Unfortunately this Toyota will not be available to lease to the general public but will be leased to the Japanese Ministry of Environment. The press release indicates that they will lease for around 840,000 yen per month for 30 months. Whether this is for the whole fleet or not is unclear but that equates to £4,231 per month. This vehicle will acheive a rather pacy 96 mph and will generate 122 PS and as with any electrical vehicle it has tremendous torque of 260 N/m. Although this vehicle is not available to lease to the British public it signals a step froward in the market as a progression towards commercially available Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars.

Unfortunately this Toyota will not be available to lease to the general public but will be leased to the Japanese Ministry of Environment. The press release indicates that they will lease for around 840,000 yen per month for 30 months. Whether this is for the whole fleet or not is unclear but that equates to £4,231 per month.

This vehicle will acheive a rather pacy 96 mph and will generate 122 PS and as with any electrical vehicle it has tremendous torque of 260 N/m.

Although this vehicle is not available to lease to the British public it signals a step froward in the market as a progression towards commercially available Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars.

Electric car from Audi to be a Volkswagen up!?

It was only last April that Audi was saying that it had no plans for an electric car (EV) in the immediate future. It’s possible they’re operating under a different definition of “immediate future” than us or maybe they have just changed their minds because, according to Car Magazine Online, Audi has unofficially said it will offer an electric version of the Volkswagen up! when they become available, possibly before 2011. In terms of vehicle development lead times that sure sounds like “immediate future” to us! Of course, it is conceivable they may be as just as flaky with their EV plans as they have been with their Q5 and Q7 hybrid programs. If there are more up! production delays, Audi may may a plan B. According to another bite-sized article in Car Magazine Online, Audi is also considering reviving its A2 (R.I.P. 2005) with an aluminum space frame (ASF) and stuffing it full of batteries. With all Audi’s indecision though, a more sure bet may be Volkswagen making an electric Volkswagen.

Ford Aims to be Hybrid Vehicle Leader

After some disappointing quarterly results, Ford has made it clear where its future lies - with plans to become the number one hybrid car producer in America next year.

Ford intends to double the number of hybrid cars it offers with hybrid versions of the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan to be added to the Mercury Mariner and Ford Escape Hybrid the company already offers.

The company’s director of powertrain research, Dan Kapp, discussed the long-term strategy for the business at a recent Press event in Portland, Oregon, and outlined that the plan is to advance fuel-saving technologies across the product line and begin to delve into plug-in hybrids and more. After that the company will look into hydrogen fuel-cell cars, biofuel-powered cars and any other new technologies.

In particular, Kapp chose to highlight the EcoBoost engine available on select models. With direct injection and turbo charging it can raise fuel economy by as much as 20 per cent and can lower exhaust emissions by around 15 per cent.

Kapp also highlighted that Ford offers the first driveable hydrogen fuel-cell PHEV in the Edge HySeries but admitted that Ford was not pursuing hydrogen powered cars as quickly as Honda.

Double jeopardy for tax payers

Yesterday, I blogged on how the city of Flint is providing millions in tax breaks to GM to help fund the Chevy Volt, and GM is also seeking millions from the state as well. Likewise, GM is also requesting part of $50 billion in low interest, government backed loans to help in the conversion to vehicles with better fuel economy, such as smaller vehicles and hybrid cars. And, when GM finally starts selling the Volt, it will probably need large tax incentives for consumers in order to make these vehicles affordable.

And, if Ford and Chrysler ever develop real plans to address fuel economy, they'll need just as much help.

Yet, the pain doesn't stop there. Automakers claim that CAFE will increase the price of all vehicles significantly. Thus, not only are tax payers committing billions in loans and tax breaks to Detroit, they're also going to have to pay more for the products their tax dollars are helping to fund.

Without doubt, US automakers provide great jobs for many Americans, but how did things get so screwed up? More important, can the US auto industry really be saved, or are we just delaying the inevitable?

DIY hybrid car

Among the innumerable amount of ‘do it yourself’ (DIY) things like lamp shades, book shelves, guitars, solar cookers, now comes a brand new addition – An automobile. As per instructions from the product design company in Glendale, Arizona, anybody can personally build their own unique crossbreed car namely the XR3, Robert Q, that will give 225 miles per gallon. With the firm offering $200 worth of construction plans, the whole activity could be little challenging yet a lot of fun.

This car will run either on an electric or a diesel-based hybrid, with a rough estimate of $5000 for the spare parts of an electric replica. The building process could be a little taxing, but no pain no gain right? This DIY car is a definite dream coming true for all those car lovers who have always wanted to own a custom-made mobile!

Chevrolet Cruze on the Way

General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner revealed a full-size foam model of the new Chevrolet Cruze last week. GM announced that it will invest $500 million to build the all-new global compact car that will replace the Chevy Cobalt in the United States. The automaker calls it “the first of an all-new generation of fuel-efficient small cars.”

Slightly smaller than the Cobalt, the Cruze could become the carmaker’s fiercest competitor for car shoppers looking to save money at the pump. “We expect the Cruze to have segment-leading fuel economy,” a company spokesperson told the Associated Press. “It will significantly exceed the Cobalt XFE‘s numbers.” The Cobalt XFE has been one of Chevy’s top all-around sellers, offering fuel economy of 25 in the city and 37 on the highway—with a combined mileage of about 32 miles per gallon.

Though no official mpg figures have been released for the Cruze, industry insiders are expecting combined fuel economy to approach or even exceed 40 miles per gallon. If this is the case, Chevrolet may have a viable alternative to high-mileage hybrid cars from Toyota and Honda.

Abroad, the Cruze will be outfitted with a choice of 1.6- and 1.8-liter gasoline engines, and a 2.0-liter turbo diesel. In the US, it will be powered by a turbocharged version of the 1.4-liter engine, also to be used in the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. The key to the Cruze’s efficiency is its compact powertrain and light-weight architecture.

GM is aiming for mass appeal with the Cruze’s visual design: wraparound headlights, a two-tier grille and front wing lines—features that are becoming part of “the design language for future GM models,” according to the company.

A concept prototype of the Cruze will debut at the Paris Auto Show this October, with product launches planned for Europe and Asia some time next year. In the US, it will be built at GM’s Lordstown, Oh. plant, and will arrive in showrooms in mid-2010 as a 2011 model.

Chicago In Top Fives For Hybrid Cars

Chicago ranked fifth among American cities for sales of new hybrid cars, according to a survey by Hybridcars.com and reported in the Sun-Times.

Chicago had 4,862 new hybrid car registrations, the paper reported, putting it behind Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C.

Illinois also ranks fifth in hybrid sales by state, coming after California, New York, Florida and Texas.

Toyota Prius Hybrid Car

Motor Trends Car of the Year for 2004, North American Car of the Year in 2004, 2004 International Engine of the Year, 2005 European Car of the Year, 2006 Energuide Award in the Midsize segment, this and more are the accolades given to the Toyota Prius Hybrid Car. Undoubtedly one of the most popular and most regarded competitor in the ever growing hybrid car segment, the Toyota Prius has definitely made a marked in the motor industry.

The Toyota Prius is a Hybrid car that makes a bold statement against environmental issues and the rising gas prices. It is also the first ever mass-produced hybrid car for commercial purposes. Its name itself means first.

The Toyota Prius hybrid car was first sold in Japan in 1997 before it was distributed all over the globe 4 years later in 2001. Its popularity was boosted by environmentalists touting it as the car for the future to save our planet from air pollution. Sales in North America ws strong and increasing annually. By fall of 2006, the Toyota Prius hybrid car had the strongest demand and has the longest preorder and waiting list there is presently.

Toyota sees the Prius as a venue that would provide the consumers with a vehicle that would produce less pollution and to be very energy efficient. And Toyota certainly reached that goal. They created the Prius from the bottom up resulting to a true hybrid vehicle that is loved worldwide.

Toyota engineers came up with a couple of ways to develop the Toyota Prius hybrid car to be unlike other previous concept electric cars, the Prius doesn’t ever need to be plugged in for recharging. The two electric motor generators get its power from the gas engine, recharging while the engine power is being used. Also, through regenerative braking, a process that recovers kinetic energy when the car brakes and transforming it to electrical energy to recharge the batteries.

By 2004 a second generation of Toyota Prius hybrid car was released on the market. Capitalizing on the development of the new Hybrid Synbergy Drive technology, the previous Toyota Hybrid System was replaced in the new generation Toyota Hybrids. Many improvements were developed and infused in the technology making the Toyota Prius hybrid car even better than before.

Aside from the engine, Toyota added more room to the Toyota Prius hybrid car making it wider and taller allowing for taller people to sit erect inside the car and allowing more views of the road.

Because of the success brought by the Toyota Prius hybrid car and the public awareness it has developed, Toyota has extended its Hybrid lineup to their other vehicles. This includes the Toyota Camry hybrid and their top of the line Lexus marquee with the Lexus RX400H.

Truly, the Toyota Prius hybrid car has gone a long way. Its engineering superiority and its excellent reputation has made it a great choice for many people. Even a lot of notable famous people have bought themselves a Toyota Prius hybrid car to show their support to environmental awareness.

Toyota has definitely hit the nail in the head with the Toyota Prius hybrid car and we can expect to see more of this technology in the future. With Toyota’s dedication to this endeavor, we can be sure that we can finally cut down on gas consumption and save our planet.

BMW Hybrid Car

German Engineering Brilliance and Elegance fitted with Revolutionary Hybrid Technology, A combination of Style and Performance.

Sanyo in talks to supply hybrid car batteries

Sanyo, the Japanese electronics giant, said today that it is in talks with six car makers about the supply of batteries for fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles — one of few growth areas in the automotive industry.
“We are talking with more than five or six car makers on the co-development and supply of auto-use batteries," Masato Ito, Sanyo Electric's senior vice president, told Reuters.
Sanyo and Volkswagen have been jointly developing lithium-ion batteries as the race to the next generation of hybrid cars speeds up. Lithium-ion batteries are capable of holding more power than the nickel batteries that power the current hybrids.
Toyota plans to start producing lithium-ion batteries for its market-leading Prius next year in a joint venture with Matsushita Electric Industrial. Nissan has a joint venture with NEC to do the same.

Sanyo has conducted discussions with manufacturers in the US, Europe and Japan, Mr Ito said.
The pinch of higher oil prices on consumers around the world is expected to speed the move to hybrids and virtually every big car maker is developing new dual-fuel models.
Honda, which has positioned itself at the forefront of the hybrid shift, particularly in the US, will produce 200,000 units of its new hybrid hatchback in Japan — half of which will be sold in North America. Sales of Toyota’s Prius, the world's biggest selling hybrid, rocketed 69 per cent in the US last year as Hollywood stars including Leonardo Di Caprio and Cameron Diaz became converts.
GM and Lexus have produced a range of hybrids, while Hyundai is also working on a hybrid version of its solid-selling Sonata sedan.
European makers, including BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, are all scrambling to bring a hybrid to market.

Honda’s Low Prize Hybrid

Honda Motor Company Ltd. is going to introduced hybrid car for the U.SA and other part of the world. The Honda’s new gas-electric hybrid car will fight openly with Toyota’s Prius. It will be cost lower than the existing Civic hybrid. The executive vice president, Richard Colliver, of American Honda Motor Co. recently announced Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City that the new hybrid car with five-door, for five-passenger going to be launched ensuing spring. He also added The Company’s target sales are 100,000 pieces of this fresh vehicle in North America. Moreover he said in his words that the Civic hybrid starting prize was $22,600, on the other hand the Prius starting of $21,500 but he ensured that Honda goals to make the hybrid reasonable to the new generation of car buyers. But Toyota sold over 181,000 Priuses previous year, on the other hand this year it has already sold around 106,000 units.

Honda already achieved fame for the most fuel-efficient lineup in the U.S.A and declared in the month of May that it is going to put on the market the new hybrid one only Toyota’s Prius competitor in the U.S. auto market. It will start its sell in the U.S.A., Europe and Japan in early 2009. Additionally it ensured that it will produce a fresh hybrid edition of its Fit subcompact. So wait for the ensuing year how perform the Honda’s Hybrid in the world Auto markets.

Hyundai-Kia Chairman affirms hybrid plans, fuel cell production in 2012

Earlier this week when Hyundai America product development VP John Krafcik revealed that the company would unveil a hybrid version of the Sonata at the LA Auto Show, some of the PR people in the room seemed to be caught by surprise. Now the Chairman of the Hyundai-Kia Auto group, Mong-Koo Chung has confirmed that and more. Over on the Kia Buzz blog, the chairman has affirmed production of a hybrid version of the Elantra in Korea in 2009 followed by a mid-size hybrid (namely the Sonata) in 2010. Mong seems to think that more environmentally-friendly cars actually make business sense judging from this comment “low-carbon, environmentally friendly cars represent a high value-added industry of the future that will promote sustainable growth.” The ability to offer more efficient, less polluting vehicles are expected to actually be a selling point as fuel prices and environmental concerns increase.

Going beyond the hybrids, Hyundai and Kia intend to continue pushing forward with fuel cell technology as well. The group wants to commercialize hydrogen vehicles beyond the 66 vehicles they have running in the field today. The company plans to expand the field test fleet to 500 vehicles by 2010 and begin series production in 2012. Mong hasn’t indicated where the company plans to sell these vehicles and how customers will get fuel.

Mexico creates its first hybrid car

Mexicos Hybrid CarThe vehicle could reach a speed of 50 miles per hour and would have capacity to transport two passengers. The prototype would be finished in three months, announced the academic institution in an official notice. Instead of to fill with gasoline, the tanks of the automobile would be recharged with hydrogen that, when making contact with enemy with the fuel cells, would generate the energy electrical whereupon the motor works. ” The Ecovía (the name of the automotive prototype) is a concept of automobile closely related to the context universitario” , it said Oscar Saline, coordinator of the project.

The idea is that the vehicle supports some services that the academic institution offers to its community, among them road and medical aid, transport and monitoring. The car is able to store in a battery the energy that was generated in the fuel cells to use it later, in addition counts on an addition to recharge itself through a taking of electrical current, according to the UNAM. With a cost of about $395 thousands, the escape of the car would expel solely aqueous vapour and heat, apart from which he would be totally quiet. ” It is the first public university of the country that will totally cover the costs with a project of this tipo” , it indicated the UNAM in an official notice.

The Ecovía measures little more of about 10 feet of length, has about five feet of height and other five of stop, as well as 185 miles of autonomy with two hydrogen tanks and 45 miles with the loaded battery.

Peugeot will unveil their "RC" hybrid

Peugeot will unveil their "RC" hybrid at the 2008 Paris Auto Show. This GT coupe is "the missing link between the RC and concept cars revealed in 2002 and the 908 RC."

This four seater concept vehicle will most likely not hit the road any time soon as a production car. It's just a demonstration of what a hybrid power car can be, similar to others that we've already seen, such as the hybrids from Tesla and Fisker. It will supposedly hit 313 hp and have low (109g/km of CO2) or no emissions depending on what mode it's in, electric or 'combined' mode.

"The Peugeot RC is said to be an accessible and versatile car with four doors, four seats and innovative hybrid technology."

Ford Hybrid Car

Although Asian companies such as Toyota and Honda seem to be on the forefront when it comes to releasing new hybrid electric vehicles, it is car companies like Ford that bring the technology closer to home. More known for manufacturing some of the best and most trusted cars and SUVs in the United States, it was only a matter of time that the company also began the production of the Ford hybrid car.

Escape

The Ford Escape is one of the bestselling product from Ford. Ford made the transformation to hybrid by introducing the Ford Escape Hybrid in 2004, a gas-electric version of the SUV from Ford Motor Company.

Ford takes pride in being the first car manufacturer to introduce a hybrid SUV to the market. What makes the Ford Escape Hybrid special is that it sports a full hybrid system. This basically means that it can rely on three systems. It can run on a purely electric system, run purely on gas, or combine both the electric motor and gasoline engine for maximum performance and optimized mileage, regardless of speed or load.

Ford hybrid uses the technology widely used in hybrid cars today which is the regenerative braking. This utilizes the electric drive motor as a generator and basically converts the vehicles momentum into electricity for storage in onboard batteries. That is one of the most efficient technologies any hybrid vehicle can have. The vehicle is known to achieve 36 miles to the gallon on city streets and 31 miles to the gallon on highways; for an SUV, this is fantastic!

Innards

One of the things that Ford is known for is lasting impressions. This is particularly true with the interiors that they build into every one of their cars. The Ford hybrid car gets no less of a treatment and actually comes packed with more than one can bargain for. Since it runs on an entirely different system (or three), the Ford Escape comes packed with a navigation system that also comes with a power-flow display that allows the driver to check on the status of the batteries being charged or used in the car.

The display also shows details on the distribution of energy within the hybrid vehicle itself; this is especially important for those who are conscious about energy consumption. Since the CD area has been taken over by the GPS used for the navigation system, a separate 7 speaker stereo system and 6 CD-changer is also offered for the Ford hybrid car.

The Ford hybrid car costs a hefty price of about $30,000. This may be a high price tag but for an SUV that can save you gas that includes all the features that you can only dream about (such as the navigation system), it is more than just a good bargain.

The hybrid SUV will save you a lot through tax breaks supported by the US government and in gas. Furthermore, with its environmental benefits, it will also earn you the respect from a world community that believes something needs to be done to save the condition of the Earth’s environment.