Comments on: Toyota Will Double Hybrid Production to 1 Million by 2011

By: tapra1

tapra1 — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:49:26 +0000

rising to 900,000 in 2011 and roughly 1.1 million in 2012. When domestic production combines with Toyota hybrids assembled at four overseas sites, the volume will exceed 1 million in 2011.Tech Follow

By: Robert Champoo

Robert Champoo — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:01:43 +0000

Toyota is making every effort to minimize any long-term impact on the availability of the Prius, despite halting production at all 18 factories which assemble Toyota and Lexus vehicles – a move that is expected to result in the loss of production of at least 140,000 vehicles.
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By: owlafaye

owlafaye — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:46:27 +0000

The GM Volt is already far behind the technology that will be available at the time of its first sale to the general public. I don’t think the public or practicality is going to take to what is essentially a 1926 Owens Magnetic auto. Reliability down the road is problematic. Cost is ridiculous. GM is headed for another bankruptcy…they just don’t “get it”.

By: Casey Verdant

Casey Verdant — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:40:33 +0000

Toyota’s unbelievable hybrid sales should inspire auto manufacturers. By producing more than 1 million hybrids a year by 2012 means Toyota has confidence that the green car market will continue to grow and expand from minis to trucks and vans.

If you are interested in alternative energies or green cars, check out: http://www.greencollareconomy.com. It has the largest b2b green directory on the web, and lots of sustainability white papers on fuel efficiency, hybrids, and clean cars.

By: DownUnder

DownUnder — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:23:48 +0000

". . . launching new hybrid minivans, subcompacts and luxury cars"

How about a station wagon? That's what I really need.

By: veek

veek — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:51:05 +0000

Taxes have worked out to be a major disincentive to purchasing a new vehicle. If we buy a new vehicle we pay the state and local governments 7.5%, and then for three years we pay as much in increased vehicle registration taxes as we would save in gas if we bought a hybrid.
Then, add in the non-tax costs like increased insurance costs for several years and many thousands in extra depreciation, and you have powerful disincentives to buy new, to help manufacturers pay for new development, and to help the environment.
If we want to get older or inefficient cars off the road, they should actually be taxed more than new ones (Japan and Germany once effectively had such a system, although I am not sure if they still do).
Taxes are unpopular but if we are keep demanding more government services we are going to have to pay for them somehow, ethically and realistically.

By: ex-EV1 driver

ex-EV1 driver — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:21:25 +0000

I'm with Prius with a Gun Rack here. We should tax the energy consumed by the vehicle. The damage to roads is proportional to the impact on them which is highly correlated to the energy used to move the vehicle. The tax to maintain the roads should then be on the energy consumed. Lets keep the taxes correlated with the costs.
Taxing a vehicle's weight or gas mileage in its purchase does not make sense since it could be purchased for a specific purpose but might not actually be driven many miles, such as for hauling big loads infrequently. That would be punishing it for the potential to do damage, not for actually doing damage.
As EVs come on the road, we can simply do a translation from gas consumption to electricity consumption for charging a vehicle. It would simply require another meter on a home charger, just like the one at the electric service panel.

By: Scott Z

Scott Z — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:22:57 +0000

I have said for years the taxes on homes should be lowered and taxes on gas raised. Also states should make their car registration fees based on curb weight and MPG estimates per model. A light fuel efficient car like a Honda Fit or Toyota Prius would then be much more affordable compared to a Honda Pilot or Toyota Forerunner. That would really help bring home the true cost of car ownership.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:25:24 +0000

To a degree, the nature of consumer based economics does not typically favor conservation products such as EV or hybrids. It is almost a paradoxical relationship here.

With fuel becoming less important in the funding equation, perhaps it may make more sense to start taxing base on actual vehicle mileage driven and types of vehicle as others have suggested (since traditional tools such as tolls are unpopular).

By: veek

veek — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:57:54 +0000

Our government bureaucrats can dream about tax enhancements and electric grid plans and other grandiosely arrogant schemes, but . . .

manufacturers like Toyota, Ford, and Honda are actually rolling up their sleeves and doing something tangible and beneficial right now. Good work!