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May
9
It’s that time
Filed Under POG News, personal stuff | Leave a Comment
Have a great weekend. Have fun and drive safe.
(and keep a sharp eye out for those “alternative fuel sources”)
-russell
May
9
From Jalopnik…
Toyota Prius: The Silent Killer Strikes Again
We’ve known for a while that, after electricity and gasoline, hybrids are powered by the crushed souls of the blind. Old news. That is until the hybrids go after our children. At least that’s what the fearmongers at CNN would have you believe. The real story seems to be that a kid, not paying attention, turned in front of an oncoming Prius and slightly bruised himself. Just to round out the story they interviewed a hybrid driver that didn’t hit anyone, but in order to make the story easier to follow for the average cable news viewer identified him as the man who ran into the kid. All hybrid owners look alike, right? (h/t Snep) [Source: CNN.com]
You have to visit the Jalopnik page and watch the CNN video to see just how silly this is.
At least Stephen Colbert recognizes the danger.
Colbert: Hybrid Fuel is Blind People
Hard-hitting journalist Stephen Colbert has uncovered a vile plot by hybrid owners; they’re intentionally running over blind people in order to use them for fuel. This stunning revelation comes only a day after the National Federation for the Blind publicized concerns over hybrid vehicle safety. Through in-depth investigative reporting, the heroic Colbert discovered that blind people make an excellent source of fuel, one that could potentially reduce our dependency on foreign oil. In a stunning new development, the Associated Press has learned that inattentive people could also be at risk of being turned into a green fuel source by Big Environment. Linda Murphy, who has perfect vision when she wears her glasses, revealed to AP that she too has had close calls with hybrids, “I’m walking right in back of it and it’s moving and I didn’t realize it until it nearly touched me, I never realized how dependent I was on my ears until I almost got hit.” Remember kids, look both ways or Al Gore’ll get you.
Visit the site to see the hilarious Colbert Report video.
Dagnabbit, if it weren’t for you meddlin’ kids I would have gotten away with my evil plot.
EDIT: Oh and if you want to see the other side, oh-so serious of this. Read this report .
Have hybrids become too quiet?
Boy hit by quiet Prius hybrid spawns debate
by Evan.McCauslandTragic news, for sure, but there is a unique twist to this particular accident. The young bicyclist’s mother says her son (who suffered no major injuries) never heard the vehicle approaching because it was a Toyota Prius operating on battery power.
This and similar accidents pose a new, legitimate hybrid safety concern for car companies - if an oncoming vehicle is made to be silent, how can pedestrians and bicyclists avoid it?
Other than looking directly at an electric hybrid, it doesn’t seem automakers have an immediate answer to the question.
Last month, KARE 11 reports legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representative that could eventually require hybrids to emit a minimum amount of noise (this has become a priority for the National Federation of the Blind, which believes Hybrids pose a real threat to those who rely on noise for safety reasons).
Toyota has not taken a position on the new hybrid legislation, but John Hanson, Toyota’s national manager of environmental, safety and quality communications, said he is aware of public concerns and that “We do have to step back and take a look.”
Whether Hanson was talking about Toyota taking a step back or pedestrians and bicyclists keeping further away from hybrids is unclear, but we can’t wait to hear how automakers will resolve this issue (no pun intended).
May
9
But it’s only a niche car
Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
Yeah right.
Study: Toyota Prius Among Top 5 Most Shopped
By Steve MillerA year ago, the Toyota Prius was the 13th most shopped model on third- party web sites such as Edmunds.com and Autotrader.com. In April, as gas prices jumped from the $2.70 range to the $3.25 range, the hybrid became the 4th most shopped, according to a new report by Compete.com, Boston.
Sales of the Prius were up nearly 23% through April, per Autodata, Woodcliff Lake, N.J. Also through April, hybrid market share increased to 3.2% from 2.6% of all cars sold in 2007, per Power Information Network.
The growing popularity of the Prius, which sold 181,221 units last year, is part of American consumers’ move from trucks to cars, which last month outsold trucks 53% to 47%, per Autodata. Those figures were the opposite for April of last year.
“[Gas at] $4 a gallon was a milestone and is helping cars like the Prius turn the corner,” said Gordon Wangers, an independent auto consultant in San Diego. “That point may be where the consumer has turned to smaller cars and something like the Prius.”
Compete’s report also found that the Prius gained online interest of 124,000 shoppers, more than the entire shopper total for 25 other car models. More people shopped for a Prius than for Chrysler, GMC, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Pontiac, as well as all BMW models combined. The Prius also had more shoppers than Lexus, which earlier this year introduced an ad campaign—”power of h”—supporting its three hybrid models.
The Prius, which starts at around $21,100, has recovered from a supply shortage in 2006 when 107,000 units were sold. Last year, Toyota launched a full-scale marketing campaign behind the car, via Saatchi & Saatchi, Torrance, Calif., with the tag: “America, your Prius is ready.”
It’s a good time for Toyota to bring out another marketing effort, said Dennis Bulgarelli, a director in Compete’s auto practice. “It would be a way to take advantage of this demand,” he said.
Toyota spent $53 million marketing the Prius last year, compared to $4 million in 2006, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.
May
9
I’m not so sure that this a good idea
Filed Under New technology, News, Non-Prius Hybrids, Off Topic | Leave a Comment
I’m no engineer but this sounds far too easy and generic to be effective.
Start-Up Claims to Convert Any Car into a Hybrid
Would you be interested in converting your existing car into a plug-in hybrid? A Connecticut start-up claims it is developing a system that will do just that — for a little under $4,000.
Autoblog Green says that Poulsen Hybrid’s “general idea is to take an existing ICE car and convert it to a plug-in electric hybrid with mileage in the 100 mpg range. The system adds two Poulsen Hybrid electric motors that use rare earth permanent magnets and are rated at 5kW or 7hp onto the outside of your car and then adds a 72V 120Ah Deep Cycle Lead Acid battery pack (with six batteries inside) and an onboard charger to the vehicle.”
Orange Hues says the system is “essentially a couple of rear wheel hub motors which can be installed in any conventional car to convert it into a plug-in hybrid, increasing its mileage significantly.”
In a press release, Poulsen Hybrid says that system will work “equally well with rear- and all wheel drive vehicles, gasoline or diesel fueled.” It “does not touch existing brake, steering and suspension systems. The system will be available in kit form and can be owner installed in 3-4 hours. Conversions will also be offered through dealerships and a planned network of authorized installers.” They quote the expected price of the kit itself at $3,300, and the conversion process at $600.
Poulsen is competing for the Auto X Prize, and in an audio interview available on podomatic, founder Ulrik Poulsen claims the system may be available for purchase by June, 2008.
May
9
Hilarious.
And no, that headline is not serious.
There’s just nothing like local television news.
Rybak has been driving illegally for months
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak has been driving illegally for months, according to public motor vehicle records.
Rybak told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS he never knew his license was suspended and apologized Thursday evening.
“Sure this is embarrassing. But that’s part of the deal. I’m in the public eye and I have to be held to a high standard,” said Rybak.He drove to work Thursday in a city-owned Toyota Prius, but it now sits in a parking lot because he says he found out he can’t legally drive.
The state suspended h is driver’s license on Feb. 14 after not receiving full payment of his $222 fine for more than a year and a half.
A police officer wrote the Mayor a ticket for speeding in June of 2006, when he was driving back from a political event in Rochester.
“There’s no excuse. I was speeding, shouldn’t have been speeding, and I paid the ticket but I apparently paid the wrong amount,” explained Rybak.
Less than a month later, Rybak paid all but $80 of the fine and he says he didn’t realize he made the mistake until now.
Rybak had 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS come along for a ride in his Prius back in October. While drives only part of the time and on other days, he rides a bike or gets a ride from an officer assigned to his security.It was one of those officers who told him about his suspended license on Thursday.
“I obviously apologize and I’ll fix it right away,” he said.
Rybak says he’ll figure out how much he owes and pay it right away to clear up the mistake.
May
9
Oy
Filed Under Bad reporting, Non-Prius Hybrids, Off Topic | Leave a Comment
Love this article on Malibu hybrid from the Seattle Times. Then I got to this…
Many Toyota hybrid models have small trunks because of the space taken up by the hybrid-battery pack. The Malibu doesn’t have this problem; there’s little loss in trunk space because the battery pack is significantly smaller.
“Many”? How many I wonder? There are only three Toyota hybrids (unless we’re counting Lexus and I doubt this reporter was comparing them to the Chevy Malibu or, for that matter, had evre been in a lexus hybrid). Only one of them has a “trunk” and the Camry hybrid’s trunk is only slightly smaller than that standard Camry.
But I guess it sounded good at the time.
May
9
Face it, no one but Toyota knows for sure
Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
New Toyota Prius grows upThe third-generation Toyota Prius hybrid is getting the finishing touches before its debut at the Detroit motor show next January. It will go on sale in the UK late next year.
Sources say that the new hybrid will be larger than today’s car but still be recognisable as a Toyota Prius. Crucially, though, it will be greener and better to drive than today’s globally successful model.
The hatchback will be about 10cm longer and 3cm wider than today’s car and, to cope with the bigger size, the engine will move up from 1.5 to 1.8 litres. Power should increase to 100bhp.
Toyota says it can achieve this higher output while still improving economy and lowering emissions. Sources in Japan claim that Toyota is aiming for a 12 per cent improvement in fuel consumption, leading to a combined economy of over 70mpg and C02 emissions of just over 90g/km.
Toyota’s trademark hybrid system will be more tightly packaged and efficient, ensuring that the car is able to run longer on pure battery power.
At launch the Prius will stick with the current style of nickel metal hydride batteries, but the ‘smarter’ style of lighter, high output lithium-ion batteries may arrive by 2010. The first plug-in versions of the Prius are likely to go on limited release at the same time.
The Prius hatchback pictured here will be part of a range of hybrid models that Toyota intends to launch to with a Prius badge.
One of these could be a minivan based on the Hybrid X concept from Geneva 2007.
Peter Nunn
May
9
Congratulations to Toyota
Filed Under Direct from Toyota, News, Press Release | Leave a Comment
ONE MILLIONTH HYBRID VEHICLE HITS THE AMERICAN ROADIn December 2007, an auto dealership employee somewhere in America handed a new owner the keys to the one millionth hybrid vehicle sold in this country. In that month, industry sales of 30,892 hybrids brought the cumulative total to 1,012,442 units.
This event occurred a month after Toyota recorded the sale of its 500,000th hybrid in the United States, and only a few months after Toyota Motor Corporation reached the one-million-unit mark in global production of hybrid vehicles.
U.S. hybrid sales began with the delivery of 17 Honda Insight cars — a model now discontinued — in December 1999. Toyota’s first-generation Prius, model year 2001, entered the U.S. market with 841 sales in July 2000.
At the end of this eight-year run, more than half of all the hybrids ever sold in the United States bore the Prius marquee. Toyota’s iconic hybrid accounted for 51 percent of sales; the Camry Hybrid and Highlander Hybrid, together with three hybrids from our corporate cousins at Lexus, brought the cumulative Toyota and Lexus market share to 72.7 percent.
Although hybrid sales have grown quickly in recent years — 35 percent of the all-time sales were made in just the past year — they accounted for only 2.2 percent of the 16.2 million cars and trucks sold in the United States in 2007. But hybrids accounted for a respectable 11.2 percent of Toyota Division sales last year, and 10.6 percent of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.’s combined deliveries of Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles. In fact, Prius ended 2007 as the third-best-selling vehicle in the Toyota lineup, behind Camry and Corolla.
Looking ahead, how long will it take for the auto industry to sell its second million hybrid vehicles? It’s hard to say, considering that several manufacturers have hybrid models on the drawing board or on the test track. But if industrywide hybrid sales continue at the 2007 rate, that two millionth key will be handed to a new owner in less than 34 months.
May
8
Prius #1
Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
Toyota Prius tops customer surveyThe Toyota Prius tops this year’s JD Power and Associates/What Car? 2008 UK Car Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) study.
The Prius scored 901 points out of a possible 1000, with owners reporting particularly high satisfaction levels with the model’s quality and reliability.
‘The Prius already has iconic status because of its green credentials; now it’s demonstrating that it’s also the watchword for reliability and satisfaction,’ said Steve Fowler, editor of What Car?
‘It delivers on many of the points that matter most to car buyers today: it’s environmentally friendly and reasonably frugal, yet it’s also reliable and a great car to own.’
Lexus topped the nameplate rankings for the eighth consecutive year, scoring a customer satisfaction score of 866. In particular, it excelled in three of the four key measures: quality/reliability, service satisfaction and vehicle appeal.
Honda was the other notable winner, scooping three model segment awards for the Jazz (small car), FR-V (MPV) and CR-V (4×4).
The JD Power and Associates/What Car? 2008 UK Car Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) study includes 28 brands and 100 models.
Information on the cars is provided by owners, who give detailed evaluations of their vehicles and dealers. These are broken down into four areas: quality and reliability, vehicle appeal, dealer service satisfaction and ownership costs.
May
8
Second place
Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
From MotorTrend…
Toyota finished second with two awards, one for green engine of the year for the Prius’ Hybrid Synergy Drive and one for best engine under 1.0-liters in displacement for its European market 1.0-liter four.
Notably absent from the list, anything from an American car company. Disappointing if not a surprise.
2008 International Engine of the Year Awards Winners
Green Engine of the Year
Toyota 1.5-liter Hybrid Synergy Drive (Prius)Sub 1-liter
Toyota 1-liter (Aygo, Yaris, Peugeot 107, Citron C1, Subaru Justy)
May
8
“Quality and safety concerns”
Filed Under Bad reporting, Commentary, New technology, News | Leave a Comment
This is slanted about as negatively as one could slant a piece. It can easily that most new product launches, from Toyota or any other car maker are delayed by “quality and safety concerns”. All that means is Toyota won’t release the new model until they’re sure it’s right. I’m fine with waiting. I have no desire to be test animal (read: people waiting for the Volt).
2010 Toyota Prius Compact Sedan
Available: Spring 2009What Edmunds.com Says:It may not have lithium ion batteries, but rest assured this Prius will improve upon its current mileage without giving anything up in the way of drivability.
What We Know: Quality and safety concerns apparently are delaying the launch of the third-generation 2010 Toyota Prius to the spring of 2009, according to a report published in the Japanese newspaper Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun. The industrial daily said Toyota is stalling the launch to ensure quality after it decided to forgo replacing the nickel-metal-hydride battery used in the hybrid system with a lithium-ion battery for the first version of the new model. Reuters reported that Toyota would not confirm the delay. The automaker typically does not announce the timetable for its vehicle launches, but the popular Prius had been expected to be remodeled by late 2008. Toyota and battery partner Matsushita Electric Industrial are working on a lithium-ion battery that had been expected to power the next-generation Prius. Those plans reportedly were set back due to safety concerns.
May
8
Toyota wins fed appeal on infringement
Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
Toyota Wins Appeal Ruling in Hybrid Transmission Case
By Susan Decker and Alan OhnsmanToyota Motor Corp., Japan’s biggest automaker, won a U.S. appeals court ruling that its hybrid transmissions don’t infringe patents owned by Solomon Technologies Inc.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today upheld a decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission in Toyota’s favor. Solomon, based in Tarpon Springs, Florida, had claimed its technology was used in transmission drives in Toyota Prius, Highlander and Camry vehicles and three Lexus models.
Solomon filed the ITC complaint in 2006 to block U.S. imports of the Toyota vehicles. Toyota is the largest commercial maker of vehicles powered by so-called hybrid systems that combine gasoline engines with battery packs.
The patent is for a combination motor and transmission device with two power inputs. The Federal Circuit said the Toyota motors “do not have an `integral combination’ of a motor element and transmission unit” as required by the patent.
“We’re pleased with the decision as it supports the position we’ve maintained all along,” said Toyota spokesman Xavier Dominicis.
David Long, an outside spokesman for Solomon, said the company is preparing a statement.
The Prius is the eighth-best selling passenger vehicle in the U.S. this year, buoyed by consumers trying to cut down on gasoline purchases. Overall, Toyota, based in Toyota City, Japan, vies with General Motors Corp. to be the world’s biggest automaker.
Toyota has sold a total of 837,241 hybrid vehicles in the U.S., the company’s biggest market, since releasing the Prius there in 2000. Toyota’s hybrid sales have climbed 22 percent this year, making it likely they will reach a cumulative total of 1 million sales in the U.S. by the end of 2008.
Florida Lawsuit
A separate lawsuit, filed by Solomon in September 2005 in federal court in Tampa, Florida, was put on hold while the trade commission investigation was pending. Solomon reported almost $8 million in sales last year, primarily from power-supply products.
Solomon fell 1.25 cents to 3.25 cents in over-the-counter trading. The shares have declined 88 percent this year. Toyota rose 150 yen to 5,580 yen in Tokyo trading and is down 7.6 percent this year.
The case is Solomon Technologies Inc. v. International Trade Commission, 2007-1391, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The lower cases are Certain Combination Motor and Transmission Systems, 337-561, U.S. International Trade Commission; and Solomon Technologies Inc. v. Toyota Motor Corp., 05cv1702, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida (Tampa).
To contact the reporters on this story: Susan Decker in Washington at sdecker1@bloomberg.net; Alan Ohnsman in Los Angeles aohnsman@bloomberg.net.
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