Nikkei, a Japanese business news source is reporting that Toyota will be unveiling a Prius that will have built-in solar panels. It is also said to be manufactured by Kyocera Corp. There is no official word on this, since Toyota has not actually confirmed the reports just yet.
Yep, you read that right, just when I though I’d seen it all, someone goes and makes a limo out of a Toyota Prius. If his reasoning behind it wasn’t so sound, I’d think he was crazy.
Basically here’s what it came down to, the guy needed a vehicle that could haul his family of 6, do it for cheap, and save some gas. The salvaged Prius’ and about 200 hours later there was the Prius limo. The two vehicles reportedly cost him $10 grand and had non-rebuildable junk titles to go with them.
Whether they be Hybrids that run on electric in the city, all electric vehicles, or fuel cell vehicles they are all nearly silent or completely silent when driving in the inner-city. The blind people are pissed, and a little scared.
For the past god knows how long blind people have gotten by walking through the city with use of the heightened sense of sound so they can hear the cars driving by with their fairly audible motors and can avoid being hit. These days its gotten a lot harder with the large number of hybrid vehicles, most of which run only on the silent electric motor when going city speeds, and then there are all electric vehicles that are growing more and more popular that are completely silent.
Over the next three years, Toyota plans to cut the cost of its hybrid technology in half. Also to be reduced is the weight of the hybrid drivetrain, which will increase both fuel efficiency and performance. This next generation Prius is planned for 2009 with an anticipated fuel rating of 90mpg.
Toyota’s hybrid technology getting cheaper, lighter [Via: Mobile Mag]
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