Toyota Says It May Put Gas-Electric Engines in All Its Vehicles

[buzzsaw_23]

Toyota Says It May Put Gas-Electric Engines in All Its Vehicles

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp., the world's second-largest automaker, said all of its vehicles may eventually be run by hybrid gasoline-electric motors, as record fuel prices curb demand for conventional automobiles.

Toyota, the world's first and largest maker of so-called hybrid cars, said it's aiming to increase hybrid production by 60 percent in 2006 and will cut costs and prices to make them more affordable.

``In the future, the cars you see from Toyota will be 100 percent hybrid,'' Toyota Executive Vice President Kazuo Okamoto said in Frankfurt, declining to give a time for achieving the target. ``We believe that in 10 years the world will be filled with hybrids.''

Toyota has sold 425,000 hybrid cars since 1997 and is trying to profit from its edge over General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. in the technology. President Katsuaki Watanabe said he aims to halve the premium in price of hybrids over conventional vehicles ``at the earliest possible stage.''

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=aKJKmwXPuoZw

[DemocratSinceBirth]

1. Another Nail In The Coffin Of The American Automotive Industry

nt

[charlie]

2. The final nail, methinks n/t

[Skidmore]

3. Meanwhile, in Detroit, plans are made to roll out

a new and improved version of the V-8 engine ensconced in a scaled down SUV guaranteed to improve gas mileage by 2 miles per gallon--a major innovation fueled by American techology genius. The American automobile industry has destroyed itself.

[Coastie for Truth]

10. They shot themselves in the foot.

The basic elementary idea of hybrids was invented in the US -- and not developed beyond ships, locomotives, construction equipment, an "electrodynamic" automatic transmission, and some WW2 era delivery trucks --- and left to die.

Don't blame Demming for Toyota's ascendancy. Blame Roger "Squeaky" Smith (of Michael Moore's "Roger and Me" fame - Squeaky ran GM like Rove and Cheney run the White House).

[Silverhair]

4. That's leadership!

They will make loads of money from a sound ecological decision.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. Saves The Environment And Money

nt

[mtnester]

6. My lease is up in December...I am thinking I am dropping it off

and walking away this time.

I loved my original dealer...born and raised in my resident county, was not a "get every last drop from customer and screw them if possible" dealer. He had an Olds dealership...

Then Olds went bye bye and he could not find another brand dealership (rules about how far you are from an existing one, etc.) so he retired...I was sad cause I loved my Cutlass, my Intrigue, and Aurora. I then stayed with sorta brand loyatly and went for a GM product.

OK, so I picked a Monte Carlo SS, fire engine red. It was more money than even my Aurora was, the dealer I chose lied to me about how GM leases are handled (partially my fault for trusting him) and the car is JUNK.

So, despite my mantra to buy American (or at least as much of the parts on the car are American as possible), I will not be buying a Ford or GM. I am considering a Chrysler product, but am not sure. Looks like I am leaning hard toward Toyota or Honda. I better get my research hat on unless anyone wants to give advice.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. Buy An Accord Hybrid Or A Camry

mt

[mtnester]

15. Thanks, I will get on the list now

I am sure there is some kind of waiting list?

[Lorien]

17. Many Toyotas are made in America

while many "American" brands are made in Mexico.

One of my best friends always drove big American cars, but then he drove my Camry for a week and switched to Toyota (after learning that he could buy one that was made in the USA). He drove Camrys for a number of years and loved them, but recently switched to a Prius and loves it even more. He's found that if he paces the car correctly, he can do 100 MPG!

[ohio_liberal]

21. I bought my first "foreign" car this year

My son wanted a Honda Civic so I bought a used one for his first car. It's a great little ride. I thought my union family members would disown me but strangely enough they understood why I bought it.

What are looking for in Chrysler/Dodge? You want a V6 or 4 cylinder? The Stratus coupe is a fine looking vehicle. Sebrings are pretty nice if you're going midsize. 300M is really, really nice but only gets about 20mpg. Neons, IMO, are not attractive at all now (they're little tanks though, we had one a few years ago that was a workhorse). PT Cruisers are crap. I see them all the time with trim pieces gone or hanging loose on the sides.

[Options Remain]

8. YES - make me a hybrid Camry!

n/t

[yurbud]

9. great news! too bad american car companies are so lame

[ikri]

11. Is it time to start asking tough question to these companies?

I posted about this yesterday on the UK forum about fuel protests here in the UK.

Nearly 100 years after production started on the Model T Ford we have not seen any major innovations in fuel efficiency break through to the marketplace.

A Model T Ford could get between 25 and 30 miles per gallon back in 1907. A 2005 Ford Focus (seen by many as a fuel efficient car) can get around 25-30 miles per gallon.

In the 1980's and 1990's Citroën were developing diesel engines that could reach over 100 miles per gallon, yet these never made the marketplace. The replacement model for the Citroën AX (the highly-tuned version of which could reach 112 mpg) is the Citroën C1 which can do an admirable 51 mpg but 15 years after developing an engine that could reach twice that mileage it is a pathetic number.

In 1996 Honda managed to produce a car for the world mileage marathon that did an incredible 9426 miles per gallon yet 9 years later the most basic Honda Civic can just about manage 35 mpg.

The car industry has obviously developed engines that can outperform hybrids but has never even attempted to market these vehicles. I cannot think of another industry where nearly 100 years after the first major innovation so little progress has been made.

[leveymg]

12. Indy and F-1 should go hybrid & turbo diesel. Develop both technologies

and do away with the (false) image that fuel-efficient, green cars have to be slow and boring.

I'd start watching again.

NASCAR will stay with V-8 gas dinosaurs until the next big asteroid hits.

[LTR]

19. It won't work

Electric motors aren't designed for high performance use. Ever see a souped-up golf cart?

Auto racing does use fuel with very high ethanol contents, though. This can work well with high performance use.

[leveymg]

20. There are a those who disagree with you.

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/wheels/flc.htm

Electric Race Cars from across the Continent Meet at Indianapolis Raceway Park

October, 1999
Indianapolis, Indiana—


We all know electric cars are quiet, and they're friendly to the environment. The surprising thing is that they're also fast. The race cars we watched at the Formula Lightning Classic prove that electricity isn't just for golf carts any more. They flew around the track at speeds up to 150 miles an hour.


Faculty adviser Barry Piersol with Bowling Green State's winning car
Seven university-sponsored cars and teams gathered from across the country to compete at Indianapolis Raceway Park in what Bowling Green faculty member Barry Piersol called "the newest academic sport in the nation." We joined them on the infield as they prepared for the race.


Professor Russ Eberhart of IUPUI
"It's history in the making," said Russ Eberhart, a dean and professor at Indiana University/ Purdue University and one of the race's organizers, "We've never had more people in the stands, and this is the first time an electric car race has a gasoline-powered truck rally as a supporting event. It's the future, here today."

XXXX

Also, Google: "high performance electric motors"

Book results for high performance electric motors
Ac Motors for High-Performance Applications - by S Yamamura - 232 pages
Electric Motors and Drives - by Austin Hughes - 352 pages
Synthetic Lubricants and High-Performance ... - by Leslie R Rudnick, Ronald L Shubkin - 904 pages



Badsey Electric Scooters - High performance electric-motor powered ...Dealer of the Badsey electric scooters. Also offers high performance upgrades parts.
www.badseyscooters.com/ - 32k - Cached - Similar pages


Ashland Electric Products - Your choice for high-rel, high ...High Reliability, High Performance Motors, Fans and Blowers. Ashland Electric Products - High Rel, High Performance, Motors, Fans and Blowers ...
www.ashlandelectric.com/ - 12k - Cached - Similar pages


Electric Motorscooters and MotorcyclesPerformance of electric motor-scooters (pictured here) and motorcycles lies between ... Some of the motor options are: the high performance Etek motor, ...
www.electric-bikes.com/motorcys.htm - 61k - Cached - Similar pages


Nonlinear Control of Electric MotorsVarious electromechanical actuators such as electric motors, hydraulic and pneumatic actuators, ... To achieve high precision and bandwidth for the motors, ...
crrl.poly.edu/motors/ - 3k - Cached - Similar pages

[ret5hd]

13. i'm not an engineer (nor do i play one on tv) but...

i believe if toyota, et al, would put as much development effort into the rotary engine as has been put into the piston engine (meaning decades and millions), and couple THAT in a gas/electric hybrid, they would find real improvements in fuel economy.

(The only thing i am basing this on is the energy wasted converting reciprocal motion to rotary motion in a psiton engine)

[DS1]

14. If anyone finds a used Supra TT, plz let me know

6-speed, preferably black

[bleedingheart]

16. I wanna Hybrid minivan...

I normally haul the four of us and typically my elderly mother around along with groceries, soccer stuff and bikes..

I really use my van...hauling wood and supplies home too...so I would love to trade it in for a hybrid!!!

[CatBoreal]

23. Same here....

...I had been trying to goose my beater along long enough to get a hybrid mini-van, but it gave up the ghost last fall. I'm driving a standard gas driven one now but will turn it in as soon as the hybrids come out.

If we get a second vehicle, it'll be a hybrid.

Anyone heard anything about the Ford Escape Hybrid?

[LTR]

18. Don't believe the hype

Toyota won't switch to all-hybrid for a while. The technology is just too young, and many of their vehicles don't get enough MPG boost to merit a $5000 upcharge for hybrid.

Example: The new Lexus RX400h improves fuel economy by about 2-3 MPG :wtf:

This is just a bunch of PR to geek up the masses. Everybody knows that Toyota is putting hybrid setups in more and more of their vehicles. If Toyota is so environment-friendly, why are they still making big V8 trucks? And hybrids themselves don't save the environment. They do cut down fuel consumption, which is a plus. But lower emissions is a big bonus. And working to minimize petroleum use is another. What is Toyota doing in regard to ethanol or bio-diesel?

There is far too much hype with hybrid. Sure, the Prius is a hit, and it does perform well economy-wise. But most cars with a tiny engine like the Prius' will get great fuel economy, with or without the hybrid stuff. Witness the Geo Metro back in the 90's. That thing was getting 50 MPG on the highway with no problem. Hybird technology in 2005 is mostly a way of pulling an extra $5-6K out of your pocket at the dealership.

The other car manufacturers are working on hybrid technology, but they have to design around Toyota and Honda patents. I like the fact that the Big 3 are doing a lot with flex fuel technology (ethanol). It would be cool to see that incorporated into hybrid form.

[hertopos]

22. Hybrid Matrix , yes!!

Before we bought Prius, we bought Matrix, which was our first Toyota car. We loved it. ( It is a good alternative to SUV.) Then we bought Prius. We love it again. Please Toyota, bring Hybrid Matrix by the time we need to trade in our Matrix.

Hertopos

[Javaman]

24. Toyota moves ahead while the US continues to make Homers...