Autoblog

Toyota has been testing plug-in versions of its Prius hybrid sedan on public roads in Japan for quite some time and the models have made it Stateside for testing, as well. Now Toyota has begun testing its PHEV in the U.K. Along with EDF Energy, the Japanese automotive giant and undisputed hybrid development leader plans to run the plug-in Prius on public roadways for at least a year, starting today. As the car, with its very unfortunate paint job, is driven by EDF employees as part of the energy company's fleet of vehicles, both its capabilities and the cost savings to run the PHEV will be recorded and hopefully provide some sort of useful data to Toyota. Seriously guys, enough teasing. The real question is when Toyota will find enough reason to actually start offering the plug-in Prius for sale.


[Source: Toyota]

Toyota is the undisputed leader in the hybrid space, and the Japanese automaker is looking to expand its kingdom by adding an all-electric vehicle to the mix. While there are few details available, Toyota has said the EV would likely be an urban city-type vehicle that will be available in the "early 2010s". Hopefully it will be more accommodating than Toyota's last attempt at an EV: the eCom (above), which used the innards of the RAV4 EV to achieve a top speed of 62 mph and a range of just 60 miles. Toyota's new EV, however, will be preceded in 2009 by the arrival of the brand's first plug-in Prius hybrid.

[Source: Bloomberg]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Fisker Karma

Fisker Automotive is going to have its work cut out for it when it comes to meeting its self-imposed deadline of bring the Karma sedan to market by the fourth-quarter of 2009. To complicate matters even further, the automaker is now rumored to be working on three more plug-in hybrids. That would represent a truly serious undertaking for such a small automaker. To ease matters slightly, all four models would use the same basic underpinnings -- including the most important piece of all, the lithium ion battery and its assorted bits. Fisker has recruited Quantum Technologies, a company which has seen success building vehicles for the military, for help in creating the drivetrain for its electric vehicles. Reportedly on the drawing board are a coupe, a convertible and an SUV, all of which should go a long way towards meeting Fisker's goal of selling 15,000 vehicles a year by 2011.


[Source: Channel 4]

With the Feds eager to keep raising the bar on CAFE standards, and apparently doing so based on proposed future technologies, General Motors Corp. bluntly told federal regulators not to count on the Chevrolet Volt, or other planned plug-in hybrids, when proposing new rules. GM is maintaining the position that those vehicles will be built in such low numbers through 2015, that they won't make a significant enough impact on the fleet. As it stands, Chevy plans to be build 10,000 Volts in 2011 (the first year of production), and 60,000 the following year... and meeting those numbers is highly dependent on outside suppliers for battery and technology delivery (let's hope they don't mimic the problems Toyota is having with the Prius battery supply). It was earlier this year when the NHTSA proposed a 25 percent increase in fuel economy rules from 2011 through 2015. It has been estimated that meeting those standards would cost GM about $17.3 billion. Although GM isn't trying to skirt tougher regulations, it is their goal to set "reasonable perspectives" with regulators. At a time when GM is struggling to survive (and they are not alone), the CAFE noose just may need to be loosened a bit.

[Source: Freep]

Click above for more shots of the Ford Escape PHEV

In what seems like a convenient answer to Mark Fields' request just yesterday for government assistance for the development of plug-in hybrids, the Department of Energy has just announced that it will be granting up to $30 million for just this type of vehicle. Not that thirty-mill is a small sum or anything, but that amount of money will be spread rather thin, being divided across three separate projects from three different manufacturers. Ford is one of them, while General Motors will receive funding for battery development and Chrysler, in partnership with General Electric, will also get some love.

The end-goal of this funding is a plug-in hybrid vehicle that is capable of traveling 40 miles on electric power alone. The DOE hopes that these specifications can be cost-effective by the year 2014 with vehicles on the road around 2016. We're a little puzzled, however, by the relatively small amount of money being handed out to reach these goals. Hydrogen fuel cell technology has received over four times as much funding and is nowhere near as close to production as PHEVs. Regardless, we look forward to seeing some of these investments bear fruit as soon as possible.

[Source: DOE via Green Car Congress]

In these days of nearly nonexistent profits for every one of Detroit's Big Three automakers, R&D funds must be allocated very carefully. In contrast, Japanese manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda have been earning profits on a yearly basis. Not long ago, a mild spat arose regarding whether or not the Japanese government helped fund the development of Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive. Even if they didn't do it in the past, Ford's President of the Americas Mark Fields indicated that they are doing it now at a conference held today in Washington, D.C. by Brookings and Google.org titled Plug-In Electric Vehicles 2008: What Role for Washington?

Fields called on the U.S. government to step up to the plate, mentioning tax breaks and incentives as one option to aid consumers who'd like to purchase these ultimately expensive vehicles one day. On the manufacturing side, Fields suggests that plug-in hybrids should be a "national priority", with Washington needing to allocate funds for research and development. Another area singled out is a domestic supply of batteries, since most of the units used in today's hybrids are being manufactured overseas.

It should be noted that General Motors already has a head start towards PHEVs with its upcoming Chevy Volt. As far as we're aware, the development costs for this vehicle and its batteries has been moving forward without direct assistance from the government. Feel free to read Field's entire speech after the break.

[Source: Ford]

The current Prius is baked from a refined recipe that results in a roomy, practical and efficient vehicle lurking under an eco-statement exterior, or at least we thought so. Five years on, it's still the most popular way to conspicuously consume under the guise of saving the planet. Toyota hasn't been resting on the success of its green badge of targeted consumerism, so we're going to see a new Prius at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in January, according to Toyota President Watanabe. The 3rd-generation Prius will grow in size, and engine displacement will be bumped to 1.8 liters to increase performance. Despite the increase in size and sprightliness, weight will reportedly hold steady. Further changes are in store after the launch, with plug-in and Li-Ion updates to come.

The nameplate will also move beyond a single model and become a sub-brand during the reign of Prius the III. More body styles are coming, and if you think the Prius is a roachy-looking thing, the concept hints Toyota has given us are possibly even weirder. The sub-1,000 pound 1/X might offer a glimpse at another type of Prius, though more realistically, the sad-eyed Hybrid X vannish concept suggests the way things are headed without the ridiculous pronunciation of its featherweight companion. If things go according to Toyota's plan for world domination, the Prius will become one of the pillars upon which the marque is built, next to the Corolla and Camry institutions.


[Source: Auto Observer]

A little over a year ago, Alan Mulally's time was spent managing Boeing, and here in LA just 14 months later he's the keynote speaker for at an international auto show. He's a year older, and he also knows a heck of a lot more about cars than he did when he took the helm at Ford Motor Company. In that time, Ford has begun on reversing its massive losses, a new contract with the UAW has been ratified, and new products like the MKS introduced today are on the verge of production.

Much of Mulally's keynote speech focused on the green initiatives that Ford is undertaking, and we've attached the above video clip with the meat of Ford CEO's message. Click play above to check it out.

Last week Ford unveiled the Airstream concept at the Detroit Auto Show, which marked its first public attempt at a plug-in hybrid. Like the Chevy Volt, it's primarily battery-powered with an auxiliary power unit to charge the battery on the go. The Airstream, howver, differs from the Volt in that it's equipped with a hydrogen fuel cell instead of an internal combustion engine.

This week at the Automotive News World Congress, Ford's hybrid vehicle manager Nancy Gioia delivered an address where she indicated that Ford is seriously considering a production plug-in hybrid vehicle. The battery, of course, is the main hold up. Because of the added complexity of a PHEV, a strong, affordable, reliable battery is critical to getting enough battery range to make such a vehicle worthwhile. Gioia indicated that additional tax credits may be necessary for buyers to find such a vehicle economically viable.

Ford was no doubt spurred to make this statement concerning the future viability of a plug-in hybrid based on the warm reception of the Chevy Volt Concept at the 2007 North American International Auto Show. Ford was the first domestic automaker on the scene with a hybrid when it introduced the Ford Escape Hybrid a few years ago. Eager to maintain its image as the greenest automaker based in the U.S., announcing the potential for a plug-in hybrid puts it somewhat back on par with General Motors, though the General has actually produced the Volt Concept, which is much more production feasible with its E-Flex chassis than Ford's Airstream Concept.

[Source: Automotive News - Subscription required]

UPDATE: The designer of the Camper Lotus, Patty Yuan, has contacted us with some corrections to our original post on her urban commuter. The design is actually her senior thesis project, and is simply a proposal to suggest what such a commuter vehicle might look like if it were designed by the company Camper. Neither Camper nor Lotus participated in the design of the Campter Lotus, and it appears as if the web has been creatively extrapolating both company's involvement from the project's name.

Spanish shoe brand Camper is just as famous for its lifestyle projects as it is for its shoes. FoodBALL, for example, is a restaurant opened up by the company pushing organic fast food in the form of whole grain rice balls filled with more organic, locally-sourced stuff (mushrooms, chicken, carob, etc.). Even the take-away materials are fully biodegradable, made from corn and sugar cane. Casa Camper, another endeavor, is a hotel tucked away in the cultural ground zero of Barcelona -- minutes from the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Centre of Contemporary Culture. Standard rooms have additional private space across the hall where guests can watch TV in hammocks or embark upon other projects, and as with FoodBALL, the environment is top priority.

Not one to pass up an opportunity to diversify in strange places, Camper has teamed up with Lotus to create an ecologically-friendly (concept) answer to Chinese traffic congestion. The Camper Lotus Personal Commuter is targeted at young entrepreneurs trying to find a better way to get to work. The gyroscopic two-wheeler has an incredibly small footprint, making parking a breeze, and encourages customization both inside and out. The enclosed nature of the car also provides the driver with personal space, a commodity difficult to come by on a scooter or bicycle. Power comes from household wall outlets, by the way, making for a convenient and generally cleaner makeup.

[via Jalopnik]