Lotus Adds Some Sound into Hybrids and All-Electric Vehicles

Electric and hybrid vehicles (when running on electric power only) have recently come in for heavy criticism from blind and partially sighted people due to the almost silent operation of the electric engine that puts them at risk as they cannot hear the vehicles approaching. To deal with this problem, Lotus has developed a system that emulates the sound of a real engine based on the vehicles speed and throttle position. -Continued

The Lotus ‘Safe & Sound’ Hybrid technology demonstrator uses a standard Toyota Prius fitted with a waterproof loudspeaker system positioned adjacent to the radiator allowing the sound to emanate from the front of the vehicle. The system is completely automatic stopping the external synthesis once the gasoline motor kicks in. When the powertrain control system switches the car back to running on the electric motor only, the synthesis controller instantaneously sets the system running again.

Toyota to Build Prius in the U.S. from 2010, Tundra & Sequoia Production Suspended

Changes in consumer demand in the U.S. have "forced" Toyota to take the decision to build the Prius in the U.S. at a new plant under construction in Blue Springs, Mississippi. Toyota said that production is scheduled to begin in late 2010, meaning that the Japanese carmaker is referring to the third generation Prius that is due out next year as a 2010 model. Currently, the Prius is manufactured in Japan and China.

Toyota’s decision to build the Prius in Mississippi has also led to the adjustment of the Japanese automaker’s production mix at three U.S. plants. The Highlander mid-size SUV, originally scheduled to be built in Mississippi, will now be manufactured in Princeton, Indiana, beginning in fall 2009 while production of the Tundra full-size pick-up truck, currently built in Indiana and Texas, will be consolidated at the San Antonio plant in Spring 2009. -Continued

Moreover, Toyota announced that it will temporarily suspend Tundra and Sequoia production beginning August 8 due to the declining overall market for full size trucks and SUVs. Production is scheduled to resume in early November. Fortunately, Toyota said that team members at both facilities, as well as the Huntsville, Ala. plant that builds Tundra and Sequoia engines, will continue to be provided work.

"The truck market continues to worsen, so unfortunately we must temporarily suspend production. But this good news about production mix demonstrates our long-term commitment to our North American operations and to our team members, supplier partners, and communities where our plants are located," said Jim Wiseman, vice president/external affairs for Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America (TEMA). "By using this downturn as an opportunity to develop team members and improve our operations, we hope to emerge even stronger."

Used Toyota Prius cars Selling for Over $35,000! How Stupid is that?

The same market that rightfully shunned large SUVs and pickup trucks in a blink of an eye as soon as gas prices surpassed the $3.50 a gallon mark has made hybrid cars so popular, that in many cases dealers/private sellers are asking over 35 grand for a used Toyota Prius as the Japanese carmaker cannot satisfy the demand. If you head over to Toyota’s official website, a brand new fully equipped Prius Touring has an MSRP of $23,770…

For the record, we checked out used Prius prices on Autotrader, Cars.com and Craigslist. Surprisingly, there were hundreds of cars priced thousands of dollars over Toyota’s official MSRP. Of course, private sellers and used car lots can ask whatever they want, but it’s up to you to decide what you’re willing to pay for it. In our opinion it’s totally not worth it and we’ll tell you why. -Continued

If you want to save money, just go buy a normal compact car. For example, a similarly sized all-new Toyota Corolla XLE sedan with an automatic gearbox has an MSRP of $17,550 (the base model costs $15,250). According to the fueleconomy.gov site, if you drive an average of 15,000 miles a year (based on 45% highway, 55% city) with a fuel price of $ 4.08 per gallon, the Corolla will cost you $2,038 annually while a Prius, $1,328.

If you chose the Prius, then in 5 years you’ll have theoretically saved $3,550. That’s still not enough to cover the price difference between the official MSRP of the two cars which is $6,220, let alone the spiked prices dealers are asking for a… used Prius.

Heck, even if in the unrealistic scenario that gas prices in the U.S. skyrocket to $7 a gallon tomorrow morning (knock on wood), do the math and you’ll see that in five years, a Prius driver will have theoretically saved $6,090 in gas costs over a Corolla buyer. That still leaves the Corolla owner with $110 surplus.

Toyota Reportedly in Talks with GM for Production of Prius in California

Citing unnamed inside sources, daily Japanese newspaper “Tokyo Shimbun” reported today that Toyota and GM are in talks about producing the Prius, now made in only Japan and China, at their joint venture plant in Fremont, California. The report said that Toyota’s is planning to export the main components of the Prius from Japan and assembling the hybrid car at the Californian plant.

Asked about the report, Toyota said that it hasn’t made any final decisions yet. “Nothing has been decided on production of Prius at the joint venture New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., even though Toyota is always seeking ways to build the most appropriate production system," said Toyota's spokesperson

Video Fuel Economy Test: Prius vs Jetta Diesel vs Smart vs Focus

The lads over at Edmunds organized a “mini” fuel economy marathon by comparing some of the most gas efficient cars available in the North American market: the 2008 Toyota Prius 1.5 Hybrid, the 2005 VW Jetta 2.0 TDI Diesel, the 2008 Smart Fortwo 1.0 and the 2008 Ford Focuse SES Coupe 2.0. The smackdown included tests on the highway and in the city along with measuring the cars’ CO2 footprint. Check out the video after the jump. –Continued

Via: Edmunds

Toyota Prius Worldwide Sales Top 1 Million Mark

What started out as a niche green car when Toyota unveiled the first generation Prius in 1997 has become a huge success with Toyota announcing that cumulative sales have passed the 1 million mark, with approximately 1,028,000 units sold as of the end of April, 2008.

The model that created all the hybrid buzz was launched in Japan in 1997 and began selling in Europe, North America and other markets in 2000. In 2003, the Japanese carmaker introduced the current, second-generation Prius. Two years later, Toyota began first overseas production of the Prius in Changchun, China. -Continued

Toyota says that Prius vehicles worldwide have contributed to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions by producing approximately 4.5 million tons less CO2 when compared with gasoline-powered vehicles in the same class and of similar size and driving performance.

Of the 1,028,000 Prius sales worldwide, 591,600 were sold in North America and 315,000 in Japan and 100,700 in Europe Toyota said.

Toyota Prius Hybrid Sells Like Crazy as Fuel Prices Spike

Have you tried to find a new Prius at a Toyota dealership lately? Well we did this past Sunday when we went car-scouting for a friend. We paid a visit to Toyota Westborough in Massachusetts and listen to this; not only is there a one month waiting period to get the compact hybrid (once you pay the $1,000 deposit) but the dealer didn’t even have a single Prius in the lot for us to see, let alone drive!

The same goes for most Toyota dealers across the U.S. as Prius inventories are limited by production capacity in Japan, which must be shared with Asia and Europe. Talking about the problem, John Hanson, a Toyota spokesman in Torrance, California, told Bloomberg, “This is a special vehicle, and as fuel prices keep rising, it gets more special. Rght now, U.S. customers can get a Prius. Next month or the month after that, it's tough to say”.

Toyota Prius Convertible: The Sky is Green

Well, the sky is actually blue -for the time being- but after seeing these pictures of Newport Convertible Engineering’s (NCE) drop-top conversion of the Toyota Prius Hybrid our eyes are aching so much that we nearly went color-blind.

The California-based speciality tuner’s proposition brings to mind those horrid BMW E30/E36 3-Series Bauer conversions of the late 1980’s – early 1990’s with its intrusive, but nevertheless necessary, roll bar and chopped window frames. If you can take it, there are more pictures after the jump.

Via: Winding Road

Toyota Prius, Peugeot 206, Daewoo Matiz Three-Wheeler Chinese Clones!

Chinese carmakers are just unbelievable! Following a whole bunch of four-wheel knockoffs like the Toyota RAV, Fiat Panda, Scion, BMW X5, Smart Fortwo and MINI Cooper clones, now some Chinese carmaker has launched a series of three-wheelers that shamelessly imitate the looks of a Toyota Prius, a Daewoo Matiz (Chevrolet in Europe) and a Peugeot 206!!! Seriously now; wouldn’t it be great if these guys could just concentrate in using use their vivid imagination to create uniquely designed products? –Continued after the jump


Via: Autoblog.it & Chinacartimes

Toyota Prius Stretch Limo!

Is this one… happy Toyota Prius or what! Created by a Canadian in Canada –don’t laugh, we’ve seen Canadians in other places too, the custom made Prius hybrid Limo is equipped with six doors and it can accommodate 10 passengers in its interior. Follow the jump to see the work that was done in order to transformer the Prius into a stretch limo. -Continued

Via: Le Blog Auto

Toyota Prius Loosing Out In the "Green" Game To Conventional Cars - Or They Say

A new study conducted by researchers at Cardiff University and Clifford Thames finds that the Prius isn’t the greenest of them all. But how did they come to this conclusion? Well, Cardiff University and Clifford Thames researchers devised an environmental rating system for vehicles (ERV) which takes into account cars’ overall environmental footprint (including raw materials, production and end-of-life costs - based on their length, width and weight).

According to the study, in terms of high-volume "city" cars, the Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo are among the best, with ERV scores exceeding that of the Toyota Prius hybrid. Someone might point out that the Prius is a C-segment vehicle so the comparison is unjust. True, but Richard Barber, Clifford Thames Strategy and Business Development director believes that conventional petrol and diesel cars will quickly outpace Toyota’s Prius on environmental friendliness. -Continued after the jump

"While the Prius is presently the best among vehicles its size, we are seeing advances in traditional powertrain technology that will help other vehicles close the gap or even leapfrog existing hybrid solutions", said Barber.

Even though I’m not much of a Prius fan, I’ll have to disagree with Mr. Barber for the simple reason that the Prius uses multiple propulsion systems to provide power. In other words, the Prius combines a gasoline engine and an electric motor. Therefore, all Toyota needs to do is add a more frugal and environmentally friendly gasoline engine, and it will furthermore increase the distance from its competitors

Links: Cardiff University & Clifford Thames

Brit pays 65.000 USD for a custom-made Toyota Prius!

That’s about 47.600 EUR or 32.900 GBP, meaning that this guy paid a 63% premium over the retail price of a fully loaded Toyota Prius in the UK which costs 20.082 GBP (40.164 USD or 29.400 EUR)! So, you’re wondering what the heck this Brit did to get the price up so high. Well, for starters, Jemca Toyota in north London prepared the one-off Prius, recruiting specialist suppliers and trimmers to meet his specific requirements. Jemca Toyota resprayed the car in Brechin Slate, a metallic finish that is usually reserved for Lexus models while the interior was reupholstered in hand-stitched leather and a set of polished steel Fox RS3 rims took their place on the cars tires.

And yes, we had the same dorky expression on our face like you’re having right now; a paintjob, a leatherjob and a set of alloys for 25.000 USD? Oh, boy was he ripped off… -More high-res pics after the jump

Technorati: Toyota+Prius, Tuning, auto+news, car+news, automobile, cars, automotive, vehicles, Carscoop, blogs, 2007

Worldwide Toyota Prius Sales Top 500,000 Mark

TOYOTA announced today that worldwide cumulative sales of the Toyota Prius, the world’s first mass-produced hybrid vehicle, have passed the half-million mark, with 504,700 units having been sold by the end of April this year.

Toyota launched the Prius in 1997 in Japan and started selling it overseas, such as in North America and Europe, in 2000. The second-generation Prius, equipped with the Toyota Hybrid System II, was introduced in 2003 with an emphasis on delivering both eco-friendliness and driving performance. It has been enjoying good sales both in Japan and overseas, especially in North America.

The Prius is now being made outside Japan for the first time, with production for the Chinese market starting in Changchun, China in December

Overall cumulative worldwide sales of Toyota (including Lexus) hybrid vehicles passed the 600,000 mark at the end of March this year. Toyota regards hybrid systems as representing a key technology for the 21st century and has been endeavoring to promote their greater use. Capitalizing on the high applicability of hybrid systems, Toyota aims to widen its hybrid vehicle lineup.

PRIUS	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	Apr 2006	Total
Japan	0.3	17.7	15.2	12.5	11.0	6.7	17.0	59.8	43.7	11.2	195.1
Overseas	-	-	-	6.5	18.5	21.4	26.1	66.0	131.5	39.7	309.6
Total Sales	0.3	17.7	15.2	19.0	29.5	28.1	43.1	125.8	175.2	50.9	504.7

*One Unit = 1.000 vehicles
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