Hybrid » Australian Car Advice

Lotus develops Safe&Sound hybrid system

August 6th, 2008 6 Comments

A third of the old stop, look and listen safety mantra became redundant with the introduction of new near-silent electric hybrid vehicles.

Lotus Engineering - yes, as in Exige - has developed a ‘Safe & Sound’ external sound system which enhances pedestrian safety for quiet vehicles.

BMW F1 mechanic shocked by KERS

August 1st, 2008 8 Comments

In a bid to make Formula One a greener motorsport, some teams have been trialling a new experimental technology known as the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS).

This system stores electricity generated from braking allowing maximum boost power of up to 60kW - effectively creating a hybrid F1 - which officials plan to utilise as part of overtaking maneuvers.

Toyota to increase Prius production

July 28th, 2008 50 Comments

The Prius may be a few years old and starting to show its age, but there is a new one coming out late next year and the world’s largest car manufacturer, Toyota, is planning to increase annual production by 70 percent.

The Big T plans to manufacture at least 480,000 Prius cars per year starting from 2010, according to a report published in a Japanese industry daily published last Friday.

Toyota Prius the Taxi champion

July 22nd, 2008 91 Comments

To crush myths and rumours about the Prius’ lacklustre battery life and overall performance, Toyota’s marketing arm has shed light on a brilliant story about the rising number of Prius Taxis getting around.

Up in north Queensland a Cairns-based Toyota Prius taxi has recently clocked up 550,000 kilometres, the highest kilometres recorded for an Australia delivered Prius to date.

According to black and white taxis (the car’s owner), in the 3 years of service the Prius has cost half the fuel and maintenance outlay compared to other conventionally-powered taxis in the fleet.

So far there are 32 Prius taxis in Cairns with another eight already in order. Each Prius averages around 200,000km per annum.

“We’ve have had almost three years great service from it, we obviously track our costs very closely and our reports show the Prius consumes half the petrol of other vehicles in our fleet and also half the service costs - it is quite amazing.” Taxi operator Graham Boundy, who owns Black and White Taxis in Cairns, said.

What about the battery life you ask? How does a Prius manage after 550,000km on its original battery? Not that badly! The car in question had a battery that recorded a “low voltage reading” which led to its replacement at 500,000km, Toyota says another Prius taxi also had its battery replaced after 350,000km. These are the only two Prius cars in Australia to have had a battery replacement to date.

500,000km? 300,000km? Both big numbers, when an average Australian car only travels 15,000km/year. We do, however, have to question the affect of time on the battery as well. Something not considered in this case.

“When you consider that the average car in Australia travels approximately 15,000km per year, the 350,000km Prius has crammed over 23 years of average driving into a couple of years, and the 550,000km Prius has fitted in 36 years into three years, which is astonishing.” said Vic Johnston, Toyota’s manager of hybrid sales and fleet strategy.

Love it or hate it, the more familiar the general population become with hybrid cars, the more the demand increases. Toyota is currently having supply issues in overseas markets delivering an unprecedented number of Prius cars to customers.

“When you consider that the Prius taxis in Cairns are generating half the fuel and service costs of other vehicles in their fleets, the Prius is significantly cheaper in whole-of-life costs. That’s why the taxi fleets use them, and continue to order them - they are simply less expensive to run and maintain than conventional vehicles in their fleet.” Johnston said.

The Prius has also won the honour of the cheapest hybrid car to run according to the federal government’s Green Vehicle Guide. On average Prius owners should expect to pay no more than $990 in fuel each year.

Do hybrid taxis make sense to you?

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Holden & Ford most petrol-hungry

July 20th, 2008 56 Comments

The federal government has released its Green Vehicle Guide online, naming and shaming a variety of popular vehicles for their average fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

The Holden Commodore has been named as the most “petrol-hungry” of Australia’s big-selling cars, closely followed by its rival, the Ford Falcon.

Honda hybrid spy photos (FCX)

July 19th, 2008 16 Comments

We’ve talked about Honda building a stand alone hybrid model to rival the Prius for some time. Arch rival Toyota has always had the winning advantage having the Prius as its own specialised model. So much so that the name Prius has now become synonymous with hybrid cars and technology.

Honda on the other hand has been criticised over the years for essentially packaging a hybrid car in the same skin as its bread and butter model (Honda Civic). Somewhat confusing the market, or not differentiating enough. After all, many hybrid owners want the world to know they drive a hybrid!

Buyers want hybrid not E85

July 18th, 2008 15 Comments

New car buyers are considering hybrid vehicles more than ever, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Alternative Powertrain Study, released last Tuesday.62 per cent of the 4000+ new cay buyer respondents said they are considering a hybrid as their next car, an increase of 12 per cent over last year’s figure.

Analysts believe this increase in demand is due to a better understanding of hybrid cars and technology.

Mercedes-Benz going turbo & hybrid

July 18th, 2008 3 Comments

German giant Mercedes-Benz has announced today that it will introduce turbocharged engines across its entire model lineup by the end of 2010.

The announcement comes amid upcoming legislation in Europe and the U.S. which is pushing manufacturers towards more CO2 friendly cars.

Hyundai’s world first LPG Hybrid

July 8th, 2008 21 Comments

Typically pioneering innovations in motoring come from the big name luxury manufacturers; however Hyundai seems keen to make a name for itself as a leader in emerging technologies having today announced the world’s first LPG hybrid production car.

The Elantra LPI Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) will have the lowest operating costs of any hybrid vehicle on the market, with Hyundai determining the cost premium for the new car would be recouped in just two years through fuel savings.

Toyota Prius to come with solar panels

July 8th, 2008 28 Comments

Arguably, the Toyota Prius has become the most talked about car of the last decade, now recognised around the world as an icon. Many have questioned the validity of its purpose, arguing that whilst the idea is right, the implementation leads to nothing more than a feel good product.

If Toyota was hoping to move away from the feel-good-only image, rumours that it plans to install solar panels on some Prius hybrids in its next remodeling, does little to help.

According to insider sources, the Big T is installing the panels in response to a growing demand for “green” cars. “It’s more of a symbolic gesture,” said the source, who wished to remain anonymous.

What will Solar panels achieve? Built by Kyocera Corp., the plan is to power “part of” the air-conditioning. “It’s very difficult to power much more than that with solar energy.” the source said.

Some solar panel experts have long argued that the production and manufacturing process currently outweighs the benefits (with regards to CO2 emissions). Plus given the rising silicon prices, the practicalities seem somewhat irrelevant.

“Even if you laid solar panels out on the entire roof of a house, you only generate enough energy to run two hair dryers. It’s an interesting idea, but it would be very difficult to power a whole car, even with technological advances.” Kentaro Endo, a director at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry who specialises in renewable energy, said

However, Toyota is not the first to try its luck with solar panels. Japanese rival Mazda gave it shot in the early 1990s with the Eunos 800 and Sentia, which didn’t prove popular in the showroom.

The Prius, despite being around for over a decade, is in stronger demand than ever before. So much so that Toyota has struggled to keep up with demand. Hybrid rival Honda is scheduled to launch a new, low-cost hybrid model early next year.

The rest of the auto industry has also teamed up with battery makers to develop and produce lithium-ion batteries to store more energy in smaller battery packs in order to increase electric-only cruising distance.

So far Toyota has teamed up with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Nissan with NEC, Mitsubishi with GS Yuasa Corp and Volkswagen with Sanyo.

Toyota has sold more than 1 million Prius cars and aims to sell at least 1 million hybrid cars a year by early 2010s. The company will launch the third-generation Prius next year.

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Japan’s long-term diet plans

July 7th, 2008 8 Comments

Honda is becoming slightly obsessive when it comes to improving fuel efficiency and cutting carbon emissions in its new cars, taking a pain-staking approach to weight reduction where every gram counts.

Kohei Hitomi, chief engineer of Honda’s redesigned Jazz, took apart a demonstration model to reveal where the excess steel in spot welded seams had been shaved off.