Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of Honda's new hybrid.

Honda's oft-discussed, yet never spied Prius-fighter has been caught by the merry minions at KGP. A parade of three cars were shot in the desert, including the prototype you see above, a facelifted Civic Hybrid and the new model's arch rival, the Toyota Prius.

While the cloaked mule's shape could be easily mistaken as a Prius, the two-tier instrument cluster is a dead giveaway of the prototype's Honda origins. The nose is notably lower than its Toyota competition and although the hatch is an obvious rip on the Prius' aerodynamic rear, the fenders have a discernibly steeper angle, along with a trunk lid sporting a small spoiler.

The unnamed hybrid from Honda will make its debut at the Paris Motor Show later this year, and will adopt many of the design cues found on the big H's hydrogen-powered FCX Clarity sedan.

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Toyota Hybrid X concept.

The Nikkei business daily in Japan is reporting that the next generation Prius – due out next year as a 2010 model – will supposedly be fitted with solar panels to power a variety of electrical accessories, including the air conditioning. The source informed Nikkei that the solar panels, which would be a first on a production vehicle offered by a major automaker, would be equipped on "high-end" versions of the Prius. There was no mention of what kind of premium Toyota will charge for the solar-equipped Prius, but it confirms earlier reports that ToMoCo plans to expand its lineup of hybrid models.

[Source: Reuters]

Toyota pretty much has the hybrid market cornered right now with its Prius sedan, and the automaker is reaping the benefits of the model's fuel efficiency in the form of record sales. This fact also makes Toyota the envy of various other automakers, considering that their hybrid sales make up a sliver of the overall market. This being the case, nearly every competitor is currently developing advanced hybrid models of their own, including Hyundai, which plans on offering hybrid models for sale in the year 2010.

According to Hyundai CEO Dr. Kim Dong-Jin, its new hybrid technology is "more advanced than the Prius." Don-Jin goes even further, calling the best-selling hybrid model "now quite old-tech." The first Prius was designed back in the late '90s while the current model has been on sale since 2002, and we all know how quickly technology advances. Still, calling out the Prius, which is pretty much the preeminent green car in the world, before your answer to it is even on the market, isn't likely to win the Korean company any friends. Plus, a next-generation Prius with a new version of the company's Hybrid Synergy Drive in on its way and will likely reach showrooms by the time Hyundai begins offering its own hybrid. Yes Hyundai, your first hybrid may be better than today's Prius, but can it beat tomorrow's?

[Source: Autocar (print edition) via Winding Road]

Toyota lawyers arrived at the U.S. Supreme Court today and were denied an appeal to overturn a ruling originally upheld by a federal appeals court in Washington last year. The case involved a technology patent held by a company named Paice LLC, which contended that Toyota used the same microprocessor developed by the McLean, Virginia-based company on its hybrid vehicles that inputs torque information for both the gasoline-powered engine and the electric motor. The $4.3 million dollar award against Toyota will stand, and Toyota is required to pay royalties to the firm to the tune of $25 for every Prius, Highlander Hybrid and Lexus RX400h sold. Ouch. Sometimes the price of success is steep.

[Source: Detroit News]

If Consumer Reports is right, Volkswagen is well on its way to attaining its dream of outselling Toyota by 2015. In the magazine's June 2008 issue, CR threw a handful of hatchbacks into the ring and the VW Rabbit hopped out the winner. The magazine cited the Rabbit's "very well finished" interior for its class, agility, braking and transmission as reasons to choose it over a growing field of small hatchbacks. CR also expects the Rabbit to have an "above average" reliability record.

The biggest negative the staff found in the VW was "mediocre" fuel economy for a car its size, though many SUV drivers looking to downsize will love seeing its 24 mpg figure. Staffers also complained about the large C-pillars blocking their view and engine lag after stops.

Consumer Reports has routinely praised the Mazda3 as one of its favorite hatches, but in overall scoring, the car now comes in third, slightly behind the Toyota Prius Touring. Rounding out the top five are the Subaru Impreza Outback Sport and the newly redesigned Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe twins. At the bottom of the list are the Dodge Caliber and the Chevrolet HHR.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

Click on the image above for our Toyota Prius gallery

When an eight-year-old boy on a bicycle gets hit by a car while riding in the middle of the street, the blame often points directly at the youth. However, if the car in question just happens to be a quiet hybrid-electric... there just may be reason to accuse the vehicle.

Last weekend, a youthful Owen Erickson was riding his two-wheeler with a friend when he was struck by a Toyota Prius and tossed onto the hood of the popular hybrid. Thankfully, he was unhurt. His mother, however, was quick to place some of the blame on the "totally silent" Prius, claiming her son never heard it coming. As a scapegoat, the hybrid-electric vehicle is taking more than its fair share of heat. Two years ago, we blogged about the silent danger of hybrids. Earlier this year, Maryland launched a study, and passed legislation aimed at vehicle noise levels (more specifically, the "lack of" audible decibels), citing a legitimate concern for the blind. Just last month, a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives to study whether or not a "minimum sound level" needs to be established for these highly-efficient silent runners.

We obviously haven't "heard" the end of this hybrid-electric argument as it begins to gain momentum around the country. Whether future Prius models are equipped with blaring sirens or not, we do know that Moms will still need to teach their children to not play in the middle of the street. Thanks for the tip, Tyler!

[Source: KARE 11]

Click above for a gallery of the Prius Convertible.

Some modifications improve the breed; others are just plain stupid. We'll let you decide on this one. A forum member at PriusChat by the name of Exproducer spent six months and over $17,000 modifying his Waveline Blue Prius to get the open-air experience that was obviously lacking from his life. The amount of mods necessary to remove the roof and install the electrically operated soft top are staggering. The side airbags had to be nixed and the rear seats no longer fold down. The antenna had to be removed and relocated to the dashboard, and the trunk has lost half of its usable space with the top folded down. However, what's even more disturbing is Exproducer's claim that while fuel economy has dropped by two MPG with the top up, it's actually improved by four MPG when he's cruising with the wind in his hair. Since Toyota spent millions of dollars on wind tunnel testing the Prius to make it slippery as snot, we somehow doubt the validity of those figures. Regardless, head on over to PriusChat if you want to read up on all the details of the build.

Thanks for the tip, Danny!


[Source: PriusChat]

Click above for more photos of Dr. Yee's Federation Prius-class shuttlecraft

First off, this isn't an April Fool's gag. Dr. Willie Yee is a psychiatrist in Ulster County, New York, but one look at his car tells you that that the man is also a Trekkie -- a serious one at that. Dr. Yee's 2007 Toyota Prius has been transformed from a garden-variety commuter pod into the Federation Prius-class shuttlecraft, Zhang Heng, named for a 1st century Chinese astronomer. The physical conversion involved the application of full Federation markings to the vehicle's exterior and fitting the wheels with a set of moon caps. Inside, a four-person away team can be transported in complete comfort. Dr. Yee has posted extensive documentation related to the Zhang Heng on his website, where you'll learn that it has a top speed of Warp 2 and is armed with a pair of 4-terawatt phasers, among other things (tailgating is not advised).

Kudos to Dr. Yee for keeping things fun. We have to wonder where he gets the dilithium crystals needed to run the warp-enabled car, though. They must be even harder to come by than E85 pumps.

UPDATE: Toyota's Open Road Blog caught up with Dr. Yee, too. Apparently, tinted windows and simulated front-bumper phaser banks are planned future mods.


[Source: WillieYee.info]

Readers of London's Sunday Times kept telling the auto reporters that the official mileage numbers for the Prius were overstated by about 15 imperial mpg. Intrigued, the Times decided to test things out by running a Prius against a BMW 520d with regenerative braking from London to Geneva, a 460-mile trip. Then they added 100 miles of urban running to give the Prius a chance to recover ground on its proper turf.

The verdict: the conventional diesel with Efficient Dynamics beat the full hybrid by 2.2 imperial mpg, or 1.8 US mpg. This means that an executive sedan with all the mod-cons and 500 extra pounds beat the mollusk-shaped sip-tastic wunderkind known as the Prius. And the diesel's CO₂ emissions are just 32 g/km higher than the hybrid poster-child, to boot.

Admittedly, we find the test a bit unfair -- the Prius is not meant show its muscle at "75-mph into a headwind," and adding 100 miles of urban driving doesn't make up for 460 miles of autoroute. Reverse those driving conditions and then let's see who won. Still, for all of us diesel fans out there, it's a feather we won't mind putting in the cap. Thanks for the tip, George!

[Source: Sunday Times via Technoride]

Automotive News sat down with Kazuo Okamoto, Toyota's executive vice president of R&D, in Geneva to discuss the Prius and the automaker's future hybrid offerings. While the interview was short on details, when AN asked whether or not the Prius could spawn its own brand based on the popularity of the hybrid sedan, Okamoto responded in the typical parsed words of an exec talking to a reporter. "We are studying that, but I can't say what stage of the study we are in." Okamoto went on to say that utilizing the Prius' platform for other body styles – including a coupe, sedan or wagon – "is possible." Okamoto remained silent on anything of real substance, but his few comments confirmed what's been assumed for some time: Toyota is looking to capitalize on the sales success of the Prius and the green identity it's forged since its introduction.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]