It appears that Toyota still doesn't quite know what to make of electric vehicles (EVs). The Japanese auto giant was among the first to deliver a production hybrid vehicle to the public with the Prius. The Prius rode a wave of popularity starting with its first-generation and peaking with its...Read more...
Following Honda's unveiling of a concept version of its third-generation Insight hybrid back in December, the Japanese automaker has pulled the wraps off the production version of the vehicle. As we reported last year, not much has changed in the translation from concept to production model with the only major...Read more...
Honda has been rather hit of miss in recent years with its dedicated hybrid vehicles. The first-generation Insight was a spunky, CRX-esque two-seat hybrid that was incredibly efficient (up to 70 mpg), but not exactly a practical vehicle. Honda followed up with the second-generation Insight in 2009 (which looked like a...Read more...
Few things will force a smile the way a throaty V8 engine will when revving it even just in neutral, but the downside to muscle cars and sporty vehicles such as the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 and Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is gas mileage. Best case scenario is twenty-something miles per gallon. Compare that to Toyota's...Read more...
Many have challenged Toyota’s dominant Prius, but none have come close to approaching its sales success. In fact, Toyota has upped the ante, expanding the family to include the Prius v and Prius c. And to top it off, Toyota just launched the fourth generation Prius, which brings with its unorthodox styling and...Read more...
Well, here it is, folks. We brought you images earlier this month that gave you a glance at the front 3/4 and rear 3/4 view of the fourth generation Toyota Prius. But late last night, Toyota officially pulled the wraps off the world’s best-selling hybrid vehicle.
Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way — this...Read more...
The Toyota Prius has never been what we’d call a “looker” by any means. The first generation model looked like a budget econobox sedan (it was), while the second generation model introduced the frumpy hatchback form-factor in 2003. The third-generation Prius, which was introduced in 2009 as a 2010 model year vehicle...Read more...
One of the concerns of owning a full electric vehicle (not a plug-in hybrid like the Volt) is finding a charging station when necessary. Released to the App Store on Monday, March 7, there's an app for that. It's called PlugShare. Available free in the App Store, it was developed by Xatori. Xatori co-founder and chief executive Forrest North...Read more...
This will sound outlandish, but any veteran driver of a Prius, or at least one who's worked hard to get decent mileage out of the hybrid, will tell you it's not. Toyota wants you to drive with a glass of water on your dash; it'll improve your MPG. Actually, Toyota wants you to drive as though you had a glass of water on your dash. The company...Read more...
The Prius is not listed among the models that Toyota recently recalled (and temporarily stopped selling) for sticking accelerator pedals, but according to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, it has its own acceleration problem. At the same time, on Wednesday, reports of Prius brake problems on that same model year emerged.Steve Wozniak was speaking...Read more...
Pardon the headline mashup, but we're combing two automotive stories into one post here. While the two stories might not necessarily be directly related, they both shed light on different views of what the future of automobiles might look like. The first story is about the juicy tidbits General Motors (GM) has just revealed about the production-version...Read more...
Many have modified their Priuses, and one of those possible modifications is a rooftop solar panel system. It seems that Toyota is considering the same as standard equipment for its own models, but only for high-end models, and only to power the AC. Toyota Motor Corp plans to install solar panels on some Prius hybrids in its next remodelling,...Read more...
Lithium Technology Corporation has unveiled a new line of batteries to be used in electric and hybrid vehicles. Made of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) cells, LTC is confident that they could transform a 46MPG Prius into a 125MPG green machine. “Batteries made...Read more...