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The next generation of Toyota’s popular Prius hybrid has made its first official appearance at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. After more than a year of rumors and spy photos, and a long series of press releases from Toyota offering hints about the car, we can bring you the official details.

The answer to the number one question Prius fans have been asking is: 50.

The 2010 Prius, according to Toyota, has a combined mileage rating of 50 mpg. It’s not the 94 mpg some early rumors had suggested, but it beats anything else found in a major automaker’s showroom.

Autoblog Green reports, “The new Prius has three driving modes: Eco, EV-Drive and Power. The EV Drive isn’t anything new – if you have a Japanese Prius. A first for the U.S., the Eco mode allows battery-only operation ‘at low speeds for about a mile, if conditions permit.’ This is still the nickel-metal battery pack, after all. The other modes should be fairly obvious, with Eco providing the best mileage and the Power giving the car a ‘sportier feel.’”

Edmunds Inside Line adds, “The 2010 Prius gets a larger and more powerful 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine that is paired with the hybrid system. It replaces the previous 1.5-liter unit. Output is boosted by 22 horses to 98 horsepower, with a torque increase of 23 pound-feet to 105 lb-ft over the 2009 model. Toyota said it cut more than a second from the Prius’ 0-60-mph time – to 9.8 seconds. ‘Contrary to conventional wisdom, the larger engine actually helps improve highway mileage,’ Toyota said in a statement.”

The new car is larger than the one it replaces – longer and wider, but no taller. A press release carried by Jalopnik notes, “the roof profile is altered by moving the top of the roof 3.9 inches to the rear. This emphasizes the wedge shape, and also allows for enhanced rear headroom and improved aerodynamics.”

The second-generation Prius, the one you see on the road today, put the phrase “coefficient of drag” in to the vocabulary of millions of car enthusiasts. The term refers to a measure of a car’s aerodynamic profile, and the previous Prius’ Cd was the lowest ever seen in a car, at 0.26. The new Prius, according to Jalopnik, measures a 0.25, providing a slight boost in fuel economy and something else for nerds to brag about.

Finally, rumors of a solar panel roof have been confirmed, though the truth is perhaps a bit disappointing to those who hoped for a solar-powered car. Kicking Tires explains, “The new Prius will have an optional moonroof with solar cells embedded into it. However, the solar cells will only power a ventilation system that keeps the car cool when parked and turned off. The theory is that it takes exponentially more power to cool down a car for every degree hotter it gets, so this should cut down on those gas-sucking A/C blasts on a sunny day.”

Pricing has not been revealed, but with the new, low-cost Honda Insight on its heels, Toyota is under some pressure to keep the price reasonable. We’ll report it as soon as we see it.

Rocked by slow sales, the automakers have all opened 2009 with aggressive price discounts. Research January’s Best Car Deals with U.S. News’ car Rankings and Reviews.