We've been hearing rumors about a
partially solar-powered Prius, but Car and Driver's got some info on the 2010 model scheduled to make an appearance at the Detroit Auto Show in January, and it doesn't appear that sunlight plays a part quite yet. The popular hybrid gets a more angular shape, but it still basically looks like a shoe -- which isn't to say it's not an improvement over that
earlier rendering, which looked like a terrifically ugly shoe. Dimensions are only slightly bigger, as Toyota wants people to "recognize the Prius as a Prius" but the engine gets a small boost to 1.6 liters while fuel economy is said to be improved over the current model's 48 / 45 EPA numbers. There's also a plug-in version in the works, but the battery tech to make that happen is still under development, and supplies will be limited to the "hundreds of units rather than thousands." All this is partially speculation on C/D's part, so we're still holding out hope for solar panels, but we've got a feeling that's not going to happen for a while yet.
[Via
TG Daily]
Update: Our bad, looks like the image above is apparently just Car and Driver's illustration of what they think it COULD look like. Thanks, Dave.
posted July 7th 2008 9:54PM
When the guy was talking about nuclear as being the future, he was refering to it as a source of power, which in turn can be used for anything ... not as a "nuclear engine" for your car ... stupid ...
Anyway, batteries used in the Prius are Ni-Cd. Cadmium (Cd for you readers that have no clue) is very harmful to the environment because of the way it's mined, just ask the folks around Sudbury, Ontario, if you care - being in a foreign country. The next gen. Li-ion batteries, like the ones that Chevy is trying to perfect for the Volt, are not, Lithium being very common in earth's crust.
So : produce nuclear power, then plug in your car !!! duh ...
The battery technology used in the current Prius is Sealed Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH). Information source, www.toyota.com/prius-hybrid/specs.html. Imagine that. My advise: try and make it just a little harder for us to determine that you don't know what your talking about.