Could use a redesign

2009 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid – First Drive – Tokyo Motor Show – Popular Mechanics — Supposedly will get 80 MPG CITY!! We’ll see. At least it plugs into the wall which means you can visit friends and casually use their power to fill your car. Until they catch on, that is. In the meantime, who would say “no?”

Toyota may be the first to market with a plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) vehicle. Today, we were briefed on Toyota’s future hybrid and alternative fuel plans. And while there was no official announcement by Yoshitaka Asakura, Project General Manager of Toyota’s Hybrid Vehicle System Engineering Development Division, he mentioned that their plug-in development program was under way and that it may not wait for lithium-ion battery technology to mature.

“Toyota has the knowledge and experience with nickel metal hydride. And we have to use the battery we know best, in terms of overall performance,” said Asakura.

Tip from Doug Wolfgram.

Related link: Ed scooped this last year.




  1. MikeN says:

    Dropping CO2 emissions from cars by one third will not do much for global warming. And that’s before you offset the one-third savings by the fact that people will drive more if the cost of each mile goes down.

  2. bill says:

    I still miss my 58 VW… I think it got great mileage because I was totally poor at the time. The only thing I don;t miss is the heater/defroster in the winter in Wisconsin! ha! It did go anywhere in the snow and didn’t freeze up.

    Back to the future.

  3. Ah_Yea says:

    I personally am looking forward to the day where solar roof tiles become a bit more affordable.

    They do exist, and apparently work fairly well.
    http://tinyurl.com/hrhnv
    http://tinyurl.com/69hth2

    In my ideal world, I would have a decent electric for around town. Since I don’t have a long commute, I could get by with 60 miles on a charge with miles to spare.

    While I am gone, the solar panels charge a set of high-power lithium-ion batteries which runs the house at night and recharges the car.

    It won’t fill all my energy needs, but should fill the majority.

  4. Glenn E. says:

    Well I find it interesting that GM (and a few other automakers) all had fairly good electric models, back in the 1990s. But only for the limited California market, and only for leasing. They all refused to sell a single one of them to anyone in the US. A few foreign nations managed to pry a couple hundred vehicles away from their icy grip. Then GM dumped the whole electric car division, in favor of the Hummer. Just in time for their use in the Iraq war. How did they know?!

    The real problem with electric cars is the “quick fix” syndrome in america. We americans are “quick fix” believers. We’ve got no time for letting our cars recharge. They have to be refueled and ready to go in an instant. If they can solve the rapid recharge problem, then electric cars will have won hands down over all fuels. In other countries they’ve made more of the lifestyle adjustment, to tolerate the cars’recharging time. Just as we have for our cellphones, laptops, and MP3 players. None of which run on gasoline. Aren’t you glad they don’t?

  5. qsabe says:

    Electric motors are 85% officiant. Combustion engines are 45% or less efficient. Efficient means able to convert one form of energy into another. Motion is this case.

    Try to buy a Toyota Prius today. Damn Toyota dealer here has his $21,500 cars priced at $24,000 if plates are transfered. Greed wins every time.

  6. #35 – qsabe,

    It’s a supply and demand issue. We need to ramp up production. You could consider one of these … if you don’t mind the fucked on raw deal moniker.

    http://tinyurl.com/6osffo

    #33 Ah_Yea,

    Don’t forget the photovoltaics for the roof of the vehicle as well.

    http://www.solarelectricalvehicles.com/

  7. MikeN says:

    #28, and I thought turning coal to gasoline was a bad idea. Now you’re going to store excess energy in cars?

  8. MikeN says:

    Scott, if this storage and release were viable, the power plants would do it themselves.


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