Toyota Motor Corp. will double its production of hybrid vehicles to 1 million units by 2011.
Currently, Toyota is the leader in low-emission vehicles with more than 10 hybrid models in its lineup. The car maker produced 500,000 hybrid units in 2009; 8-percent of its overall production. It’s planning for 800,000 hybrids this year alone and 1.1 million come 2012. Read the rest of this entry »
Today at the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota, in conjunction with its Gazoo Racing development team, launched the GRMN Sports Hybrid concept car (that last link is to a Japanese page that is translated with Google translate… some of the translation is a really good laugh).
Reportedly, the car is based on the outgoing MR2 platform and packs a serious punch by combining a 3.3 liter V6 to drive the rear wheels and an electric motor to power the front wheels using the company’s THSII hybrid system. The 4WD sports car develops 392 horsepower and apparently can go from 0-60 in under 4.5 seconds. Not only that, Autocar UK is reporting that the car has the ability to drive in electric vehicle mode in the city.
If you’re going to deliver half the world’s mail, you might as well do it with fuel-efficient vehicles, and, of course, deliver it on foot in as many communities around the country as you can.
While stymied by financial losses ($3.8 billion in 2008), the US Postal Service continues to commit resources and practice innovation when it comes to adopting fuel efficient delivery vehicles. After all, they had an all-electric delivery vehicle on the road – in 1899 (manufactured by the Winton Company).
Today, three-wheel electric vehicles, called T3s (seen to the left), are being tested as possible replacements for traditional gasoline delivery vehicles in Florida, California, Texas and Arizona. The T3 has a range of 40 miles, a maximum speed of 12 mph and a load capacity of 450 pounds. Powered by two rechargeable modules, the T3 has zero tailpipe emissions and costs 4 cents a mile to operate.
Honda has taken the wraps off the final production version of the 2011 CR-Z hybrid sports car that will start hitting U.S. dealer showrooms in late summer of this year. The car has held on to many of the styling aspects that gave the concept versions a sleek modern look while clearly harkening back to the beloved original Honda CR-X.
A study came out today saying that electric cars–both battery electric and plug-in hybrids–would make up as much as 16-percent of new car sales in New York City come 2015. That’s roughly 70,000 vehicles.
But what’s driving these EV sales? Governments are expected to impose higher restrictions on CO2 emissions, for one. Plus, subsidies and tax benefits for EVs are expected to increase. Read the rest of this entry »
As hinted at for the last few months, Toyota has today debuted a smaller sibling to the Prius at the Detroit Auto Show. According to a statement from Toyota, the FT-CH (CH=compact hybrid) is “designed to target a lower price point than the Prius, thus appealing to a younger, less-affluent buyer demographic.”
Translation: “This car is for you, you poor recent college graduate… who, due to the econopocalypse, settled for a job making half of what you expected to… who would buy a Prius if your parents weren’t driving one and would lend you $23K.” Oh come on, you know you want one. The FT-CH is… dare I say it… cool.
Hell, I want one… but mostly because I’m a cheap skate. Actually, I’m still positive my next car will be a plug-in, but even so, I’m having just a little bit of FT-CH lust. I might honestly be having way more FT-CH lust if the simple act of even writing that horrendous name wasn’t enough to put ice in my loins.
Rack another one up for the Blue Oval.
After ending 2009 on a high note, and with their hybrid sales up 147% from the year before, the Blue Oval started 2010 off with a bang. Today, at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, the Ford Fusion Hybrid was gifted with the Car of the Year award, and the Transit Connect, Ford’s new compact transport van walked away with Truck of the Year honors.
Ford beat out Chevy, Volkswagen, and Subaru to take home the awards. And why not? This is the strongest lineup Ford has had since the original Taurus debuted, and it only gets better from here.
The Detroit Auto Show starts on Monday and runs til the 24th of this month. Along with the EcoXperience returning to the show’s basement, a new display called Electric Avenue will premier. The “avenue” will be an orgy of electric cars ranging from the Nissan LEAF to X Prize alumni.
Toyota will unveil a new dedicated hybrid at the Detroit show on Monday. Pictured above is Toyota’s Hybrid X concept from a few years ago. Rumors say the new model is just a hybrid version of the Yaris, but Toyota claims it’s a brand new model all together.
Teaser image of the baby Prius concept Toyota plans to introduce in Detroit next week.
At next weeks Detroit show Toyota will reportedly debut a baby Prius, a subcompact version of the Prius hybrid that comprises 75% of Toyota’s hybrid sales.
Up till now, Toyota’s additional hybrid sales have been split between an assortment of bigger and frumpier hybrids like the Highlander, or the luxury hybrids in the Lexus line. But all seven of those models together only account for the remaining 25% of sales.
So, perhaps wisely, the company is changing direction. Read the rest of this entry »
This has been the worst year Toyota has ever had for recalls (4.8 million), but so far its reputation for quality seems to be weathering the storm. Even with the sudden acceleration issues, rust problems, deaths, and Toyota’s generally poor handling of it all, consumers so far seem to be willing to forgive. Granted, Toyota’s sales numbers are off by about 24% this year, but I think that largely mirrors the same declines most automakers are seeing, rather than some cognizance of quality problems on the part of the consumer.
Regardless of Toyota’s issues, certainly the Prius has remained a strong competitor in the US, with the 2010 Prius receiving good reviews and stomping the feet of the other hybrid players. The Honda Insight has been universally panned as a bad car—so it’s essentially DOA—and even though the only major competition, the Ford Fusion Hybrid, has received rave reviews—including one from yours truly—the Prius still outsells all the other hybrids combined.
Yet is Toyota’s Prius reputation on track to take a hit in the coming year with reports of brake failures starting to rise? If so, it could mark a major setback for a company apparently on track to use the luster of the Prius name to drive sales of a whole subset of dedicated hybrids as well as another, and potentially more disastrous, blemish on Toyota’s name.
As a construction industry giant, Caterpillar is best known for moving earth, and now the company seems ready to move the entire off-road vehicle and equipment sector into more sustainable technology that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and cuts reliance on fossil fuels.
With its new D7E tractor, Caterpillar is out to demonstrate that a diesel-electric hybrid tractor can save fuel and beat the performance of diesel-only equipment. If it proves a successful mix of energy-efficient power and maneuverability, the D7E could inspire other manufacturers to adopt hybrid technology for a wide range of offroad vehicles and equipment, including smaller engines that account of a significant chunk of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., such lawn mowers and ATV’s.
In many circles, the Nissan GT-R is referred to as simply “Godzilla”, and with good reason. Cranking out 480 horsepower out of a twin-turbo V6, Nissan’s halo car is a track monster and a winner of many hearts and minds. But can it ever be green?
Maybe. Rumor has it that Nissan is considering a hybrid version of the GT-R that will provide better fuel economy without sacrificing performance. Say what?
Rarely do I get at all excited about hybrids (even though I write about them often enough). But the Honda CR-Z hybrid is cool enough for me to reconsider my stance on the fuel-friendly vehicles. In a throwback to the CRX, a hot little hatch Honda made in the late 80’s and early 90’s, the CR-Z will be a two door coupe with a hybrid drivetrain that marries good looks with high fuel economy.
The CR-Z brochure has been leaked online as well as engine specifications, and it makes me want the car all the more than the concept did.
Although the Lexus booth at the 2009 LA Auto Show was rather devoid of inspiring next-gen green automotive technology, I did make a quick stop by to look at their traveling LF-Ch exhibit. The company has put together a display that’s supposed to help figure out what styling cues show attendees like best about the concept hybrid hatchback by giving them the ability to take pictures of the car and upload them to a database. It actually was one of the worst-executed interactive displays I’ve seen in a long time. Needless to say, I decided to pass up the interactivity.
But, hokey auto show displays aside, the LF-Ch concept—which made its official debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show—is actually kind of a cool looking car. And it marks a clearly new direction of thinking for Lexus; it’s the first compact hybrid concept from the automaker that’s geared towards the younger Scion crowd—reflecting a trend in the luxury market towards a smaller scale and outreach to young urbanites.
Volkswagen chose the 2009 LA Auto Show as the venue for the world debut of it’s Up! Lite concept car. Spawned as a direct cousin to the L1 two-seater unveiled in Frankfurt a several weeks ago, the Up! Lite takes that idea and makes it a bit more practical—with marginally enough room for 4 people.
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