At 50 mpg, the 2010 Toyota Prius is a game changer - LA Times.
Interesting idea of just buying a bunch of Prius as a way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Of course what would this do to Detroit right now? Especially GM that does not have a high mileage hybrid yet?
The increase in the EPA mileage requirements will help, but slowly.
It would be nice if there was more of an incentive when the price of gas is low to buy high mileage vehicles, be they a Prius, or something else such as the Yarus that also has good mileage, but is not a hybrid.
Showing posts with label hybrids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hybrids. Show all posts
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Hyundai Hybrid
Hyundai Cost Cuts Spare R&D in Push to Match Toyota
Bloomberg - 3 hours ago
More competition the better!
Bloomberg - 3 hours ago
More competition the better!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
New hybrids roll out to widespread indifference
New hybrids roll out to widespread indifference - LA Times.
Sad how people are not buying hybrids right now, not even the Tahoe one that makes such sense to me. There is a price difference on hybrids, which brings up the question what is the best way to push higher fuel efficiency if people are not going to voluntarily pay a premium for more fuel efficient vehicles.
May be plug ins will solve this?
Sad how people are not buying hybrids right now, not even the Tahoe one that makes such sense to me. There is a price difference on hybrids, which brings up the question what is the best way to push higher fuel efficiency if people are not going to voluntarily pay a premium for more fuel efficient vehicles.
May be plug ins will solve this?
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Honda's Hybrid Pricing
Honda's hybrid pricing gambit: the sub-$20,000 Insight - LA Times.
Nice to have some competition for the Prius!
Nice to have some competition for the Prius!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Hybrid Delivery Trucks
I have been surprised that the USPS, FedEx, and UPS have not been pushing something like this - Azure Dynamics Hybrid Delivery-Truck Test Drive: Gas/Electric Hybrid Offers 30 Percent MPG Improvement
Some Press Releases:
Hydraulic Hybrid Vehicles - UPS - Uses Hydraulic Technology.
Green Car Congress: USPS Introduces Diesel-Electric Parallel
FedEx Hybrid-Electric Fleet Surpasses Two-Million-Mile Mark
Which translates as very slow implementation IMHO.
Some Press Releases:
Hydraulic Hybrid Vehicles - UPS - Uses Hydraulic Technology.
Green Car Congress: USPS Introduces Diesel-Electric Parallel
FedEx Hybrid-Electric Fleet Surpasses Two-Million-Mile Mark
Which translates as very slow implementation IMHO.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
EPA Waiver Economic Impact
Will the EPA waiver for California have a negative economic impact? Some people think so and my thoughts are BS.
Why? Take SUV's for example. Hyrid SUV's already exist and don't cost that much more than a regular one, but with cheap gas why would anyone want to buy one? Hmm...
And I thought Detroit was already working on lots of hybrids and electric cars already?
References:
Obama directs EPA to reconsider Bush-era auto emission policy Los Angeles Times
Why? Take SUV's for example. Hyrid SUV's already exist and don't cost that much more than a regular one, but with cheap gas why would anyone want to buy one? Hmm...
And I thought Detroit was already working on lots of hybrids and electric cars already?
References:
Obama directs EPA to reconsider Bush-era auto emission policy Los Angeles Times
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Ford Hybrid Update
Good article about Ford's Hybrid Chief, but what is more interesting is what it shows about the direction that Ford is going in:
Ford's Hybrid Chief Moves Ahead Special Report- Washington Post
Ford's Hybrid Chief Moves Ahead Special Report- Washington Post
Monday, January 12, 2009
New Prius Competitor
It's nice there is finally a real competitor to the Prius! This should help prices eventually...
From the NY Times - Honda Unveils a Cheaper Hybrid Challenger to Toyota’s Top-Selling Prius
From the NY Times - Honda Unveils a Cheaper Hybrid Challenger to Toyota’s Top-Selling Prius
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Plug In Hybrids
Squeezing More Miles Out of That Hybrid from the WSJ. Toyota's culture for the most part is very risk adverse, so I understand how they are worried about the liability issue for plug in conversions. Be nice if they did not have to worry, but they are smart to do so.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid: 52 mpg and the darkness before dawn
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid: 52 mpg and the darkness before dawn - LA Times.
Better late than never! Now the question is how soon will the price of Oil increase, causing increased demand for this car.
The other problem is $25,000 for the car. You can buy a Corolla for $13,000. So $12,000 difference. Assume 20,000 miles driven per year. The payback period would be over 5 years is my guess (yes I feel a bit lazy). Assume $2/gallon gas and the Corolla gets 30 MPG. Fusion say 50 MPG. So every year the Corolla uses 666.7 Gallons, and the Fusion 400, difference is 266.7. So every year at $2 per gallons about $530 is saved. At $4 per Gallon, it's $1060. Which means a 12 year payback. Now if you compare it to a Camry, a different figure would come out with a shorter payback time.
Better late than never! Now the question is how soon will the price of Oil increase, causing increased demand for this car.
The other problem is $25,000 for the car. You can buy a Corolla for $13,000. So $12,000 difference. Assume 20,000 miles driven per year. The payback period would be over 5 years is my guess (yes I feel a bit lazy). Assume $2/gallon gas and the Corolla gets 30 MPG. Fusion say 50 MPG. So every year the Corolla uses 666.7 Gallons, and the Fusion 400, difference is 266.7. So every year at $2 per gallons about $530 is saved. At $4 per Gallon, it's $1060. Which means a 12 year payback. Now if you compare it to a Camry, a different figure would come out with a shorter payback time.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
US Prius Delay
American-built Prius may be on hold till 2011, from 2010- Los Angeles Times. Rumor is due to slower sales caused by the fall in the price of gas. What is interesting is Lithium batteries are not mentioned, just the nickel hydride ones. Which disagrees with this Toyota Confirms 2009 Model Lithium-Ion Prius.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Toyota Hybrid Plans
Someday Toyota is going to release a Hybrid Van in the US. The only question is when. The ones they have been selling in Japan are smaller, than the current monster vans Toyota sells in the US. It's amazing how the Van Toyota sells in the US has grown from one based on their small truck, to one based on their medium car the Camry. The new Sienna redesign should come out in 2010 or 2011 model year, so we may see a Hybrid in 2009. My guess is the Prius will get refreshed with the latest technology, no other major changes for a year to make sure everything works, and then have new Hybrid models come out. I also expect Toyota will will wait one year after a model refresh to introduce a hybrid.
I was surprised that Toyota had some quality issues withe the first year of a new model. We bought a Toyota Corolla in 2004, and it had a couple of stupid design defects that were later fixed. One that annoys me especially, is the clock and be pushed into the panel. And my daughter after I told her tested it out, so I have a pushed in clock. And the clock does not work and the cost of a new module is $200, and since it's out of warranty Toyota refused to fix it. Annoying, and this is our third Corolla. Not to mention the damage this has done to me of Toyota's brand. It still did not stop us from buying a new Sienna (way over engineered and too many features), after carefully considering the alternatives.
Toyota between 2020 and 2030 will have Hybrid versions of every vehicle it manufactures. Toyota is also coming out with a plug-in version that will use Lithium Ion Batteries. Recently there have been reported shortages of Nimh batteries, which has caused shortages of the Prius.
Toyota also reportedly said after the introduction of the 2009 Prius in January, there will be no shortage of batteries. I am not sure if this means they are going to Lithium Ion, or they have built more Nimh factories. They are also going to produce the Prius in the US.
I was surprised that Toyota had some quality issues withe the first year of a new model. We bought a Toyota Corolla in 2004, and it had a couple of stupid design defects that were later fixed. One that annoys me especially, is the clock and be pushed into the panel. And my daughter after I told her tested it out, so I have a pushed in clock. And the clock does not work and the cost of a new module is $200, and since it's out of warranty Toyota refused to fix it. Annoying, and this is our third Corolla. Not to mention the damage this has done to me of Toyota's brand. It still did not stop us from buying a new Sienna (way over engineered and too many features), after carefully considering the alternatives.
Toyota between 2020 and 2030 will have Hybrid versions of every vehicle it manufactures. Toyota is also coming out with a plug-in version that will use Lithium Ion Batteries. Recently there have been reported shortages of Nimh batteries, which has caused shortages of the Prius.
Toyota also reportedly said after the introduction of the 2009 Prius in January, there will be no shortage of batteries. I am not sure if this means they are going to Lithium Ion, or they have built more Nimh factories. They are also going to produce the Prius in the US.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Should you wait to buy a Car?
My answer is yes, if you can wait 2 years I believe the selection of cars with higher mileage, plug-ins, and hybrids will be even greater.
Very exciting times!
- Toyota is talking about having all their cars having a hybrid option. Just imagine a hybrid corolla, and the mileage that would get!
- Toyota will have a plug in by 2010 for the Prius.
- Other car dealers are pushing hard to develop cars to compete with the Prius.
- Toyota is expanding the Prius production significantly.
Very exciting times!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Prius - Made in the USA
Toyota is going to convert a truck plan to make their Prius in the US in Mississippi. This is exciting from several different viewpoints:
- Prius is Toyota's most advanced car.
- Suppliers for the components will build around the factory (like batteries).
- Nice that Toyota is helping their employees by switching the factory over to something that sells. It's nice to see a company taking care of their employees!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Electric Cars - So what?
The more I read about Electric Cars, the more ground game changing I am finding them. Plug-hybrids combined with smart meters could do a huge amount in a relatively short amount of time to change fuel usage. The majority of energy in the US is used by automobiles with oil. What happens when the majority of oil usage goes away.
Some hopeful headlines:
Some hopeful headlines:
Friday, July 4, 2008
Plug In and Hybrid Savings
Calculating the paypack time for a hybrid and a Plug In compared to a regular car.
Assume $4.50 per gallon of gas. 12,000 miles per year. Hybrid mileage 45 mpg. Plug In Cost per gallon equiv. $1.20. Assume avg. car mileage of 25 mpg. Assume a car costs $20K, Prius $24K, and Plug in $27K.
Payback for a Prius now is 4 years and Plug in 4.5 years.
Assume $4.50 per gallon of gas. 12,000 miles per year. Hybrid mileage 45 mpg. Plug In Cost per gallon equiv. $1.20. Assume avg. car mileage of 25 mpg. Assume a car costs $20K, Prius $24K, and Plug in $27K.
Payback for a Prius now is 4 years and Plug in 4.5 years.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Hybrid Changes
Not sure if this is a rumor or not. Toyota to Sell Two New Hybrids by 2010 and 3rd-Gen Prius Expected to Get 90+ MPG
Lithium batteries seems to be 2011 for mass use.
The competition advances, and so does Toyota.
I hope they come out with a hybrid van in the US that makes sense. Not like the joke hybrids they have for some products that have the name, minor increases in mileage, and a higher cost. Pricier Gasoline Makes Hybrids a Better Deal is a good read.
Lithium batteries seems to be 2011 for mass use.
The competition advances, and so does Toyota.
I hope they come out with a hybrid van in the US that makes sense. Not like the joke hybrids they have for some products that have the name, minor increases in mileage, and a higher cost. Pricier Gasoline Makes Hybrids a Better Deal is a good read.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Hybrid Update
Hybrids of the right type (actually save fuel) are flying off lots. Toyota is building a new battery factory (existing one if running 100%) and Toyota to make plug-in hybrid by 2010, Honda is going to triple production, and Ford Abandons Pledge On Hybrid Production
The question is will the high prices of gas stay high? If yes, Hybrids will stay in demand. If no, remember what happened after the oil crises of the 1970's...
Another challenge is having enough production of key parts to make more parts. Toyota builds it's own batteries (Toyota quality is amazing), so in order to increase production they need to build a new plant. They even build their own IGBT's (Electronic Switch).
The question is will the high prices of gas stay high? If yes, Hybrids will stay in demand. If no, remember what happened after the oil crises of the 1970's...
Another challenge is having enough production of key parts to make more parts. Toyota builds it's own batteries (Toyota quality is amazing), so in order to increase production they need to build a new plant. They even build their own IGBT's (Electronic Switch).
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