Your daily automotive news!
A survey was conducted and it was found that the UK’s electricity supply system and national grid has the capacity to deal with an increase in electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
The every day peak-use increase is expected to be less than 2%. This is measured under the assumption that electric and plug-in vehicles account for 10% of all vehicles on Britain’s roads.
Toyota has eventually exposed the Mk3 Prius, which is the nearest rival to the Honda Insight which is also revealed at Detroit.
The new Prius has a bigger 1.8-litre, 98bhp engine and a total power output of 134bhp. The engine is more proficient than the current 1.6, and also predicts a faster 0-60mph acceleration time of 9.8 seconds.
It has a 3-mode driver-selection system: EV-Drive Mode, giving electric-only propulsion for up to a mile at low speeds, sporty Power Mode and a fuel-careful Eco Mode.
New boasts on offer include a solar moon roof, with solar panels which collect energy to power the ventilation system.
There’s also a remote air conditioning system, parking assistance, LED low-beam headlamps and tail-lights, dynamic cruise control, Toyota’s pre-crash safety system, lane departure warning, a rear-view camera, voice-activated satellite navigation and automatic announcement of disaster services in the event of a smash, an SOS call button and stolen vehicle tracking.
The Mk3 Prius will be on sale this spring; pricing and specification for the UK will be declared nearer to launch.
Toyota has frozen the opening of its new factory in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Though the building work on this all-new facility is said to be virtually complete, the onset of car production has been indefinitely shelved.
The $300 million Tupelo plant was to make the new-generation Prius hybrid for the North American market, supplementing Prius production in Japan.
Production equipment has not yet been installed and Toyota has not confirmed when production will begin. No employees already hired are to be laid off as yet.
Toyota has 7 other factories in North America and has cut down on output at these facilities as its sales have slowed. Its sales are 13.4% down this year, though this decline is less severe than the American average.
Launch of the Mk3 Prius is still scheduled for the Detroit Motor Show next month.
Honda is to renew the name Insight for its Prius-rivalling new hybrid.
The Insight will be a small family sized five-door, five-seater hatch as the original 1999 model was an impractical two-door coupe. This five door coupe is to be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show. The sales of this car will be starting next year. It will be assembled in Suzuka, Japan. The company plans to sell 200,000 a year through out the world.
Honda predicts to undersell the Prius because the Insight will be priced at a very less price than any other hybrid car on the market. This would help people to access petrol-electric technology easily. Prices will be declared at a later date.
Honda also has plans to assist drivers through a unique function for more fuel-efficient driving. This would help drivers to get the most out of their real world fuel consumption.
Honda is also to set in motion hybrid versions of the Jazz and a new Civic Hybrid in the next few years. It also has plans for a sports car based on the CR-Z concept. The goal of Honda is to sell more than 500,000 hybrids a year, with 10% of its global sales to be hybrids by 2010.
General Motors and the Environmental Protection Agency have in fact started a squabble over what in fact is GM’s forthcoming plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt? This argument will determine whether the Volt gets a jaw-dropping EPA rating of over 100 mpg which will make it the most fuel-competent car sold by a chief automaker or will it just be another Prius-like 48 mpg.
General Motors considers their Chevy Volt as an electric car where as the EPA wants to classify it as a hybrid.
PC Magazine explicates, “Its drive train is entirely electric, since the companion gas engine powers a generator, not the car itself. The Volt is not a hybrid in the usual sense, in other words. GM claims it can run 40 miles before the gas engine even kicks in.”
The car applies its batteries to render most of its ability, setting off the electric generator only when they are exhausted to a certain point. The car is so planned that it arrives to its destination at approximately 30%-35% of the battery’s status of charge.
For hybrid cars like these, you will receive a nice discount on your insurance for your cars in many states.
The Toyota Prius is one of the “greenest” vehicles of the year. Chevy’s Cobalt coupe gives 33 miles per gallon. An economical threesome the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, and Nissan Versa each average better than 25 miles per gallon, and start at less than $15,000.
Americans definitely want to squeeze pennies at the pump, particularly with gas touching $4 per gallon and the market becoming soft. But this does not mean they will give up the joy of motoring. Thus while others prefer cars that are merely fuel-efficient, we prefer cars that are proficient and muscular both.