Toyota has upped its fuel-efficiency projection for its Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (PHV), according to Bloomberg, which reports the automaker expects to top the Volt in its U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy rating.
Toyota’s U.S. Group Vice President Bob Carter, said the Plug-In Prius should manage 50 mpg in hybrid mode for combined city/ highway mileage, and earn 95 MPGe assuming its 4.4-kwh lithium-ion battery is recharged frequently.
“It’s still an estimate, but we are confident it’s going to be 95,” Carter said Tuesday. The EPA rating will be known “in a couple weeks,” he said.
When I called Toyota’s new Aqua / Prius C affordable compact hybrid first a “gamechanger,” then an “engineering feat,” this attracted the attention of self-styled jargon vigilantes. They demanded equal platitudes to be bestowed on domestic models. In the meantime, the Japanese game changer threatens to change Toyota’s best laid plans: It sells ten times better than expected.
So, do you think you a lot about cars? What do you know about the monster car carriers that bring an imported car? As far as I am concerned, I knew nothing when I arrived this morning at Nissan’s dock in Oppama, where Japan’s second largest car company showed off a 2012 model car carrier, the Nichioh Maru. And would you believe that the blue and white monster is green?
Despite multiple delays, Coda Automotive chief executive Phil Murtaugh told the media last week he remains confident that sales of his company's debut vehicle, the electric Coda Sedan, will commence before the end of February.
We’ve heard from naysayers that electric and other zero emissions vehicles are not the “future,” and from advocates who say they are.
Of course no one knows the actual future, but if today the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approves its proposed “advanced clean air rules” as it is expected to, zero-emissions vehicles could become far more commonplace nationwide.
California has a long track record of effectively setting environmental policies that force automakers to comply, wind up affecting the rest of the country, and the state is attempting to do it again.
While ongoing CAFE hearings discuss mandating eco-friendly and efficient vehicles, a survey by Deloitte says perhaps an even more powerful force in their favor is also in play.
This would be “Generation Y” consumers – those aged 19-31, alternately known as "Millennials."
This demographic is the largest since the baby boomers and reportedly has a preference for hybrids and in-vehicle connectivity.
Of respondents to the Deloitte survey, 59 percent of respondents want an electrified vehicle.
Of Gen Y respondents, 57 percent said they were interested in hybrids, only 2 percent were interested in battery electric vehicles, and 37 percent wanted traditional combustion-powertrain vehicles.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a formal hearing to discuss and to investigate the potential fire risks associated with the extensively damaged Chevrolet Volts. Darrell Issa, R-CA, chairman of the committee, told members of the House that the hearing—titled "Volt Vehicle Fire: What did NHTSA know and when did they know it?”—will be held on January 25.
In Detroit on Tuesday some strong arguments were heard either in support of or against the proposed 2017-2025 Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards and the auto industry is split on the issue.
The hearing will be followed by two more this month, and these are required by federal government regulators prior to finalizing fuel economy standards by the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency later this year that would mandate a fleet average of 54.5 miles per gallon (about 40 mpg on sticker) by 2025.
The proposed rules are poised to amend standards already set to rise to 37.5 mpg by 2016, and among automakers who’ve spoken in favor of stricter rule include General Motors, Toyota and Hyundai, while others are against, including Volkswagen and Daimler.
Last week, Kia Motors brought its 5-door, 4-seat Naimo electric sedan concept to the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Last week at the Detroit Auto Show, Toyota showed the world the rest of its Prius-transcending NS4 plug-in hybrid concept.
Leading up to this unveiling, Toyota had milked its PR value by showing teaser photos while offering details just as scant as close-ups shots of a headlight or other design aspect.
So here it is – a new hybrid that Toyota says it will be positioned separate from the Prius family.
