Toyota Prius News

  • 2011 Toyota Prius

    Toyota announced this week that it had ended what it called a “decade-long debate” by decreeing that the plural of Prius would be Prii henceforth and to the end of time. Okay, they didn’t say that last part. Toyota unveiled the winning word at the Chicago Auto Show this morning. Jay Schwartz, head of content for Dictionary.com, was on hand to inform the public that, as the plural of Prius has now been determined, the term 'Prii' will be reflected in Dictionary.com. After the more than 1.8 million votes were cast during the course of the six-week campaign, Prii beat out its...

  • 2011 Toyota Prius
    Do Battery-Pack Failures Reduce the Life of Hybrid Cars? A Reader Asks

    Our reader Jonathan P asks: I have a 1997 Saturn that, remarkably, is still running. It probably has the book value of a large watermelon, so if anything major goes wrong with it, that's the end of that. If that Saturn were a hybrid, I'm guessing the battery pack would have died about four years...

  • Texas cowboy by Flickr user aechempati
    The Curious Story Of Electric Cars And Texas

    When people think of Texas, there’s always certain stereotypes associated with it: cowboys, twangs, conservative politics, boots, guns and big, gas-guzzling trucks. While some stereotypes are rooted in truth, Texas can surprise you. Like when people actually visit a major city and realize...

  • toyota iq 13l geneva live 001
    Can an EV Be Too Small? Toyota Says No With iQ EV for Geneva

    We have said it before and we will say it again: Electric vehicles will be all the rage in 2011. We have seen some great strides in the market, so much so that auto manufactures that were saying just last year that the technology wasn’t ready for the electric vehicle (EV) are now putting new...

  • M. Allen Swift with his 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Picadilly Roadster
    Cars That Last And Last: Driving The Same One For 77 Years

    We've all heard the stories about people who hang onto their cars for decades. Irv Gordon's 1966 Volvo P1800 is one; he's got more than 2.6 million miles on it now, after buying it new for $4,150. Then there's Rachel Veitch, who at 91 has logged 562,000 miles--and had no fewer than 18 batteries and...

  • Toyota exec Frank Miller and Zipcar CEO Scott Griffith
    Testing A Plug-In Prius Or Volt Gets Easier For Civilians

    With cars like the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf already on sale, plus a handful of startups either selling or building battery-powered cars on U.S. soil, it’s safe to say that the electric car revolution is truly upon us. Sadly, the cost of entry to be a part of this revolution is still...

  • Zipcar's Scott Griffith and Toyota's Frank Miller with a Toyota Prius PHV

    If you are like me, then you probably can’t stand the idea of ordering a car that cost five figures and part of what you make in the year without driving it. So what are you to do? If you are one of the tens of thousands of consumers out there then you probably go an take a test-drive. That is a little trickier when it comes to leading edge technology like the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid. Toyota seems to get that and that the adoption rates by consumers are going to be slow if they can’t experience them. The solution—put them in the hands of drivers through controlled...

  • 2004-2009 Toyota Prius battery pack, second generation
    Horrifying Web Advice & Why Prius Batteries Aren't That Mysterious

    Don't believe everything you read on the web. From the Department of Dangerously Wrong Information comes a horrifying piece on Yahoo's open content network, entitled "What New Prius Batteries Cost and How You Can Save Thousands." It looks like one of many articles that respond to consumer worries...

  • 2011 Toyota Prius
    Will Toyota Cut Prius Prices To Keep Hybrid Sales High?

    Hybrid sales in the U.S. have flattened over the last couple of years, but they're going great guns in Japan. Now, an analyst suggests that the great popularity of the Prius in its home market may lead Toyota to cut the price there to keep its sales high. The Toyota Prius has been the best-selling...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt home charging
    Do High Electricity Tariffs Make CA Electric Cars Costly?

    California might be considered the U.S. spiritual home of the electric car, but according to a new study by Purdue University in indiana the cost of charging electric cars in California may be higher than anywhere else in the U.S. Or is it? According to the university’s Wally Tyner, the James...

  • Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid prototype, tested in November 2010
    Toyota Prius Plug-In: Can It Measure Up To Chevrolet, Ford And Nissan’s Offerings?

    Last week, I wrote about how Ford and GM have staged comebacks that hinged in part on the carmakers’ embracing of new electronics, launching greener cars with smartphone apps and wireless and voice-command capabilities. Toyota will soon be joining the crowd by offering all of the above...

  • 2008 Toyota A-BAT Concept
    Confirmed: Toyota Could Consider Prius-Based Pickup Truck

    Auto shows are a great place to get rumors--or even wild fantasies--confirmed. (Or, occasionally, dismissed contemptuously--but that's a different story.) Following today's Toyota press conference that introduced the Prius V multipurpose vehicle that will go on sale as a 2012 model, and unveiled...

  • Toyota Prius C Concept launch press conference, 2011 Detroit Auto Show

    As part of the family of four Toyota Prius hybrids that the carmaker unveiled at the today's Detroit Auto Show, it showed a concept for a new, compact Prius hatchback. Low, edgy, and relatively sleek for a highly aerodynamic Kamm-tailed car, the Prius C concept is actually Toyota's second concept on the compact hybrid theme, the first being the lime-green FT-CH Concept that was unveiled at the same show last year. The Prius C Concept is still only a styling exercise, but watch for Toyota to launch a production version of the car sometime during the first half of 2012. Like the Prius V...

  • Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid prototype, tested in November 2010
    Smart Grid’s Silver Spring To Unveil Prius Charging Technology

    In the latest example of the opportunities created by the rollout of electric vehicles, smart grid networking player Silver Spring Networks announced it will unveil a prototype tomorrow of a charging station enabled with its technology for the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid (pictured). The...

  • 2010 Toyota Prius ad comparing its emissions to those of a sheep (cropped)
    Toyota Prius Ad We'll Never See: Animals Worse Than Hybrids

    Some of the first emissions regulations in the world came about because of the way the Los Angeles Basin is shaped. Reports of smog in southern California started with the Conquistadors, and by the Sixties, LA was notorious for its foul air. California began regulating auto emissions before the...

  • The 2010 Toyota Prius
    Counting Down To 2011: Top ASC Article for February 2010

    For some the year has probably flown by and for others it might seem like it won’t end. Either way when we look back at what was going in February 2010 there was a lot to comment on. We had Diesel designing a special edition Fiat 500 for the Geneva Auto Show, news that about $25K would buy...

  • 2011 Mazda2 exterior and detail
    Most Popular Posts of 2010: Mazda2, Prius Crashes, Leaf, Volt, and Other EVs

    We love looking back to see what's been popular over the course of a full year. And 2010 was definitely chock-full of green car news. Our 10 most popular posts this year are a little less random than last year's most popular, which featured Muslims and ethanol, urine, hybrid Ferraris, and our...

  • prototype 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, April 2010
    New Toyota Prius Concept To Debut At Detroit Auto Show

    The Toyota Prius is expected to have some company in the model line up soon with the anticipated debut of the Prius Plug-in Hybrid (PHV) and the yet named compact minivan. However, today news hit the wire that there might be an additional surprise concept vehicle at the Detroit Auto Show in January...

  • Toyota Prius MPV sneak peek

    The 2011 Detroit Auto Show holds promise for Prius-lovers, with the first addition to the ubiquitous hybrid brand's family: an MPV, or multi-purpose vehicle. Americans may want to call it a wagon, or a hatchback, or something else, but whatever it's named, it's a longer, larger version of the Prius. X Games skateboarder Bob Burnquist, himself a big fan of sustainable living and minimizing environmental impact, gives us a few teasers of what to expect--including a look down its long cargo area--in the video below. Beyond this small sneak peek, however, we know a bit about what to expect of the...

  • 2008 Toyota Prius
    Reader Question: Can I Tow My Prius Behind My RV or Motorhome?

    We love reader questions, and occasionally they prompt posts, like this one: I'm thinking of buying a motorhome. Can I tow my 2008 Toyota Prius behind it? Stumped us, so we turned to the good people at Toyota. They sent us excerpts from the Prius owner's manual, complete with many, many, many...

  • 2011 Toyota Prius
    Want To Buy a Toyota Prius Hybrid? This Is The Month To Do It

    Auto executives always want you to buy their cars, today. That goes without saying. But it's slightly less common for them to say, in effect, "This is the month to buy, 'cause we're going to be discounting the heck out of 'em." Nonetheless, that was the message from Bob Carter, Toyota's group vice...

  • Dealer
    Who Buys Electric Cars: Greens, Geeks, or Gloaters?

    As any businessman will tell you, understanding your market is the key to selling your product. So as automakers worldwide ramp up electric car production ahead of a mass launch of plug-in vehicles they are seeking the answer to one very important question: What sort of person buys electric cars?...

  • 2011 Toyota Prius
    Like the Toytoa Prius? TMC Has More Where That Came From

    Toyota has been the reigning king of the hybrid automotive segment pretty much since they introduced the Prius over a decade ago. Speaking of decades the question for a little while has been what is next for Toyota, especially with the introduction of the Chevrolet Volt and all-electric cars like...

  • Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid prototype, tested in November 2010
    Toyota Starts Sharing Its Prius Plug-in Prototype

    Over the Thanksgiving holiday the team over at GreenCarReports.com were lent a Toytoa Prius Plug-in Prototype to test. The plug-in Prius is one of those cars Toyota enthusiasts have been waiting for and speculating for quiet some time—some even call it a super Prius. Now that our sister site...

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