Toyota to double hybrid line-up early next decade

By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia auto correspondent

TOKYO, June 13 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday it would double the number of hybrid cars in its vehicle line-up soon after 2010, renewing its endorsement of the technology as critical to reducing pollution and oil dependence.

Japan's top auto maker dominates the market for hybrid cars, which twin a conventional engine with an electric motor to improve mileage, and is keen to spread the system as the main alternative to today's internal combustion engines.

It currently mounts the system on seven models, including the hot-selling Prius sedan, and has targeted sales of 1 million hybrid cars annually soon after 2010.

Outlining its efforts to help the environmental cause, Toyota said it was working on improving technology across the powertrain spectrum -- alternative-fuel engines, diesel engines, gasoline engines and electric cars -- but stressed that hybrid technology was crucial in boosting the performance of each system.

"We believe that hybrids will be the core technology in the 21st century," Masatami Takimoto, executive vice president in charge of technology development, told a news conference. story continued

Suzuki, GM to co-develop, sell hybrid cars in NAmerica - report

TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Suzuki Motor Corp and General Motors Corp plan to jointly develop hybrid vehicles and market them in North America around 2009, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported without citing sources.

The two automakers are considering developing sport utility vehicles with engine displacements of around 3 liters, the business daily said.

With the US gradually tightening fuel standards for SUVs and other cars starting in 2008, Suzuki thinks that marketing fuel-efficient hybrid cars is essential to tap into the American market, the Nihon Keizai said. story continued

University of Wisconsin creates first diesel-hybrid SUV

Madison (WI) - Americans are in love with their SUVs and even gas prices topping $3 per gallon aren't convincing enough for many to consider more fuel efficient cars. And probably they don't have to, if a research project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison makes its way into mass-production.

Roland Piquepaille has picked up in his Technology Trends blog a press release about a Chevrolet Equinox small SUV that has been modified as part of the Challenge X, which interestingly has been sponsored by Chevrolet - a company that is not really known to build the most fuel efficient cars around. What is special about this Equinox is that it is a hybrid vehicle, which combines an electrical engine to power the rear wheels and a diesel engine powering the front wheels. story continued

Electric sports car ready to challenge Porsche?

A Silicon Valley start-up is expected to show off an electric car this summer that it says can hang with Porsches and Ferraris and has attracted investments from the founders of Google and eBay.

Tesla Motors says its Tesla Roadster can accelerate, brake and handle like a high-end sports car. The company, in fact, claims the car can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in four seconds.

The big difference is that it runs completely on electricity. It plugs into the wall and is not a hybrid. The battery gives it a range of 250 miles.

"We have made a sports car that is really a sports car," said CEO Martin Eberhard. "It is first and fundamentally a driver's car."

A public unveiling of the car is slated for July 12 in Santa Monica, Calif., at which buyers will also be able to sign up to buy the first cars that come off the line.

The secretive start-up, founded in 2003, has also attracted some big-name investors. Google's Sergey Brin and Larry Page have put money into the company, as have Elon Musk and Jeff Skoll of eBay fame, VantagePoint Ventures and Draper, Fisher Jurvetson. In all, Tesla has attracted $40 million in venture investing. story continued

Buyers are fueling sales of hybrids as gas-saving choice

Hybrid cars are just too hot for the lot right now.

Paul Kimbrel, a salesman at Auburn Honda, said the gaining popularity of hybrid vehicles is great for business but also causes problems for those trying to sell the cars.

"Pretty much any Civic we have on the lot is pre-sold," he said. "It's a good problem to have but it's frustrating because as a salesperson you want to be able to have it to show and sell."

Hybrid vehicles, for anyone who's been living under a rusted-out pickup or hasn't heard, are a compromise between a gas-powered and an electric-powered car. Hybrid vehicles boast lower emissions and increased mileage, which means more time between refueling. story continued

Heart-Throb of the Car Lovers: Hybrid

A Modern Car Sensation
Hybrid cars are becoming the new rage in the auto market. With rising oil prices, buyers are looking out for ways they can save on their earnings. Thus, while choosing a car, more and more people are opting for hybrid cars. Hybrid cars are the cars, which run on at-least one alternate source of energy and gasoline. Most of the time that other alternate source of energy for hybrid cars is electricity (rechargeable batteries) hence those are called electric hybrid cars. These new hybrid cars are innovative, efficient and affordable. Hybrid cars are environment friendly. They can reduce pollution by 90 percent. Hybrid cars are economical in medium and long run than normal gasoline cars. It is more reliable than electric cars, as they have gasoline as an alternate fuel. Hybrid makes you less dependent on fossil fuels (gasoline). Hybrid vehicles are a practical solution to the rising greenhouse gas levels and soaring oil prices. Fuel cell technology may be the technology for the future but it may still be some time till these cars are introduced into the market.
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New, larger hybrid cars hitting the market

By Ike Wilson
News-Post Staff
FREDERICK -- Larry Neely drives a Mazda Tribute sport utility vehicle, but he wants to downsize to something that gets about 40 to 50 miles per gallon, he said Friday, checking out the vehicles at the Energy Efficient Car Showcase at the Francis Scott Key Mall.

The event, described as the first hybrid show in Frederick, offered alternatives for drivers like Mr. Neely, of Adamstown.

"But I don't want something too small," he said.

The show, hosted by Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-6th, runs through Sunday. A number of fuel-efficient cars will be on display in the mall through the weekend, including the Ford Escape Hybrid, GM HydroGen 3 fuel cell minivan, Honda Civic Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Toyota Prius, Toyota Yaris, GM Flex Fuel Impala and Flex Fuel GMC SUV.

"The U.S. faces a challenge when it comes to liquid fuels," Mr. Bartlett said. "What we're showcasing is part of a solution. It's no silver bullet." story continued