2010 Toyota Prius Spied!

By Marty Padgett July 30th, 2008

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The world’s most popular hybrid car, the Toyota Prius, is getting a new look, and here are the first photos of it.

Caught earlier as a mule, with the new front welded to the old body, these are the very first photos of the completely new 2010 Toyota Prius due to bow at the Detroit auto show in January.

The new Prius has grown, and is now longer and wider; rear seat passengers have gotten more space, and the cargo area is bigger. Rumors suggest a whole family of Prius models - could that mean a wagon and maybe even a convertible with the Prius badge?

Insiders in Japan are talking about more power and better fuel economy. There might even be a plug-in version this time that will be even more fuel efficient. Toyota will change the Prius' NiMh batteries for lighter and smaller lithium-ion batteries. The lithium-ion will not just make it possible to have a smaller battery back, but will hold more energy as well.

Other news about the Prius: The roof will get solar cells to power the air conditioning, and it will be built in a new plant in Mississippi.

Posted in : 2010, Hybrid Cars, Spy Shots, Toyota

ExxonMobil, Shell…and Mickey Ds?

By Marty Padgett July 29th, 2008

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Biodiesel's nothing new to greenies and assorted car communists like TheCarConnection.com's own Colin Mathews (stay tuned for his first drive in VW's new TDI later this week). Now, police in the Philippines are getting in on the act--and McDonald's is the newest place for them to pit for fuel.

Breitbart reports that Manila police are trying to switch over some of their patrol cars to biodiesel, and that McDonald's stores in the city's Makati financial district are the source for used cooking oil. High oil prices have pushed the cops to make the switch to a blend of 40 percent diesel and 60 percent McDiesel, which is being donated by the local outlets of the chain.

The cops already have one car on the patrol and are looking for more restaurants to sign up for the program. Aside from the delicious after-scent, the cost savings could be good enough to make it a nationwide best practice, Manila police told the news site.

What's your take on biodiesel? Are you in it for the money or the French-fry smell? Tell us in a comment below if you've made the switch and where you get your fry on.

Posted in : 2008, Diesels, Just for Fun

Drivers Logging Lowest Mileage Since Carter Era

By Marty Padgett July 29th, 2008

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A new report from the Federal Highway Administration says American drivers logged fewer miles once more in May, for the seventh month in a row.

Bloomberg says the continued drops in driving could mean we're headed for the lowest total miles driven in the country since 1980--at the end of the Carter administration, which was also marked by a dramatic run-up in energy prices. The news service says May mileage for U.S. drivers dropped 3.7 percent from the year before, and that the seventh month of falling mileage beats previous stretches all the way back to 1979.

This time around, it's Iran, gas prices, and heavy consumption that have driven gas prices to historic $4 highs and have driven us to other solutions, including putting fewer miles on our vehicles. Back in 1980, the circumstances were eerily familiar: trouble in Iran, rising gas prices, and big-time gas bills from behemoth vehicles.

So far this year, American drivers have cruised 2.4 percent fewer miles than in 2007, with the north-central U.S. registering the biggest decline.

Posted in : Driving

Microsoft SYNC-ing Up with Auto Industry

By Paul Eisenstein July 29th, 2008

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Microsoft hopes to SYNC up with the auto industry. The software giant's high-tech infotainment system has been one of the few big success stories for Ford Motor Co. this past year, drawing in the sort of high-tech-savvy buyers who might normally steer over to an import brand.

Now with Ford about to lose its brief exclusive on the SYNC system, Microsoft is ready to make a major push into the auto industry, the Detroit News reports. The Washington-based software company "will announce a massive new investment in its automotive business unit," the paper reports. And it has tapped Detroit native and Microsoft veteran Tom Phillips to head the operation.

"We know that things are tough for the auto industry, but it's the perfect time to make this investment," said Phillips. "There are new customers coming into the market and they are looking for new experiences."

There's been a general trend toward increasing the level of electronics in the average car. High-line manufacturers, such as BMW, with its complex iDrive system, can have more than $10,000 in silicon-controlled systems, ranging from engine, chassis, and safety controls to navigation and in-car entertainment. Even low-end vehicles are being offered with high-tech hardware.

Part of the challenge is to come up with technology that not only offers a wide array of features, but that is also easy to use. BMW has been repeatedly faulted for the complexity of iDrive, and plans a complete remake of the system shortly. Microsoft, however, has won kudos for SYNC, which offers the driver a variety of ways to issue a command, including one of the best voice control systems on the market. Ford recently launched a second-generation SYNC system that adds such features as traffic and weather, along with the ability to track restaurants, movie schedules, and gas prices.

Using SYNC as a come-on in its entry-level sedan, Ford has reportedly driven up the average transaction price on its Focus by $1,000 over the past year. As it expands availability, he automaker expects to sell about 1 million vehicles equipped with SYNC by the end of 2009.

But as with much of the technology provided by outside suppliers, manufacturers like Ford are generally granted limited exclusivity. And Microsoft is already beginning to license the SYNC system to other manufacturers, including the Korean upstart Hyundai, which expects to bring its own version to market within the next several years.

Tags: BMW, ford focus, ford sync, iDrive, microsoft, sync

Posted in : Industry

Toyota: Tough Times Coming

By Paul Eisenstein July 29th, 2008

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Hard times are coming, predicts the world's largest automaker. Toyota - which captured the global sales crown from struggling General Motors during the first half of 2008 - has lowered its global sales forecast for the year, largely because it expects its first annual decline in the critical U.S. market in nearly two decades.

Last year, Toyota officials threw down the gauntlet when they predicted they would sell 9.85 million vehicles worldwide. At the time, most analysts responded by forecasting that would be enough to push the Japanese maker into the No. 1 slot. But no one counted on the slump in the U.S. and the general stagnation in many other developed markets, notably in Europe.

Now, says Toyota, it expects global sales to reach 9.5 million, this year, about 1 percent more than in 2007. But in the U.S. market, the company said in a brief statement, it will suffer its first sales decline in 17 years. When you combine the Toyota, Lexus, and Scion brands, volume is expected to total 2.44 million cars, trucks, and crossovers, compared with 2.62 million in 2007 - and the original, 2008 forecast of 2.64 million vehicles.

Toyota's 6.8 percent sales slump in the U.S. so far this year is complicated by a variety of factors. There's no question it has been hurt by the sudden, sharp decline in the American light truck market. The Japanese maker has ordered a months-long shutdown of its new Tundra pickup plant in San Antonio, and will pull additional production of the full-size truck out of another factory in Indiana. It has delayed the launch of a new plant that was supposed to build the Highlander SUV - but it will add production, there, of the popular Prius hybrid.

In fact, many analysts believe Toyota could be doing better in the States if it had more hybrids and small cars to sell. There are long lines waiting for the Prius in most of the country, and dealers typically sell the hybrid vehicles the moment a shipment arrives from the factory.

The U.S. isn't the only place Toyota is struggling. It is projecting a very small downturn in the home Japanese market for 2008. On the other hand, such slowdowns have been offset by robust demand in key emerging markets, including China, where Toyota has steadily been pushing its way into the top tier of import nameplates.

Tags: light trucks, sales slump, Toyota, Toyota Tundra, Tundra

Posted in : Industry