This year’s 2011 Denver Auto Show (DAS) has a lot to offer consumers from demonstrations to manufacturer ride and drives to concept vehicles that will “fuel the future.” Wednesday marked the opening of the largest Denver Auto Show in history at some 500,000 sq. ft and it also marked Toyota’s announcement that they will be displaying a number of different alternative fuel vehicles for consumers to see while at the DAS. The wide range of Hybrid Synergy Drive vehicles shows Toyota’s commitment to the environment and delivering customers the technology they want and desire in order to achieve their own carbon foot print reduction goals.
When you arrive at the 2011 DAS, open March 30th to April 3rd, Toyota will greet you at their booth with a display of the current generation Prii, a Prius Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle prototype, a prototype of the upcoming Prius V and the Toyota Srfrider Camry Hybrid CNG prototype. According to Toyota, the Camry Hybrid CNG represents a pushing of the envelope on the possibilities of gasoline fuel alternatives. In order to create the CNG hybrid, Toyota partnered with the Surfrider Foundation. Why CNG? Right, now there are benefits to CNG power like being cleaner and safer than gasoline. In addition, it has the potential to reduce the U.S. dependency on foreign oil and reduce vehicle-operating costs. If you wonder where the natural gas comes from, Toyota sources say 99 percent of natural gas used in the U.S. comes from domestic and other American sources.
How far would this Camry Hybrid CNG prototype potentially go when full? Current figures suggest that the 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine with Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive and a gasoline to CNG conversion would travel 250+ miles when starting full. The fuel economy figures are estimated to be 32/24/33 city/highway/combined, but keep in mind that these figures are estimates and could vary. For those interested in the power, net horsepower is claimed to be 170 hp. For now we can’t give you any performance figures for 0-60 or the ¼ mile, but expect it would be similar or slightly slower than that of the standard Camry Hybrid due to the extra components of the CNG system. That said, it is a neat concept and worth taking a look at while you are at the 2011 Denver Auto Show.
Be sure to check out all of the AllSmallCars.com coverage of the 2011 Denver Auto Show be clicking here. Tickets are $10 at the box office and more show details can be found at DenverAutoShow.com.
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