Is $1 billion for a 100 mpg gasoline sedan an evil Republican plot?
Couldn’t it also be a hybrid?
The other day I read a piece on AutoWeek slamming an idea from a Republican Congressman that I’ve never heard of that is apparently part of an evil plan by the entire Republican Party — even those few that actually helped make plug-in tax credits a reality — to crush the whole idea of increased fuel economy. $1 billion for an automaker to develop a 100 mpg gasoline sedan.
“It’s all pretend,” claimed author Davey G. Johnson.
Davey, Davey, Davey. So why then does Utah Professor of Mechanical Engineering Dan Adams disagree? Read more…
Categories: Eco-modification, Fuel Economy, Hybrid Cars, Plug-in Vehicles, Tax Incentives, electric cars Tags: composites, electric cars, Fuel economy, Hybrid Cars
Toyota ramping up streamlined, much cheaper hybrid production
The Prius C is just scratching the surface of cheap hybrid cars
Today’s small cars are already far safer than in the past. Add advanced software and telematics and small car safety will be a non-issue in the not-so-far off future. That will make lightening the load one of the easiest paths to increased fuel efficiency.
Thus, automakers envision a future of much smaller and light city vehicles, and Toyota’s latest thoughts on this concept come in the form of the FT-Bh city hybrid. Read more…
Categories: Hybrid Cars Tags: Hybrid Cars, toyota ft-bh
Hybrid and electric car buyers are just better
What’s the cost of not taking action?
Sure, the buyers of hybrid and electric cars don’t always make the most cost-effective choices, but many times their choices are best, even financially. For example, many hybrid cars make the best city cars and they can be far more cost-effective than non-hybrids. But even if hybrids and plug-ins are not always cost-effective, at least hybrid and plug-in buyers are taking action, at least they’re taking responsibility.
The rest of America just talks about taking action. Blah, blah, blah. Some day I’m gonna go on a diet, stop smoking, start investing, be a better person — starting tomorrow. Always tomorrow. Sure, we can all talk a big game, but few of us even show up on game day. Thus, despite some arrogance and elitism, maybe even some ignorance, hybrid and electric car buyers are still better than most other Americans. Read more…
Categories: Energy Independence, Fuel Economy, Hybrid Cars, Plug-in Vehicles, electric cars, plug-in hybrid cars Tags: electric cars, Fuel economy, Hybrid Cars, plug-in hybrids
Following the Highlander hybrid: Is US Prius production next?
Another step to cheaper hybrids?
Toyota will invest $400 million in its Highlander plant in Indiana so that it can begin manufacturing the Highlander hybrid there in 2013 for US sales and to export to the rest of the world.
Is US Prius production next? Read more…
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Hybrid Cars, Toyota Highlander hybrid, Toyota Prius
Urban Champ: New Toyota Prius C offers outstanding value
It’s official. C hybrid should dominate city cost effectiveness
So, you need a new car, and you live in a city like Los Angeles, but you want to be as fiscally smart as possible. It’s all about the most bang for your buck. Of course, aside from automatic windows, locks and an automatic transmission, you insist on BlueTooth and USB connectivity as well – I mean, let’s be real.
Then the Toyota Prius C is the car for you. This new small and cheap hybrid car simply blows away the competition. Read more…
Categories: Buying Hybrids, Hybrid Cars, Toyota Prius C Tags: Hybrid Cars, Toyota Prius C
Thinking about a hybrid? $4.00 gas almost certain by May
Add any escalation in Middle East tensions and much higher gasoline prices are possible
As comes summer so to does an increase in American driving, as gasoline is reformulated into summer blends. Combined these two events push gasoline prices higher in a regular seasonal event. Consequently, USAToday reports that gas prices should increase about $.60 cents nationally by May, topping the $4.00 per gallon mark.
However, add an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, for instance, and gasoline prices could surge much higher. Read more…
Categories: Buying Hybrids, Hybrid Cars Tags: gas prices, Hybrid Cars
Lutz: Peak oil, global warming myths; electrification real
The new world order of energy?
If you attended the recent Deloitte & Touche oil and gas conference in Houston, you were left with one realization, according to Bob Lutz of BMW, Chrysler, Ford, and GM fame: US energy independence is now a potential reality. Thanks to an oil and natural gas boom, something even Lutz didn’t believe in until listening to the experts at the conference, OPEC independence could be achieved “in a period of a few years”.
Similarly, Lutz still believes man-caused global warming is just as much a myth as peak oil has become.
Nevertheless, despite a lack of CO2 or peak oil worries, Lutz still believes electrification is inevitable, and it won’t need to be supported by the government, at least not long term. Read more…
Categories: Energy Independence, Hybrid Cars, Plug-in Vehicles, electric cars, plug-in hybrid cars Tags: electric cars, Energy Independence, foreign, Hybrid Cars, plug-in hybrids
Lithium revolution dependent upon Toyota and hybrid cars
OPUD: Over-promising and under-delivering the battery-powered future
I find it terribly unsettling how often fans of electrification ridicule Toyota. They don’t even use lithium in their conventional hybrid cars, they claim. As if all the lithium powered mild hybrids, full hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric cars on the market today are dwarfing Toyota’s NiMH-powered sale’s advantage. In fact, if not for Toyota’s NiMH hybrids, there would have been far less cause for other automakers to try to leapfrog Toyota’s Prius with plug-ins like the Volt or the Leaf — which are more halo than sale’s products today.
Likewise, it is often claimed that Toyota’s upcoming plug-in hybrids don’t offer enough electric range, even though it’s beyond obvious that the key to plug-in success isn’t really about range today, it’s about cost.
Even more ironic, it seems quite obvious that the lithium revolution in the automotive space itself has become dependent upon Toyota, at least if it’s going to happen anytime soon. Read more…
Categories: Hybrid Cars, Plug-in Vehicles, Toyota Prius, Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid, lithium batteries Tags: Hybrid Cars, lithium batteries
Bad news for Toyota Prius C buyers — limited supplies
Japanese demand for the new, smaller Prius backed up 6 months+ already
Next month was supposed to be one of the most exciting launches in the US hybrid segment ever. Finally an impressive hybrid offering for under $19,000.
Unfortunately, in the first month of Japanese Prius C sales, Toyota sold almost an entire year’s worth of intended supplies. Read more…
Categories: Buying Hybrids Tags: Hybrid Cars, Toyota Prius C
Will VW’s Jetta hybrid succeed where the TDI has failed?
Can hybrid technology lift VW’s US sales?
Back in college an old girlfriend drove a Volkswagen Jetta. I loved it, although I was glad I had the privilege of just driving it, not owning it. That Jetta seemed to need more servicing than normal, and it was always expensive. Still, it was fun to drive. Then again, when you don’t own a car, any car seems fun to drive.
And that driving experience has made VW one of the biggest selling automakers in the world, despite an inability to truly resonate in the US. However, can the Jetta hybrid succeed where other VWs, especially the TDI’s, have failed? Read more…
Categories: Hybrid Cars, VW Jetta hybrid Tags: Hybrid Cars, VW Jetta hybrid










