C’mon D-C! How about a diesel-hybrid for this?
Japanese automaker Toyota plans to expand its hybrid offerings in the United States as it struggles to meet demand for its popular Prius car, its top US executive said Tuesday. Toyota Motor North America President Jim Press said the automaker was planning to start selling a sixth model in the United States from early next year.
“Early next year, we’ll offer a sixth one, the world’s first V-8 hybrid in our flagship Lexus LS sedan,” Press said during a speech at the National Press Club. “And more will follow.”
Press said hybrid technology can be offered in multiple ways to boost fuel efficiency, citing gasoline (petrol) engines, clean diesel, bio-diesel, ethanol, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells.
“Toyota is (also) strongly considering introducing a flex-fuel vehicle program in the United States in the near term,” Press said.
“We’re already developing vehicles that can operate in ethanol-rich Brazil and we’re optimistic that we can offer similar vehicles to American consumers,” he said.
He said Toyota was also researching the potential of a plug-in hybrid vehicle that could be driven further without using its gas engine.
My favorite quote — that almost slides under the radar — is that “Toyota has sold more hybrid vehicles in the US so far this year than Cadillac, Buick, or Mercedes Benz has sold cars.”
Do you think GM or Daimler-Chrysler has noticed?
Yay – a V-8 hybrid – don’t most large hybrids have negligibly better fuel economy than their non-hybrid versions? What difference will this make, besides fleecing gullible consumers out of their cash?
Looks to be ~20% increase in fuel economy. Still shy of their V6 luxury Lexus (model 450 something-or-other) which gets 25-28 mpg.
Hey, let the upper crust participate.
If you are doing any real work with a hybrid pickup (pulling a live stock trailer for example) I doubt the energy savings would be worth it. If you are a urban/sub-urban cowboy it might be worth it to buy one.
I’ve heard Toyota is struggling to bring out a hybrid pickup. I assume it is the problem with heavy hauling or towing.
Frankly I would prefer if they hybridize their smaller pickup first. This would allow me enough room to haul around my engineering equipment and building materials for my house.
Bless Toyota, we’d be so stuck if we relied on Ford or GM.
Improbus, maybe your world is divided into only a couple of categories of pickup drivers/users. The real world has many more categories — already with beaucoup variations of load/gas v. diesel/chassis/ 2wd v. 4wd. In my state, 55% of motor vehicles are pickups and most of them work for a living.
It may surprise you; but, there are even a few good reasons for folks working construction trades to own pickups. I think we all could benefit from a couple of hybrid variations added to the mix.
None of this is a struggle. Witness the 1-ton diesel-hybrid Sprinter which is starting to make a lot of folks happy at companies named UPS and FedEx. The company I work for has a few of the usual diesel Sprinters — and the boss is waiting in line to switch to diesel-hybrids.
If you buy a truck to accomplish a job (personal or business related) fine. If you buy it for any other reason you probably have a penis problem. I grew up in rural Kansas … I know of what I speak.
Kansas, eh! Doesn’t Intelligent Design (sic) take care of that?
you are correct about the finacial situation of the big three but I remeber when that scoffed at toyota when they first showed the prius in the 90’s saying consumers would never buy one, now Toyota is laughing all the way to the bank
I drive a tahoe for buisness and i am seriously considering a prius because i currently spent over $700.00 a month in fuel and i could drive a prius for free simply from the fuel savings, but i dont know if i can get my samples in it
Saggy — that 1-ton Sprinter beloved of freight companies (and, nowadays, much desired by folks building RV’s) is wrapped around a diesel-hybrid built by Daimler-Chrysler.
They lack the cajones and/or smarts to offer it to pick-me-up drivers. A class of vehicle-consumers with much less reticence about diesels already.
In fact, “Plug-In Day” in Austin, TX — featured Sprinter plug-in diesel-hybrids.
Toyota is good! 🙂
You guys do realize Ford has the Hybrid Escape (SUV) and Chevy has a Silverado Hybrid (truck).
The Escape ain’t a bad taxi cab. A truck it ain’t.
The Silverado probably sucks as badly as does the Saturn “hybrids”. Mind, I’m not certain; but, GM’s idea of a hybrid is to add a supplemental electric motor — the gas engine never stops — no plug-in capability even for aftermarket hacks like the Prius.
Keeps the marketing guys happy is about all.
the chevy hybrid truck is not really a hybrid in the sense of milage it was designed for contractors to use as a power souce (it has 4- 20 amp 110 v outlets in the back of the bed) for a contractor to use on tnhe job site and thus he doesnt need a generator the milage increase in neglible and it only a sales gimmick now that gas is high. it is actually a true working truck
Where’s my Yaris hybrid??
In the real world, hybrids don’t get the fuel mileage that is aadvertised. In fact, many models actually use more energy than gas guzzlers like the hummers. You get better fuel mileage, but you’re exporting pollution to the production sites. I read somewhere that Prius sales are actually down over last year.
http://thewatt.com/article-1070-nested-1-0.html
I was waiting for the “uses more energy” comment 🙂
Just keep telling yourself that when the hybrid users show you their fuel bills.
Most hybrids up to this point have not been sold as “plug-ins” based on the idea that people would think that they HAVE to plug them in to use the electric motor. Nonsense. ANY hybrid will generate electric power (just like your regular car) and store it. The hybrids can store and use far more electric power and even shut off their gas engines when they don’t need them. The PLUG-IN hybrids also let you store power from the mains (plug it in at your house, for example) and they typically allow more power storage – this means you can drive without using gas at all.
So to review – you don’t need to plug-in ANY hybrid. It will use less gas by using its electric engine. However a plug-in hybrid will use even less gass (or none) if you elect to plug it in.
This whole “uses more energy over its life” thing is the current buggaboo being spread about plug-in hybrids to make it sound like they are somehow inefficient. Some of them can get 100 mpg.
Of course using more electricity from the mains (like your house’s electric outlet) pushes some of the burden onto the state grid, and thus requires the state to burn more coal or nuclear or whatever, but centralised power generation can be more easily controlled and made clean. A gas engine will never be clean. NEVER.