2010Prius
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Toyota's giant solar flowers popping up across US to bring good will, free WiFi, and charging stations
Now here's a smart marketing campaign. In an effort to raise awareness / interest in its 2010 Prius, Toyota planted five 18-foot tall "solar flowers" in Boston's Prudential Plaza and provided free Wi-Fi and electricity that was "partially powered" by the solar panels attached to the petals and stem. The so-called "Harmony Between Man, Nature and Machine" just disappeared from Boston but will next germinate in New York, followed by Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. We're not exactly in the market for a car right now, but we promise to think about it while we lovingly enjoy the free laptop charge and internet access.[Via PhysOrg]Read - Flickr set from BostonRead - Schedule
Next-gen Prius now official, uses solar panels to keep car cool
The very shoe-like 2010 Toyota Prius has made its official debut at this week's Detroit Auto Show. The company estimates it'll have a 50 MPG rating -- up from 46 MPG in the previous model -- and there's a bigger, 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine for improved highway mileage. In addition to Power and Eco driving modes, EV Drive will let you run on battery alone for about a mile, which if nothing else should provide a little extra push for getting to the gas station when you've held off for too long. One of the coolest (literally) new features is the optional solar panels in the moonroof that will generate power for circulating air and keeping the interior temperature from going too high. If that's not enough, there's a remote-controlled A/C system that can run on battery alone and lets you set the temperature before you get in. Check out the read link for more specs and the full press release.
Next-gen Prius semi-officially leaks out: yep, looks like a shoe
We thought we had a handle on what the next-gen Prius was going to look like when we spotted those renders back in July, and Toyota's just confirmed that some press shots that leaked out last week are the real deal, not just photos of a super-high-tech sneaker. The company isn't providing any more information until the official debut at January's North American International Auto Show in Detroit, but we're hoping we'll get some more details about those plug-in fleet tests, as well as those solar plans. Check a few more shots at links below.[Thanks, Miko34]Read - 2010 Prius photos on Prius ChatRead - Toyota corporate blog
2010 Prius revealed, sneakers still a major design influence
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.
