prius

Toyota’s yet-to-be-unveiled 2010 Prius will have a bigger engine and a higher top speed, but improvements to CO2 emissions and fuel efficiency will take a backseat. While the company has plans for a hyper-efficient plug-in version of the Prius by 2011, the standard model will make relatively few upgrades to its environmentally-friendly features. “It will be cleaner, with CO2 emissions below 100gm per kilometer,” said Miguel Fonseca, a Toyota managing director. “We could have gone lower but, instead, we have chosen to give the Prius better performance.”

They are testing their Toyota PHEVs with the help of their employees in a real urban environment. They have already built a charger infrastructure and a method for charging the users’ pockets, incorporated in the vehicle’s software.

Last month some Car & Driver spy photos indicated that Honda would be building a hybrid-only car that looked almost exactly like the Prius. Today, Honda confirmed that those spy photos were genuine. At a starting price of $18,500, the clone aspect may not matter.

In order to recoup the premium paid to own a hybrid rather than a regular gas sipper (think Prius vs. Yaris), you'd have to drive roughly 500,000 miles.

Help rank a list of the 10 best bang-for-your-buck fuel efficient vehicles based on price, fuel economy, safety, reliability and enjoyment.

The Top Gear crew pits the Toyota Prius against the new 2008 BMW M3...in a fuel efficiency test. Which car boasts the highest miles per gallon rating? Hybrid or race car? The answer will surprise you...

The story is not new, but I had to say my opinion on it. Toyota Motor Corp. announced that it will introduce an air conditioning system based on solar energy to the new Prius models next year. General Motors (GM), on the other hand, will launch the small environment-friendly Chevrolet Beat.

An update on 2011 Toyota Prius.

Very cool! Toyota will start putting solar panels on their Prius!

Toyota’s next generation Prius, due out as early as next spring, will be outfitted with solar panels to help run the on-board electronics.

An update on design and efficiency of Toyota Prius 2010.

A nice car gas saving tips written with unique style

I was disgusted this morning to see the “news” on yahoo’s main page, with the headline of “Most dangerous kind of car on the road?” and “These cars are invisible.” Here's a little debunking for you.

A team at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have revealed a potential revolution in hydrogen cars, after driving 650 miles on one tank of liquid hydrogen - a new world record.

Toyota has announced that they have a very good problem: they are selling so many hybrid vehicles that they can barely keep up with the demand for the batteries that go in them.

Japan can marker, Toyota, announced today that the company will introduce a plug-in hybrid vehicle by 2010. This will further help consumers cut their carbon footprint and fight global warming. This announcement was part of a further emphasis on developing Toyota’s ‘green’ strategy.

Honda has a relative dearth of hybrid cars. They recently discontinued their hybrid Accord due to low sales and the Insight is a hindsight to them. 2009 will mark a change with the introduction of a new line of hybrid vehincles.

Its interesting to look at todays toys and products and to think what came before them? What was it that paved the way for this to become the dominant product it is today? For example: when you look at the computer, what came before the computer that helped the computer become what it is today? A simple and broad answer, and not necessarily 100% accurate, could be the calculator. Not exactly the best answer, but you see what I am trying to get at. So what about the car industry, what car is making the future of cars a little more exciting?

The Hymotion by A123Systems is a PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) module that has just rolled out that will enable Toyota Prius owners to achieve 100 mpg.

The new prototype has been presented at the Detroit Auto Show this year. They want you to travel about 600 miles on a four gallon fuel tank. That is approximately 100mpg, something that has never been done before with fuel.

As usual, Google is at the forefront of, well, everything. But this one is a little surprising: their philanthropic branch, Google.org, is putting $10 million into plug-in electric hybrid research and real-world testing.

Lauren Keith muses on the confluence of religion and environmentalism, alongside a tongue-in-cheek summary of the Green Commandments.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory found that nighttime charging of plug-in hybrids would not increase electricity demand over baseline levels. But if owners charge their vehicles during the day, it could require the construction of 160 new power plants.

Not everyone is waiting until 2010 to get their first plug-in hybrid. As I reported previously, Hybrids Plus out of Boulder, CO, is offering conversions for the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape hybrids, turning them into 100 MPG+ superstars. Check them out...

55 MPG isn’t good enough for you? Then try adding a plug to your hybrid.

The electric-car company ZAP, in conjunction with Hybrids Plus, has announced it will offer $24,000 plug-in hybrid conversions for the Toyota Prius and the Ford Escape Hybrid.

Representative Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) is interviewed about peak oil, constraints to US energy supply and the series of Special Order speeches he has delivered on the subject.

Hertz is the first rental car company in the world to offer hydrogen vehicles to its customers in the North Atlantic.

Feel-good measures like buying a hybrid car, switching to CFLs and even Wal-Mart touting energy efficiency are important, valuable steps in the race to protect the environment. But guess how many new (planned) coal plants would counter those? One or two... So what are people who care to do?

Manufacturers are aware of the problem but have made no pledges yet. Toyota is studying the issue internally, said Bill Kwong, a spokesman for Toyota Motor Sales USA.

Trying to improve your gas mileage? Use biodiesel? Or just want to save a buck?
With all the hoopla around different fuel and vehicle choices these days, it’s easy to be confused. Hybrids? Diesels? Biofuels?
Which one of these choices is actually best for you? While there isn’t necessarily a clear winner in terms of environmental friendliness, each option has some particular pros and cons. Want to kick the oil habit? Here are some options...