While driving a Prius, one of the best mileage giving cars around, you might get the satisfaction of knowing that you are doing the best you can for the suffering enviroment but you might also get the heart wrenching pain of waking up and seeing your car blown apart.
The incident happened at about 7a.m on a Friday morning in the month of July when a loud explosion sent a Prius owner rushing outside, only to see his car in flames. Investigators later reported the work to have been of an arsonist .
This is not the only report of the highly revered enviromentalist car being the victim of violence. In Petaluma, California, at least seven Toyota Priuses were attacked and damaged during a rampage in April. One owner woke up to banging and found out someone was using a hammer against the body and windshield of her car. Yet another owner had her Prius damaged twice and while it was being repaired, a large rock was used to mutilate the Prius that she had rented.
While it is not uncommon for people to dislike a certain brand and model, this type of violence can only to described as disturbing at the least. John Hanson, a Toyota spokesman said that people who were peturbed by the whole enviromental movement were probably justified in beating up a car that had become an icon for it.
So if you happen to be a Prius owner, please take extra care of your car, because no one likes having their vehicles damaged.
Lotus has decided to tackle the recently voiced concerns over hybrid vehicle safety concerns. Since the hybrid cars produce very little noise at slow speeds, there is an increased chance that the cars can catch a person by surprise. This is especially true for visually impaired pedestrians who rely heavily on audio inputs to judge what is occurring around them.
Lotus has created a working prototype, using a Toyota Prius, of an external sound systems that would make engine-type noises. The Prius was fit with a waterproof speaker next to the radiator that works only when the car is being electrically driven. The speaker will emit engine sounds with the appropriate pitch and frequency to match the speed of the car. This will enable pedestrians to judge how far and fast the approaching car is moving. When the hybrid’s gasoline engine starts up, the system stops emitting sound and restarts seamlessly when the electric motor takes back over.
Toyota will unveil the new Prius next year at the Detroit Auto Show, with sales to begin in USA in April 2009. The latest spy shots revealed that the differences between the current and the future generation will be minimal.
Toyota will unveil a whole family for the Prius: a station wagon and a convertible are also set to be released.
Under the hood Toyota will place a new 1.6 liter engine, while the Hybrid Synergy Drive system will be carried over. The fuel consumption will be improved despite the new engine. The 2010 Prius will be built in both Japan and USA, at the Toyota’s Mississippi plant.
A new Prius is on the way, and as it turns out, a lot of them are on the way. For 2009, Toyota will increase Prius production by 70%, meaning around 480,000 units a year. Toyota now builds most of the hot-selling gasoline-electric cars at its Tsutsumi factory in central Japan and another plant belonging to affiliate Toyota Auto Body. It also assembled 320 Priuses in China last year.
In 2007 Toyota sold 281,300 Prius cars worldwide and now there are thousands of client waiting months for delivery, especially on the US market. The world’s biggest automaker also recently announced a plan to start building the Prius at a new facility in Mississippi by 2010.
Toyota has already sold over one million hybrid vehicles worldwide. Now its new goal is after 2010 to sell at least one million hybrid vehicles annually. Considering that the Prius can get it halfway to the goal alone, the hybrid versions of the Highlander and Camry won’t have to sell too much to finish the job.
Toyota confirmed today that the Prius hybrid sedan will be built in USA, at a plant under construction in Blue Springs, Miss. Production is scheduled to begin in late 2010.
Also, the Highlander mid-size SUV, originally scheduled to be built in Mississippi, will now be manufactured in Princeton, Ind., beginning in Fall 2009.
The production of Tundra, that by the way has been busted to 50.000 units a year, will be moved to the San Antonio plant in Spring 2009.
In addition, Toyota 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.
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The Japanese magazine Nikkei reports today that the next generation Prius will feature solar panels, in this way Toyota becoming the first major automaker to use solar power for a vehicle.
Toyota would equip solar panels on the roof of the high-end version of the Prius when it redesigns the gasoline-electric hybrid car early next year, and the power generated by the system would be used for the air conditioning.
The solar panels will be made by Kyocera Corp.
Next generation Prius will make its world debut in 2009 at the Detroit Auto show.
Toyota will unveil the next-generation Prius hybrid in 2009 at the Detroit Auto show, and according to Car And Driver this is how it might look like.
It will be slightly larger, a bit more spacious inside, and trimmed with more luxury options. The engine will grow and become a tad snappier in its sprint while returning even better fuel economy. A plug-in model should arrive in 2010.
The 2010 Prius will be $1000 more expensive than the current model, so the price could go up to $29,692 for a fully loaded 2008 Prius.
According to Automotive News, Toyota is in talks with General Motors about producing the hybrid Prius at their joint production venture in California. If the two companies will reach agreement would be for the first time that the Prius — the world’s first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle — is made in the United States.
Toyota may produce Prius cars at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), a venture established by the two groups in 1984 that currently makes Toyota Corolla, Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Matrix, and Pontiac Vibe vehicles, it said.
The Japanese company plans to ship key components from Japan and assemble them at the venture in Fremont, Calif., where demand for environmentally friendly cars is high, the newspaper said.
Toyota aims to sell at least 1 million hybrid vehicles a year from the early 2010s. It currently produces the Prius in Japan and China.
Toyota Prius
Toyota announced today that worldwide cumulative sales of the Toyota Prius—the world’s first mass-produced gasoline/electric hybrid vehicle—have passed the 1 million mark, with approximately 1,028,000 units sold as of the end of April this year*1. Currently, Prius sales are robust in more than 40 countries and regions, particularly in Japan and North America.
Based on sales figures collected up to April 30, 2008, TMC believes that Prius vehicles worldwide have contributed to a reduction in CO2 emissions (considered a cause of global warming) by producing approximately 4.5 million tons*2 less CO2 when compared with gasoline-powered vehicles in the same class and of similar size and driving performance.
The Prius was launched in Japan in 1997 and began selling in Europe, North America and other markets in 2000. In 2005, Toyota began first overseas production of the Prius in Changchun, China, and sales of Prius vehicles in South Korea are expected to begin in the latter half of 2009.
Toyota Prius
>> read 
Toyota will unveil the next generation Prius next year at the Detroit Auto Show. Sales will begin in late 2009. It will be larger than the current generation, but also 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.
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