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Battery pack upgrade for Prius claims 150MPG
Being shown at the Clean Vehicle Technology Expo in Ontario, California is Hymotion's modified Prius that can hit up to 150MPG in city areas. By adding a 175 pound battery pack to the trunk of a Prius -- which fits conveniently under the floor panel -- and charging overnight using a regular power plug, owners will be able to drive for up to 50 miles on battery power alone: that's well over the average motorist's daily journey. It'll cost $9,500 including installation, but according to one of the staff at the show, half of that could be covered by rebates as part of a new electric cars bill soon to be before Congress. Onwards we go, tip toeing towards a petrol-free future.[Thanks, I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY]
Toyota delays next-gen Prius while GM inks deal with lithium-ion maker
It looks like those waiting for the next generation Prius to hit the road are going to have to hold out a little bit longer. Toyota announced this week that it would be delaying plans to bring its plug-in, lithium-ion-based model to market until 2011, as opposed to 2008, due to safety concerns over the company's chosen battery. In very related news, GM has struck a deal with Massachusetts-based battery developer A123 Systems to produce flat lithium-ion batteries for use in upcoming plug-in electric vehicles, such as the Chevy Volt. With regards to whether Toyota's setback could give GM an edge in the electric car game, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said, "I think that our No. 1 competitor has some problems with their technology, and I do think that it very definitely opens a window of opportunity for us to be first to market with a genuine plug-in hybrid," which sounds like fightin' words, if you ask us.Read -- Toyota delays next-gen lithium-ion PriusRead -- GM says it could lead electric car race
Toyota set to test new plug-in hybrid vehicle
Apparently taking a cue from drivers that have already modded their Priuses for plug-in capabilities, Toyota's now gone and created a plug-in version of the Prius itself, and it's set to soon test the vehicle on public roads. Dubbed the Toyota Plug-in HV, the vehicle can be charged simply by plugging it into a standard electrical socket, although you won't get much farther than 8 miles on a single charge (the gasoline engine will kick in after the batts have been exhausted). While Toyota says that a commercialized version will "depend largely on advances in battery technology," the company is planning to test the vehicle in its current state in Japan shortly, with tests in the US and Europe apparently also in the works.[Via PhysOrg, photo courtesy of Reuters]
Google hybrid car shares its juice for a price
Google -- known for its good intentions almost as much as its search engine -- has entered its nonprofit wing into the red-hot science of hybrid vehicles and energy conservation. The company's peace-sign-flashing, tie-dyed-baja-wearing dreamers are working on a number of new technologies including modded solar charged PHEVs with additional battery capacity, which are also wired for swapping energy back to the grid (possibly even earning the vehicle's owner some hard cash in the process). Apparently Google's experimental hybrid can be wirelessly monitored to determine its charge state, and power can be added or drained according to the needs of the power company (and, presumably, the vehicle's owner). No word on whether it has Gmail integration or the ability to let Sergey Brin take control and drive it into the ocean, should he wish to do so.[Via Digg]
Thieves swiping HOV exemption stickers from hybrids
For those of you enjoying the free-flowing high-occupancy vehicle lane on the Capitol Expressway (in your HOV-exempt hybrid, no less), stay sharp, as it looks like those oh-so-valuable stickers that reside on your ride appear as gold to thieves. Apparently, "two to three dozen" victims per month are surfacing in California, where the now-extinct stickers are presumably fetching a pretty penny on the underground markets. The labels -- which were handed out to some 85,000 hybrid owners in years past to give them the same speedy privileges are carpoolers -- are no longer being administered by the DMV, which means that those that were able to take advantage are now targets. Interestingly, hybrid vehicles that are up for sale in the area are fetching "nearly $4,000 more" than comparative models so long as they come with the coveted sticker pre-installed. Notably, the DMV claims that the "carpool stickers are treated chemically so they crumble apart if tampered with," but that wee tidbit isn't likely to slow down a desperate bandit.[Via Fark]
Prius hack utilizes Vehicle-to-Grid technology to power your crib
For those of you Prius owners who felt the novelty of a hybrid vehicle was finally wearing off, a whole host of new hacks are starting to emerge, which should go quite a ways in expanding the utility of your gas-sipping whip. When you're not cruising around at the tune of 116 mpg, you can purportedly flip the power in reverse and actually juice up your house with your ride. A prototype system being demonstrated by California's Pacific Gas and Electric Company utilizes Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology to actually send power in reverse to energize a few in-home lights, appliances, and of course, Wii exercise sessions. Potentially more interesting is the possibility to actually "sell back energy to the utility during hot afternoons when demand is highest and most costly to avoid blackouts." No word just yet on when this stuff will be rolled out en masse, but if you needed just one more reason to plunk down for a Prius, it doesn't get much better than this.[Via The Raw Feed]
Questionable report claims Hummer is greener than Prius
You won't have to look too hard in order to find a report or two claiming that hybrid vehicles aren't as miraculous as they are oftentimes portrayed, but when a recent article declared that Toyota's flagship hybrid was more taxing on the environment than a Hummer, you've got to wonder what's going on. Incredibly, the questionable findings from CNW Marketing stated that GM's gas guzzler only cost about $1.95 per mile to put on the road, while the Prius rang up $3.25 per mile in order to hit the pavement. Reportedly, these zany numbers include all production costs -- which supposedly run around 50-percent higher on the hybrid -- but the story started to smell fishy when we found that the per-mile statistics were based on a 100,000-mile Prius and a 300,000-mile Hummer, which seems to be a stretch in both directions. Currently, there seems to be a huge amount of skepticism surrounding the bold figures, and until the testers place both vehicles on a level playing field from the start, we doubt those discrepancies will fade anytime soon.[Via Slashdot]
Hitachi's PriusOne and PriusAIR do the Merom bump
So in addition to the Prius K series of laptops, Hitachi brought the Core 2 Duo to their Prius Air type R and Prius One Desktop W. At the top of the Air type R series is the AR35RS2 Windows Media Center PC which features a 26-inch LCD with 1360x768 resolution, 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo E6300, Intel G965 Express graphics, 1GB memory (expandable to 2GB), 320GB of disk, dual-layer multi-drive, and integrated terrestrial digital TV tuner. That model demands ¥340,000 (about $2,930) and ready to ship October 26. Sure, lesser configs are available for less with a 19-inch display and Pentium 4524, but why settle? The Prius One type W also got a shot of Merom for more all-in-one PC fun. This series comes in W and S flavors with the AW37W2S bringing a 20-inch 1360x768 display, 1.66HGz Core 2 Duo T5500, Intel 945GM Express graphics, 1GB memory (2GB max) that generous 320GB of disk, dual-layer multi-drive, and integrated digital/analog TV tuner which provides a TV-mode to view the boob while the computer is off. The S brings much the same only with a lowly (and much cheaper) Celeron M 410 proc and 17-inch 1280x1024 display. Expect to fork over about ¥290,000 (about $2,499) for the W or ¥210,000 (about $1,810) for the S when they drop in September. Picture of the Air after the break.
Mac mini in a Prius
I'm not much of a car guy, in fact I don't even have a drivers license (hey, I live in downtown Philly so I don't need a car), so it takes a lot to get me excited about cars.This Prius has overcome my apathy towards cars. A clever person has loaded their Prius with a Mac mini. We have seen such carputers before, but this is a particularly slick integration. A touch screen and Front Row work side by side to impress even the most jaded of passengers.Best of all? There are videos of it in action on the owner's website. Almost makes me want to get a car. Almost.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
Toyota's self-parking car coming soon to US
While we may be stuck waiting until 2008 to see GM's self-driving car, US drivers may soon be able to sit back and let Toyota's Prius do the parking for them, as drivers in the UK and Japan can already do, using a $700 "parking assist" option. With the option, drivers need only sit back and control the speed of the car with the brake pedal while the car takes control of the wheel and maneuvers itself into place. According to Toyota, 70% of the vehicle's owners in Britain have chosen the option. Availability in the US hasn't been announced yet, only that it should arrive "soon." We -- and the owners of cars parked in front of and behind ours -- can't wait.[Via Slashdot]
