No, instead it's the 12V battery - the one that actually starts the car and runs all of the accessories - that is starting to die on many Prius owners.

We brought you many of the details last month, but now Toyota has officially released information about all of the enhancements and changes being made to the 2012 Prius. Called a mid-cycle refresh, the 2012 Prius is getting a suite of new infotainment systems, and both exterior and interior changes. After seeing the refresh in person this past weekend at Green Drive Expo, I can report that Toyota made some great changes to keep the exterior of the Prius up to date and in-tune with the "tech" crowd's demands.

Here is the full press release from Toyota:

We just got our grubby hands on 51 official photos of the 2012 Prius mid-cycle refresh. Many of the details we scooped back in late August are on display in the photos below. We also have a press release from Toyota Europe on the changes coming for the 2012 model down at the bottom of this post. Keep in mind that this is specific to the European market, so the US may not see all of these new features. We should have official US information at a press event later this week.