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This is the Toyota Le Mans prototype pulling out of the pits in hybrid mode before then exploding with a mighty V8 roar. It might sound like something out of Star Wars but it's the future of racing. More »
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If you're like us, the 2010 Toyota Prius has as much appeal as acid eyewash, but today Toyota's teasing a new, smaller, more lime-green (two-door perhaps?) mini-Prius dedicated-hybrid concept ahead of a 2010 Detroit Auto Show reveal. More »
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With the 2010 Toyota Prius moving to the mid-size category and the 2010 Honda Insight undercutting it on price, it's logical a new compact Toyota hybrid is in the works for late 2011. Reuters has the details. [Reuters] More »
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The 2010 Toyota Prius has just been unveiled. The big story is, despite coming with a larger 1.8-liter engine, fuel economy's jumped from 46 MPG to 50 MPG. How? More »
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Even mighty Toyota is feeling the pinch of the self-fulfilling prophecy that is the disintegration of the economy, with rumors surfacing production of the 2010 Toyota Prius in the Tupelo, Mississippi plant will be delayed. That'll keep all Prius production in Japan for the time being. Demand for the gas-thrifty hybrids has fallen as fuel prices have plummeted to sub-$2.00 levels, leaving dealers sitting on a healthy but still enviable 21 day supply. This could also be a reconsideration of strategy, since the dollar has strengthened and a collapse of any of the big three could be a deathblow to some shared domestic parts suppliers, leaving the Prius high and dry with an otherwise profitable assembly line. We'll keep our eyes out for movement back to Tupelo, but don't expect it to come anytime soon. More »
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Midafternoon last Wednesday, Top Gear USA host Eric Stromer's Toyota Camry Hybrid flipped after being hit from behind while traveling through the streets of Hollywood. The blow slid the car up onto a curb and the car rolled up onto it's passenger side. A decidedly stoic palm tree put a stop to the proceedings although no air bags whatsoever were deployed. More »
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Toyota, teaming up with EDF Energy, begins road trials today of the first plug-in hybrid vehicle in the UK. The trials will give Toyota real-world driving test data on its PHEV, while EDF will get to test its public charging stations, 40 of which have already been installed throughout the country — as well as provide yet another marketing win for the automaker by making them the first major manufacturer to test plug-ins in the UK. Plug-in test cars will be given to EDF employees to drive in the company fleet, ensuring the vehicles will get the crap beaten out of them and that any major problems can be discreetly rectified by the partner organizations. Full release after the jump. More »
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According to Toyota's Open Road blog, Magnussen’s Toyota in Palo Alto, California was "doing what Toyota encourages its dealers to do:" Take customers' money. The Silicon Valley dealership had apparently been deluged with requests for a plug-in Prius hybrid; knowing Toyota was working on such a vehicle, Magnussen's decided to take "deposits" for plug-in Prii, despite the fact that Toyota had not yet announced any timetable for retail sales. Irv Miller, Toyota VP of Corporate Communications, then attempted to spin away Magnussen's shady business practices as a simple case of a dealer trying to make its customers happy. Some choice quotes after the jump. More »
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A next-generation 2010 Toyota Prius was snapped in full camo regalia filling up at a gas station. So what can we tell? Mainly that the Prius' has totally ripped off the styling of the new Honda Hybrid, differentiating their design with the addition of a small spoiler on the rear. Reports state, and these pictures seem to confirm, that the main visual changes to the 2010 Prius will be on the interior, with a much more integrated cockpit design taking the place of the tacked-on bins-'n-pods look of the current car. You can get your helping of hybrid smug — made-in-America by 2011, no less — midway through 2009, the tentative date for the Toyota vs. Honda hybrid battle royale! [Drive.com.au] More »
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With all the talk about alternative powertrains and who has the most hybrids, one statistic stands out: It's been more than five years since the second-generation Toyota Prius hit showrooms, marking the most recent new vehicle to have been designed only as a hybrid. And, as hybridcars.com reports, that's a huge challenge for Honda as it prepares to introduce its new Honda hybrid Prius-fighter. Not only does the new car need impeccable aerodynamics and the ability to seat five, but it also needs to be easily distinguished as a hybrid, yet instantly identifiable as a Honda and not a Prius. More »
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Honda has been diligently working on its Toyota Prius-fighter, a dedicated Honda hybrid expected to go on sale early in 2009. But they recently pulled out the trump card in this battle royal — a starting price of just $18,500. The five-door, five-passenger hybrid-only car will get to that low, low price point by using a greatly simplified — and 50% cheaper — version of its Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system. Seems the mileage wars are really starting to heat up. More »
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The super-best number one awesome automaker from the land of the rising sun is planning to flood the world with smug, cranking up output of its gas-electric Prius Hybrid 70% by the end of next year, according to the Nikkan Kogyo industry daily. If Toyota achieves its goal, annual Prius output would be somewhere north of 480,000 units. We don't question their ability to succeed, but will battery and hybrid electronics suppliers be able to keep up with Toyota's ambitions? More »
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A recent report in the Windsor Star claims the cars Chrysler plans to hybridize by 2013...will be minivans. On top of that, they're even looking at a diesel version of the soccer mom-mobiles, with both to be built at the company's Windsor, Ontario plant. More »
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Toyota appears to be starting the expectations-management game for its upcoming plug-in hybrid vehicles after being stung in the past by complaints from Prius owners of lower-than-advertised mileage. Bill Reinert, national manager of Toyota U.S.A's advanced technology group, yesterday told a Brookings Institution/Google conference panel, "when we see the (claims of) 100 mile-per-gallon stuff, not everybody's going to get 100 miles per gallon." Mark "The Mullet" Fields, Ford Motor Co. president for the Americas, made what we think was the most important point to be made at the conference — that plug-ins need to be a "national priority." However, that message was lost when he next asked for a government handout, saying "significant government funding is needed for development of domestic production of advanced batteries and for retooling of plants." Sorry Mark, John McCain doesn't have any money to hand out yet — even if your battery can go 100 miles per charge. More »
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The Japanese government (who didn't have anything to do with Prius development) has given approval for domestic market leasing of Toyotas newest fuel cell hybrid, the FCHV-adv. We don't know if our assumed graphic update properly represents the new look of the updated FCHV, but the updated goodies under hood and better regenerative braking gives the new zero-emissions Highlander a total range of 516 miles. Wait, that's actually pretty damn impressive. Where do we sign up for the sports car version? [ Yahoo News] More »
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