Generation III 2010 Toyota Prius Hybrid Preview
March 2, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Toyota has been staging a series of media briefings, bringing in key engineers from Japan as well as its North American technical center in Southern California, to discuss technical improvements of the new hybrid over its immediate predecessor, the 2004-2009 Generation II Prius. This is in preparation for the global launch of the much-anticipated 2010 Prius hybrid, informally referred to as “Generation III” or “Gen III”,
The vehicle was also previewed this weekend in Los Angeles via its “Prius Connection” program for select early adopters and enthusiast forum participants, attracting potential buyers from across the US and Canada. Read more
Repair Costs of a Hybrid Now Equal to Non-Hybrids
February 11, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Repair costs for hybrid models, which initially were higher than average, have now fallen in line with those of non-hybrids.
These days, a Toyota Prius, or any other hybrid shouldn’t cost more to repair, on average, than your Corolla or Camry.
The study has been carried out by Audatex, a company that automates processing for insurance claims. Its survey looked at the costs of auto repairs for cars from model years 2001 through 2008. Read more
VW To Use Heat Recovery Systems
Volkswagen has shown a prototype vehicle equipped with a thermoelectric generator according to the International Thermoelectric Society website. The system recovers the dissipated heat energy and converts it into electricity. The prototype has been shown at the “Thermoelektrik - Eine Chance Für Die Atomobillindustrie?” meeting held in Berlin in October 2008.
The thermoelectric generator is reportedly able to gain about 600W from a car running on a highway, meeting about 30% of the car’s electrical consumption requirements. For the moment, the thermoelectric generators haven’t been embedded in a hybrid car, although VW says with the current setup it can save about 5% of your fuel consumption Read more
