Toyota Prius News
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by Robert Llewellyn I was only there for one day, and I'm still recovering; car shows are fairly energy sapping events. Everyone I met in Halle 7 said the same thing, "Oh, Geneva is the best one. It's not too big, you can get around and see everything." Remind me never to go to the really big ones, then. Having never been to a motor show before, it's hard for me to make a definitive statement that this one was different. I was told by a few veterans that it certainly was, due to the incredible number of electric cars on display. I was there on press day, so the general public were not...
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Could Chevy Volt Plug-In Displace Prius Hybrid On Red Carpets?It all started with Leonardo DiCaprio, who showed up at the foot of the red carpet in his very own Toyota Prius. Within a couple of years, alighting from a Prius hybrid--or any other hybrid, including the hulking Cadillac Escalade Hybrid luxury full-size sport-utility vehicle--was de rigeur for any...
John Voelcker -
What Are The Turning Radii Of The New Toyota Prii?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...
IEEE Spectrum -
Do Battery-Pack Failures Reduce the Life of Hybrid Cars? A Reader AsksOur 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...
John Voelcker -
The Curious Story Of Electric Cars And TexasWhen 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...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
Can an EV Be Too Small? Toyota Says No With iQ EV for GenevaWe 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...
Jonathan McGrew -
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 seven mufflers under "lifetime warranty" programs--on her 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente. But M. Allen Swift of Massachusetts holds the Guinness World Record for longest-standing original owner. The length of time he drove his car may never be beaten: He was given his 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I...
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Testing A Plug-In Prius Or Volt Gets Easier For CiviliansWith 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Zipcar Puts Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid In the Hands Of U.S. DriversIf 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...
Jonathan McGrew -
Horrifying Web Advice & Why Prius Batteries Aren't That MysteriousDon'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...
John Voelcker -
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...
John Voelcker -
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...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
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. Toyota, maker of the best-known hybrid to date, announced a new family of its Priuses today, including a plug-in version slated for release in 2012. It is also launching Entune, an in-car system with a matching smartphone app that allows drivers to connect to popular web applications like Pandora and...
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Confirmed: Toyota Could Consider Prius-Based Pickup TruckAuto 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...
John Voelcker -
2011 Detroit Auto Show: Toyota Prius C Compact Hybrid ConceptAs 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...
John Voelcker -
Smart Grid’s Silver Spring To Unveil Prius Charging TechnologyIn 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...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
Toyota Prius Ad We'll Never See: Animals Worse Than HybridsSome 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...
John Voelcker -
Counting Down To 2011: Top ASC Article for February 2010For 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...
Jonathan McGrew -
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 ever-popular rant on why Miles-Per-Gallon is a really, really stupid way to measure fuel efficiency. That article on MPG, by the way, was the sole carryover from last year's list (# 7 in 2009, # 6 for 2010). This year, two separate articles on the 2011 Mazda2 hit the top 10 (who knew?) versus just one...
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New Toyota Prius Concept To Debut At Detroit Auto ShowThe 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...
Jonathan McGrew -
Video: Toyota Previews 2012 Prius MPV Ahead Of Detroit ShowThe 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...
Nelson Ireson -
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...
John Voelcker -
Want To Buy a Toyota Prius Hybrid? This Is The Month To Do ItAuto 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...
John Voelcker -
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?...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield