O'Brien Toyota Scion

Everyone knows that hybrid vehicles are key in lowering our environmental impact. Most consumers, however, probably don't realize that electric motors employ rare earth metals like neodymium and dysprosium. In order to continue the production of class-leading hybrid models like the Toyota Prius without using up Mother Nature's precious materials, Toyota has been developing a new kind of electric motor.

For an automaker, there's nothing better than pushing production ahead of schedule. This is especially so when said automaker has faced a handful of difficult external challenges. If you didn't already guess, the "said automaker" we're referring to, of course, is Toyota.