There are quite a few articals about taxi driver Andrew Grant of Vancouver who put over 200,000 miles on a Prius with very few repairs, except for the usual oil change/tires/struts/etc...
http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=19791
Toyota corp snatched up his car for testing purposes.
-The Prius transmission is a motor.
-The brakes are mostly an alternator
-The batteries are good for 10 years+. BTW-almost all NiMH patents are now owned by Texaco.
-The small engine shuts down during extensive idling periods.