Ten years and 1 million cars ago, Toyota launched a boxy and unlikely entry into the American car market. A high-tech gas-electric hybrid called the Prius.

AP

The Toyota Prius is one of the more popular hybrid models.

It introduced novel technologies such as regenerative braking (which recycles the energy of stopping through batteries that power an electric motor). And it had the audacity to turn its motor off at stop lights and while waiting in drive-throughs.

Considered the Macintosh of cars, it was green, trendy, easy-to-use — and not what the country wanted. Americans chose trucks, SUVs, Hummers and fancy European luxury imports over compact cars of any make.

But even in Texas, a state where stock car racing has often been regarded as a devotional sport, something odd began to happen. As gas prices, global warming and a general greening of the culture took place, the Lone Star State drivers began to look at a different breed of car.

For instance, take Larry Walters, an engineer at Johnson Space Center. By day, this Friendswood resident works on designing the next-generation crew vehicle that will carry astronauts back to the moon and, eventually, NASA plans, to Mars. For his commute to the Space Center, he drove a 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse sports car. It was a masculine machine with strong, sporty lines — which he recently exchanged for a new Toyota Prius.

“The Eclipse had a convertible top, was pretty much a two-seater, and got about 18 miles per gallon,” he said. “The Prius is getting about 45 mpg, and that allows us to go to Dallas (to visit relatives) again affordably.”

He noted that both the planned spacecraft and his hybrid boast a global positioning system and include “small cabins.” Otherwise, he said, there is no observable overlap between the cutting-edge technologies of future spaceship and hybrid car.

Most Prius owners are not rocket scientists, of course. In fact, many of them seem to have misunderstood the technology of its gas-electric system to an unprecedented extent.

Local dealer Star Toyota said it was not uncommon to have Prius models towed in for service because they had stopped in the middle of the road.

Star’s sales manager, Isidoro Sisneros, said he explained to the new owners that there was nothing wrong with the cars; the drivers had simply bypassed one too many gas stations.

He said the new owners assume the car will run on batteries even it the tank is empty. But that’s not the intent of its designers.

“You can sometimes do it,” Sisneros said. “But only for about a mile-and-a-half.”

The increased popularity of the vehicle means that you can’t walk into a Galveston County dealership and drive out in a Prius hybrid these days — or order one ready-made on the Internet.

In fact, you’ll pay a $1,000 premium or more over-list to pick from a slim stock of used models. The demand is that great.

Getting a new one these days involves being the first to answer the phone when the salesperson on that day’s rotation calls through his long list after a car is delivered from the factory.

Still, one man beat the system using plain ole dogged persistence.

Salesmen at the mainland dealership tell a tale concerning an older gentleman who spent several days in their show room, determined to drive out in a Prius.

Star’s sales staff said at the beginning of his long, on-site wait, this elderly man told them, “I want to get a Prius before I die.”

The Daily News tracked down Korean War veteran William G. Johnson, who lives in Beaumont. He confirmed he did put in several days at the League City Toyota outlet in order to secure his new Prius.

“I have a beautiful Cadillac Sedan Deville, an ’89 with 19,000 miles on it,” Johnson, 79, said. “I chauffeured a friend’s niece to her prom in this white Cadillac. It cost me $44.11 just for gasoline.”

Johnson, who makes regular visits to Houston’s Veterans Administration Hospital for treatment, said he knew he wanted a more fuel-efficient car, but none of the local dealers were taking orders for hybrids.

“It was first-come, first-served. So I arrived Friday at 7:45 a.m. A blue Prius came in, but it was for someone else.

“I stayed the whole day and read a nice book in their coffee shop area,” he explained. “My friend, Rick, brought me lunch, and I stayed until closing. Then, I arrived Saturday morning at 11 minutes after six.”

Johnson said he sat in a folding chair in front of the show room doors until Star employees opened up for the day. But by then, he wasn’t alone. At 7:30 a.m., a couple arrived to join the impromptu sit-in for hybrid technology.

“They looked pretty disappointed to see me sitting there,” Johnson said.

But when the car carrier arrived later that weekend, it bore two Prius models. Johnson chose the “Alpine Green” one, leaving the blue one to the local pair.

Toyota explains that it can’t produce enough of the specialized nickel-metal hydride batteries the Prius requires. The shift in the domestic car market has left them bottlenecked and unable to meet demand, but perhaps not for long.

Reports published last week in both Japanese and U.S. trade publications indicate that the 2009 Prius will add solar cells (for powering its air conditioner) as a third energy source. No covered parking, please.

And Toyota has announced plans to convert a Tundra SUV plant in Tennessee to full Prius production to accommodate the U.S. market’s suddenly insatiable demand for its odd-shaped, but highly efficient automobile.

A number of the faithful hybrid owners are also looking forward to the promise of a third-party aftermarket kit that promises to turn the Prius into an all-electric ride.

Until then, local owners will probably need no further reminders that current hybrid cars still need an occasional fill-up of old-fashioned gasoline.