prius

3rd-Gen Prius: Toyota to Add Solar Panels

khallgeisler — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:00:00 -0400

The more we hear about the new Prius, which should show up in 2009, the more excited we get. The latest news is that Toyota will add solar panels on the roof to power the car's accessories.

The panels won't generate enough juice to power the car, but they will be enough to run the air conditioner and other electricity-sucking accessories. The panels will be available on the high-end versions of the Prius and possibly a Lexus hybrid model, giving drivers a new way to flaunt their green -- as a sign of their concern for the environment and their ability to lay out the cash to save it.

The next generation of Toyota's flagship hybrid is already slated to get a power boost and better fuel economy, so these panels are icing on the cake. With the current version of the Prius in short supply lately, and the premium being exacted by dealers for the privilege of buying one, you may be better off socking away that down payment and waiting until next year. Just drive your current car mindfully in the meantime.

New Fuel-Efficient Car: You Better Th!nk!

khallgeisler — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

In April 2008, upstart car company Think (also spelled Th!nk) made its first move toward invading North American shores with its compact, fuel-effiecient, city-friendly cars. It partnered with several U.S. companies, including General Electric and lithium-ion battery producer A123, as part of its strategy for world domination.

Maybe not world domination exactly, but at least world market share. Think already produces and sells the City, a little zero-emissions, all-electric number, in Europe; it plans to bring the car to the U.S. next year. A full charge gets you 200 km, with a top speed of 100 km/h (that's 124 miles and 62 mph for us Americans).

Many of the City's parts are recyclable, including the dashboard and body panels.The car is made in Norway at a carbon-neutral facility, and the company will buy carbon offsets to compensate for the emissions produced in the process of generating the electricty that charges your batteries. These guys are really commited.

The Think Ox is already in the works for 2011. This basic auto platform can be configured by the company into everything from a sports car to a taxi. The first iteration to hit the market will be a crossover 5-seater the size of the current Toyota Prius. The most important function of the Ox may be to take the EV from cute oddity to "real car" status, with it simple, roomy, Scandanavian design. If Ikea built a family car, this would probably be it.

3rd-Gen Prius Expected to Get 90+ MPG

khallgeisler — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Mark your calendars: the next-generation Toyota Prius is expected to debut next January at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The Internet rumor mill has it that the car could debut in U.S. showrooms as early as April 2009 -- a mere three months after its official unveiling in Detroit. Toyota could even up the Prius's fuel economy to more than 90 mpg.

The engine is slated to grow from 1.5 liters to 1.8 liters, which means an extra 25 horsepower -- a noticeable increase. That might be enough to allow the size of the Prius to grow a bit and accomodate even a long-legged driver.

The increase in power doesn't sap the car's efficiency, though; rather, it should increase the mileage, too. U.S. News said recently the Prius 3G could get 94 mpg, while AutoBlogGreen reported a more reasonable -- and realistic -- 50-55 mpg. The EPA rates the 2008 Prius at 48 city, 45 highway.

If you can wait another year or two, Toyota has confirmed that plug-in Prius hybrids with cutting-edge lithium-ion batteries will be available to consumers in the U.S. in 2011. If you can't wait, hacking your Prius is the only way to go today, thanks to companies like Hymotion and Hybrids Plus.

A Convertible Prius -- For a Price

khallgeisler — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Newport Convertible Engineering, based in sunny California, will drop the top of just about anything, from a Hummer to a Maybach to ... a Prius? Yup. For $12,500, the company will chop your Toyota Prius's top for the ultimate in air conditioning.

With the top down, the car would likely lose a couple miles per gallon in fuel economy. These cars are, after all, aerodynamically engineered to take full advantage of the hybrid system and get the highest gas mileage. Cutting the top off is likely to mess with the engineers' intentions. But for some, a couple fewer mpgs is a worthwhile trade for fresh air and the wind in your hair.

The NCE web site also shows a cute-as-a-bug Scion xB chop-top, and it's apparently converted a few conventional Lexus cars, too. Maybe the GS Hybrid is next in line?

Celebrities Who Drive a Prius: Billy Joel, Jack Black, Alicia Silverstone....

ckane — Sat, 31 May 2008 18:21:10 -0400

Now that peaking gas prices are giving drivers more incentive than ever to consider the alternatives, it's a good time to review all the celebrities who have already taken the plunge with the most famous alternative: the Toyota Prius hybrid.

Among the first famous Prius drivers is early adopter Leonardo DiCaprio, who's been driving one since 2001 when they were new. Then Cameron Diaz got one. Then, like, EVERYBODY got one. "Everybody" includes usual green and/or lefty celeb suspects like: Alicia Silverstone , Arianna Huffington, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Bill Maher, Prince Charles, Woody Harrelson, Harrison Ford, Ed Begley, and Susan Sarandon.

But now the Prius is common enough that less-expected Prius owners in Hollywood number easily in the dozens (maybe more like hundreds), including Kevin Bacon, Jack Nicholson, Billy Crystal, Larry David , Ewan McGregor, Robin Williams, David Duchovny, Alexandra Paul, America Fererra, Billy Joel, Dr. Andrew Weil, Ted Danson, Will Ferrell, Salma Hayek, Patricia Arquette, David Hyde Pierce, Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Hanks, Rob Reiner, Hart Bochner, Donny Osmond, Kurt Russell, Jack Black, Donna Mills, and Kirk Douglas. The jury is still very much out on whether the Prius is the best (or even a good) green car option, but it is certainly the most recognized.

Image: Prius

Green Free Stuff: Check out this Freebie of the Week

RiverWired.com — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Who doesn’t love free stuff or the chance to win big? Freebies are the silver linings that those @#$%*+ optimists tell us to look out for. They are life’s little reminders that, despite what cynics say, maybe there IS such a thing as a free lunch. It doesn’t take a recession or $15 dollar-a-gallon gas to make these gifts of free goodies and the chance to win seem so sweet. They are great any time.

Here’s this week’s green freebie:

ATT is giving away a Toyota Prius – and all you have to do is come up with a Green Tip. Sure, they're trying to get you to sign up for their service (can't blame a coproration for trying) and you get extra points for going paperless with your bills (saves them money and saves the environment, too -- win-win). But hey, a car's a car. Good luck.

WIn a Prius at ATT

Top 10 Green Complaints about Hollywood

kbutler — Fri, 23 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Hollywood has long been a supporter of green issues. But what happens when the entertainment industry falls short of eco-expectations?

TOP TEN GREEN COMPLAINTS ABOUT HOLLYWOOD

10. When an agent buys a Prius and nobody notices.

9. That Eric Bana and Christian Bale have yet to star in a movie that brings together essential green concepts like “shirtless,” “well-oiled,” and “loin-cloth.”

8. Callous producers who forced a certain 30-something skin-conscious female television writer to picket in ozone-depleted sunlight for three months in a row.

7. Why pay $15 to see tidal waves and earthquakes destroy the planet when you can watch The Weather Channel for free?

6. Melting glaciers aren’t that interesting – unless they’re shot on a digital hand-held crashing through the streets of Manhattan!

5. In Baywatch, no one ever seemed to be actually watching the Bay.

4. No Academy Award for greenest celebrity.

3. Actresses whose body parts aren’t organic.

2. That you can’t get green props for Botoxing. After all, it is an organic plague.

1. A rather inconvenient lack of sex and violence in An Inconvenient Truth.

15 Tips for Better Mileage -- Want to Get 70 MPG in Your Toyota Prius?

khallgeisler — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

In a summer of $4-a-gallon gas predictions and $120-plus barrels of oil, we'll be hearing a lot about hypermiling. But what is it? Who can use it? Does it require a Prius to make it worth the effort?

Hypermiling is a series of techniques -- some obvious and safe, some tricky or of questionable sanity -- that maximize your car's mileage. While a lot of these techniques can be used by anyone, some require a hybrid's electric engine. And a hybrid, like the popular Prius or the Ford Escape, will see better fuel efficiency (more than 70 mpg) using these techniques than a high-mpg gasoline-only car like the Smart ForTwo.

Here are tips anyone can use:

1. As soon as a red light or stop sign comes into view, take your foot off the gas and coast.

2. When you restart, take it easy on the gas pedal. "No jackrabbit starts," as they said in the '70s.

3. On the highway, use cruise control. The more constant your speed, the better mileage you'll get. And don't speed.

4. If your newer car has a mileage gauge, use it. Look at it often. You'll find that knowing your fuel efficiency moment by moment becomes a challenge you can't refuse.

5. Keep tires properly inflated. If you're feeling a bit daring, and your tires are new or in excellent shape, push the psi past the rating a little.

6. Park at the highest point in the parking lot and coast as long as you can when you leave.

7. Lose the weight -- yours and your car's. Every pound counts when you're trying to ease the burden on your engine, so get rid of the tent and sleeping bags in the trunk from last weekend's mini vacation, or the box of files and paperwork that you never get around to lugging inside, or the unholy loads of garbage in the unused back seat.

If you've got a hybrid, try these:

8. Warp Stealth: Hybrid drivers are well aware that at low speeds, the electric motor alone powers the car. The "warp stealth" technique involves finding the sweet spot where the electric motor is doing all the work while the gasoline engine spins freely, but the car still travels at 42 - 55 mph. For a detailed, science-y explanation, click here.

9. Pulse and Glide: Press the accelerator pedal, nice and smooth, until you reach about 40 mph (the gasoline engine kicks in at 42 mph). That's the "pulse." Now let 'er ride on electric power to about 30 mph, then pulse again. This technique works with conventional cars, too, if you pulse then glide in neutral. Another super-geeky link to a detailed hybrid explanation here.

10. Use all-electric mode for the last mile or so of your trip to allow the batteries to recharge more quickly on your next start-up.

11. Similarly, if you're only stopping for ten minutes or less, push the "Park" button. Turn off all accessories -- radio, lights, etc. -- and let the electric engine idle. Turning the car off requires a little gas on restart. This is exactly the opposite of the tip for conventional gasoline engines above.

If you don't mind looking weird or tempting fate, try these:

12. Drafting requires you to be nose-to-tail with a semi. Close-ish won't cut it. Check out NASCAR races; that's how close you have to be to make this work. Hugging the rear end of a tractor-trailer at 75 mph seems a bit dangerous, but it saves gas for you and the truck driver.

13. Throw it in neutral on the downhill, and coast as far as you can up the next rise. Every traffic officer and safety expert will tell you that driving a car with the engine disengaged, especially with the idea of building up speed while you have minimum control, will tell you not to do this. Hypermilers will tell you to do it. Believe whom you will.

14. Improve aerodynamics by adding wheel skirts, folding in rearview mirrors, and blocking out your grille. Keep in mind that not having rearview mirrors or cooling air circulating around your engine are probably bad ideas.

15. Wear an ice vest, normally only seen in nuclear power plants, like veteran hypermiler Wayne Gerdes rather than entering the windows-down vs. AC-on debate.

For more information, check out:

The Hype About Hypermiling

Two Wheels Are Greener Than Four

Honda Civic GX Tops List of Greenest Cars

Driving Green = Fewer Greenbacks

Five Tips to Find the Cheapest Gas Near You

Top 10 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars: Save Gas, Save Money

Record Month For Selling Gas -- Saving Cars Getting Better Than 30 MPG

100 MPG in a Prius: Hacking a Hybrid

khallgeisler — Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Brothers Chris and Andrew Ewert of Wheaton, Illinois, converted their standard-issue Prius to a plug-in hybrid that gets more than 100 miles per gallon by installing a battery array and charger in the rear cargo space. Cars with plugs and gas tanks, called Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), are on the bleeding edge of auto technology, but the Ewerts aren't alone in their low-emissions mission.

In a recent interview with Chicago's CBS 2 News, Chris Ewert challenged auto makers: "My brother and I built this, and car companies should be able to do it, too." Fear not, Chris. Toyota brought a plug-in hybrid Prius to the Detroit auto show in January, and the boys at Cars.com even got to test drive one of the rare beasts. Of the few PHEV Priuses in the U.S., four are in the hands of UC Berkeley and Irvine's Clean Mobility Partnership.

If you have a hybrid but not the Ewert brothers' engineering know-how, fear not. Hymotion has developed a PHEV conversion kit for second-generation (2004-2008) Priuses that sells for $9,995 with a 3-year warranty. The company promises 100 mpg for 30-40 miles, and will help you locate an installer in your area.

Hybrids Plus will convert a Toyota Prius or a Ford Escape hybrid to PHEV today, with the Toyota Highlander hybrid coming online soon. (The Escape conversion works on the Mercury Mariner and Mazda Tribute hybrids, too.) Prices for the conversion, which are all done at company HQ in Boulder, Colorado, range from about $21,000 to $36,000.

Image courtesy of Hybrids Plus. Note that this is not how your converted PHEV will look.

Want to learn more about the Toyota Prius?

15 Tips for Better Mileage—Want to Get 70 MPG in Your Toyota Prius?

Top 10 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars: Save Gas, Save Money