Eideard

It hasn’t happened for most Totoya Prius drivers, but one day – perhaps 150,000 or so miles down the road – it will. An indicator light will appear on the dash to signal that the battery pack is past its prime and needs to be replaced.

Some critics of hybrids and electric vehicles have pointed to this moment as proof that these vehicles actually have more environmental impact than conventional autos, as battery packs potentially clutter up landfills with toxic materials. Only, that’s not what’s happening at Toyota.

When a Prius battery pack reaches end of life, Toyota provides a UPS shipping container so the battery can be sent to a recycling center. For U.S. cars, that center is in California. The batteries are shorted out to prevent accidents with any remaining charge, then all of the components are disassembled. The plastic case is shredded and recycled. The electrolyte is decanted and the rare earth elements recovered. The nickel plates are sent to a smelter where they are used in making steel. All the components of the pack are recycled or reused, leaving nothing to go to the landfill. The same recycler is already equipped to deal with the lithium batteries found on the Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, and plug-in Prius.

Of course, there is the problem of cost. Toyota has lowered the price over the years, but a new Prius battery pack still rings up at $2,589. And while some Prius batteries are fine up to 300,000 miles, facing a potential bill that large can make Prius owners decide that seeing 150k miles on the odometer makes a good time to trade…That’s why some dealers have instituted a policy of replacing batteries on high mileage trade-ins before they’re put up for sale.

Having a fresh battery on board assures purchasers that they’ll drive for years without worrying about that little light, and helps assure dealers that a used Prius won’t spend too long on the sales lot.

Also a reason why a used Prius might be a tad more expensive than you thought it was going to be. Demand also has a lot to do with it, though. One of the few used cars I’ve ever tucked away in the back of my mind as potential for the next family commuter-mobile.

Yes – be certain the dealer puts in writing the fact that he replaced the battery.

Chevy Volt belonging to Lyle Stuart, founder of GM-Volt.com

My Chevrolet Volt was delivered on December 17th 2010, and as of today I have owned and operated the vehicle for a full year.

It is nearly five years in fact since I first founded this website in an effort to gain and sustain national attention on electric cars and this vehicle in particular, and to push GM to develop it…

To this day I still get a thrill when I jump in and power it up. I drive often with a smile on my face. I thoroughly love not using gas almost of of the time, and having the safety and freedom to kick in the gas generator when needed.

I have found the car of impeccably high quality and 100% reliable performance in all kinds of driving situations and environments. The car is worthy of all the awards it has received.

Thus far I have put on 8,635 miles and used a paltry 36.6 gallons of gas with a lifetime fuel efficiency of 237 miles per gallon…

My oil life still says 56% and I haven’t changed it. I rotated the tires at 7,500 miles and had a software upgrade performed…

Though perhaps not important, I am a bit surprised GM won’t meet its first year target of 10,000 cars. Considering all the attention and robust discussion I observed while running this site, and the calls by many for great volumes, I was sure demand would be higher. Eventually I still think it will. A lot of it is economic. In these tough financial times with gas prices stable, the $41,000 without tax break price tag remains out of reach for many. It is great though that the car is on the road so that in the future, through economies of scale the price will drop and more will be sold. As well, surely some are waiting for the first generation to work out its kinks and are watching on the sidelines eventually planning to buy a next generation model.

There were naysayers ever since the Volt concept was announced in January 2007, and many are still here today and will be ad infinitum. They may never be silenced, but the reality is GM has made the dream come true of a mass production electric car with range extender and it is an awesome thing indeed. I also think its fair to say the company ushered in a new era of accessible electric transportation as essentially every automaker has followed suit with electric cars of their own.

Lyle is right about the price. Certainly in my family. I’d love to have a Volt be our next car; but, the cost/benefit ratio just ain’t worth it – yet. We’d need an extra 10 years beyond the 10 year minimum we look at when purchasing a vehicle. Even though – we buy good enough designs and practice sufficient maintenance – we have gone well beyond that 10 year number with our existing passenger car and pickup truck. The Volvo has almost 30 years and 280,000 miles on it. The Dodge pickup is a 1994 and has gone over 220,000 miles.

Right now, the leading contenders to replace the Volvo are the Prius Aqua – landing next year, the VW Golf diesel and the electric Mitsubishi i-Miev. After federal tax credits – we get squat from the state of New Mexico – they would cost $9-14K less than the Volt.

We heard the rumors in Tokyo, but wouldn’t believe it until we saw it. And here it is. Toyota will be replacing its Axio racer with a Prius for next year’s SuperGT season.

The touring car Prius will reportedly run in the GT300 class against the recently released Subaru BRZ and Honda CR-Z, the latter of which – like the Prius – will use some kind of hybrid drivetrain in the championship. We don’t have any hard details on the powertrain just yet, but expect more to be revealed sometime in January.

Rock on, Prius.

Actually the new Prius Aqua is one of two cars we’re considering as replacement for my wife’s ancient Volvo 245 wagon – which still averages 24mpg btw. The other is the VW Golf diesel.

Toyota’s compact Aquion Prius due here in the US in early 2012
Daylife/Getty Images used by permission

Automakers Toyota and BMW on Thursday struck a partnership to share eco-friendly technologies, including in the joint development of lithium-ion batteries for next-generation electric cars.

BMW X3 Crossover diesel

Under the deal, the German automaker will also provide diesel engines for Toyota as the Japanese auto giant looks to boost sales in Europe, where more than half of passenger cars are diesel powered. Toyota has struggled to boost its European market share with its gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, despite its leading position in the low-emission technology.

Meanwhile, the pair will share development costs for batteries for electric cars as part of plans to roll out battery-powered vehicles…

Their pact comes after Toyota struck a deal in August to develop hybrid-vehicle systems with US-based Ford, while BMW inked a deal with France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen Group to jointly develop hybrid systems for subcompacts.

There is no denying that conversion to radical new energy sources for vehicle propulsion is expensive. Even if you’re an early leader like Toyota in hybrid tech.

Markets are funny things and sometimes consumers can only digest one change at a time.

Derrick Kuzak, Takeshi Uchiyamada – today’s press conference

Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. have decided to work together on a gas-electric hybrid engine to power pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. Sorry. Produced by non-car-geeks at NPR. Should have said engine/transmission combination.

The companies signed a deal Monday to share development costs, saying they want to make the technology more affordable for customers and bring it to market faster. Both companies now sell hybrid cars, but trucks need a different system with power to tow and haul heavy loads.

Hybrid trucks would help automakers meet stricter government fuel economy and pollution standards in the U.S. and other countries. In the U.S., the fleet of new cars and trucks will have to average 56.5 miles per gallon by 2025, although trucks will have lower mileage targets. And CAFE standards don’t require mileage numbers as high as stated…

The system would power some of Ford’s F-Series pickup trucks, the top-selling vehicle in the U.S., and it would run the Tundra, Toyota’s full-sized pickup truck. It also would be used in rear-wheel-drive sport utility vehicles, the companies said…

Ford and Toyota also said they will work together to develop standards for the way electronic devices such as smartphones link to cars and trucks. Ford said it’s the first time it has worked with Toyota on any project. This should also piss off Mazda who has been a longtime partner of Ford.

Discussions between the two companies began in April.

The significant factor is recognition that Americans ain’t all going to be bright enough to realize that smaller is better and easier. Whether it’s houses or cars efficient use of comfortable space remains the quickest and simplest way to save energy and reduce your cost of living. Living in a nation that still fondles itself over populist blather, there’s little reason to hope for a nation locked in declining education to suddenly grow in understanding of transportation efficiencies.

The chuckle was that this actually started with Alan Mullaly bumping into Akio Toyoda in an airport concourse. From what I know of Mullaly, I’ll bet he started the conversation and moved it forward.

Prius V – American name for Toyota’s Prius station wagon

File this one under the category of unexpected. According to Integrity Exports, Toyota logged an outrageous 52,000 orders for its Prius Alpha hybrid over in Japan since the vehicle launched on May 13th. That’s astronomical considering that Toyota set a monthly sales target of just 3,000 units for the gas-electric MPV.

Toyota says that it will ramp up production of the Prius Alpha in response to soaring demand, but boosting output from 3,000 to 5,000 vehicles per month (Toyota’s modified production levels) by summer’s end still doesn’t seem like it’ll be enough.

Despite Toyota promising that the enormous demand for the Prius Alpha won’t affect the launch of the Prius V here in the States, Integrity Exports begs to differ…

Even my barely functional remembrance of things mathematical tells me this critter ain’t landing on time in the United States. Unless Toyota decides to [1] stop taking orders in Japan, right now, and [2] decides to screw some of the people with orders already in-house in Japan.

The launch of vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf has stirred up a debate over battery longevity. Critics say battery output will degrade and cite outrageous replacement costs as a possible downside to these breakthrough machines. Well, it turns out that skeptics posed similar concerns over a decade ago, when the Toyota Prius made its U.S. debut. Turns out, those worrywarts were too, well, worried.

Based on data gleaned from more than 36,000 Prius owners in its annual survey, Consumer Reports gives Toyota’s best-selling hybrid top scores in terms of reliability and ownership costs. As we noted in January, CR set out to answer questions posed by skeptics by taking a 2002 Prius with 206,000 miles on it and putting it through a battery (get it?) of tests.

After extensive testing, CR’s numbers show that the first-gen 2002 Prius returned an overall fuel economy of 40.4 miles per gallon, which is virtually identical to the 40.6 mpg that CR recorded when testing a new Prius back in 2001. Likewise, CR found that, with 206,000 miles on the clock, the old Prius’ acceleration numbers had only dropped by a few tenths of a second for both the 0-60 miles per hour dash and the quarter-mile run.

… The tested Prius’ nickel-metal hydride battery pack showed virtually no signs of degradation after ten years and 206,000 miles…There’s a good case to be made that the critics might not always bear listening to.

Whining and whimpering about new tech is always a feature of Luddites who will deny to their death that they are Luddites. Maybe there should be a new category for those who have finally caught up with engineering designs that are a century old – but, still fear moving forward?

As the second size extension of the Toyota Prius family tree, the 2012 Prius+ adds a healthy dose of roominess to the well-known fuel-sipping hybrid equation, and it’s making its world debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. There’s seating for seven occupants inside, but the multi-purpose vehicle shares a clear design language with Toyota’s standard-bearing Prius. What’s more, it manages a low 0.29 drag coefficient thanks to its extended roofline and carefully designed front fascia.

Equally as notable is the battery. This is the first lithium-ion battery pack to be incorporated within a non-plug-in Toyota full hybrid. Toyota has found enough room underneath the center console between the driver and the front passenger to fit the battery, which helps maximize interior space for occupants and their cargo.

As you would expect from a Prius, there are three drive modes: A zero-emission EV mode that relies on electric motor power alone, an ECO mode that maximizes efficiency and fuel economy and finally a somewhat ambitiously named POWER mode that is said to boost overall performance.

Toyota is saying that the Prius+ will be on sale in Europe in the first half of 2012, but it’s coming to the U.S. around the same time in the form of the Prius V, which we previously saw at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show.

The 2nd model of an extended platform Prius from Toyota. We’re getting past DINKs who are early adopters. Families – with family activities – are being pressed by knowledge, acceptance and economics to move to intelligent transportation choices.

I hate to sound overly optimistic; but – like personal savings – as often as American gullibility trends economic and political habits back into same-old habits, it appears that a bit more knowledge seems to promote at least a small measure of intelligent self-interest that sticks.

Not much to do with the topic – but, it rocks!

After dissecting Toyota’s engine control software and bathing its microchips in every type of radiation engineers could think of, federal investigators found no evidence that the company’s cars are susceptible to sudden acceleration from electronic failures.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood walked to the podium to deliver the results of a report released Tuesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which found no electronic flaws to explain reports of sudden, unintentional acceleration in Toyota vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded the sudden acceleration was caused by mechanical problems in some Toyota models — sticking accelerator pedals and floor mat interference — that it had previously identified as causes…

Toyota eventually recalled more than 11 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles globally because of floor mats and sticky accelerator pedals. It also paid three fines totaling $48.8 million, because, the Transportation Department said, Toyota had not reacted appropriately to reports of problems.

“The jury is back,” said Ray LaHood, the transportation secretary. “The verdict is in. There is no electronic-based cause for unintended high-speed acceleration in Toyotas. Period…”

In a statement, Steve St. Angelo, Toyota’s chief quality officer for North America, said the automaker hoped the study would help put to rest questions about the reliability of Toyota’s electronic systems…

The government said it was considering new research, on “the placement and design of accelerator and brake pedals, as well as driver usage of pedals, to determine whether design and placement can be improved to reduce pedal misapplication.”

Please don’t let them do that. Can you imagine every driver in the United States having to learn where to put their feet all over again? Bad enough we have a certain percentage who can’t deal with the pattern they grew up with.

The usual disclaimer. I make enough from the few shares of Toyota I own to buy me some sushi in downtown Santa Fe.

That’s right. #1 seller in the U.S. is still the F-150

Toyota’s U.S. vehicle sales fell in 2010 while industrywide sales rose 11 percent and every other major automaker reported gains. Ford moved up to second place behind only General Motors…Deliveries in December accelerated to the fastest pace of the year…

“The black clouds from Toyota’s recalls just don’t seem to go away,” said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends for Santa Monica, California-based auto pricing website Truecar.com. “We saw Ford, GM and Hyundai-Kia come on strong. Brand loyalty isn’t what it used to be.”

Industrywide sales in 2010 totaled 11.6 million, according to Autodata Corp., based in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. That’s up from 10.4 million the previous year for the first gain since 2005 and the largest percentage increase since 1984…

Like everything else associated with the Great Recession, you shouldn’t be surprised over dynamic percentage increases. Even the rate of jobs growth is larger than previous recessions – but, it doesn’t always feel like much since we’re starting back from the exceptional pit dug by neocon corruption and laissez-faire economics.

“This is a market that’s coming back significantly,” said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with IHS Automotive, a researcher in Lexington, Massachusetts. “And with really strong products coming from GM, Ford and Chrysler, there’s a lot of opportunity for change in the marketplace…”

Ford was the best-selling make in the U.S. in 2010, displacing Toyota’s namesake brand, which fell to third behind GM’s Chevrolet. Ford sold 1.76 million Ford-brand vehicles last year, while GM sold 1.57 million Chevrolets and Toyota sold 1.49 million Toyota cars and trucks…

Rising consumer confidence and retail spending bode well for car sales and may help boost 2011 industrywide sales, including heavy-duty trucks, to 13 million to 13.5 million vehicles, Don Johnson, GM’s vice president of U.S. sales operations, said today on a conference call.

RTFA for details on each marque. They all bode well. Well enough, I guess, for partisanship to resume among those of us who were cheerleaders for TARP and keeping an entire national industry from going down the tubes to satisfy those who base their dollar politics on redemption tales and the Kool-Aid Party.