The undisputed king of all hybrid vehicles Toyota Prius is still going strong eleven years on, defending its place as the best-selling hybrid car in America.

The car recently achieved a remarkable milestone as the one millionth unit of the world’s first mass-produced hybrid car was sold in the U.S. This record adds up to Toyota’s other achievements in the world of hybrid car in the last six months that started with the announcement of worldwide Toyota Prius sales topping two million in October 2010 and overall global Toyota hybrid sales passing three million last month.

As a car, the Prius is not interesting at all. Even in terms of economy there are diesel-powered cars in Europe that do way better than this econobox. But the Prius always had one winning card and that’s celebrity endorsement. It’s become like fashionable between Hollywood superstars to own at least one Prius. This way they send out the message that they are very nice people and they care about the environment every time they appear on a talk show or something. In real life though they use Maybachs and Rolls Royces!

“Since the Prius went on sale eleven years ago not a year has gone by when it hasn’t been the number one selling hybrid vehicle in the U.S,” said Bob Carter, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager. “Prius has become synonymous with the word hybrid and as we see fuel prices starting to rise again, it has accounted for more than 60 percent of hybrid passenger car sales so far this year. Prius paved the way for hybrids and while it is still the hybrid leader in sales and fuel economy, I’m proud to say that since its introduction, 13 other auto brands have seen the benefits of hybrid technology and joined the hybrid market.”

Since it was introduced in the U.S. in 2000, Prius, when compared to the average car, has saved American consumers more than an estimated 881 million gallons of gas, $2.19 billion in fuel costs, and 12.4 million tons of CO2 emissions.