Posts Tagged ‘Prius News’

Deadline.com has reported that an Avatar Blue Toyota Prius is the present that producers James Cameron and Jon Landau chose to give 11 principal cast members of this summer’s blockbuster film.  Cameron said in September that Avatar’s success was in large part due to his audience’s longing for a greater connection to nature.

My optimistic side says that Avatar did as well as it did for that reason, that there’s a time for a change, for a recognition that we have to answer for the way that we’ve been and remember our respect for nature… it resonated with something that was already there, to find something inside for people and gave people a way to think about this. And if that manifests in people cutting down on their energy usage or recycle or buy a Prius – James Cameron told Time magazine.

Cameron has a history of giving back to the earth, NPR reported in August that he was working with environmental organizations worldwide to plant over 1 million trees.

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The Toyota Prius line has included a custom concept vehicle in the 2010 SEMA show in Las Vegas.  Developed by the Conversions and Accessories group at Toyota Motor Corporation, this vehicle provided the opportunity to let the team’s imaginations run wild with the world’s best-selling hybrid vehicle according to earthtechling.com.

The exterior of this Pruis received a major overhaul.  No longer just a family car, but a distinctively styled sporty car. This Toyota Prius Concept and Accessories car is equipped with light-weight carbon fiber, which includes the aero side skirts with vertical spoilers, front bumper and fender flares- triangular air intakes, the engine hood, roof, rear hatch, rear spoiler, rear bumper, vertical spoiler and rear garnish.   Let’s hope some of these design ideas are integrated into the sporty Pruis’ of the next few years!

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Google previewed their latest project: a fully automated car that drives without a human.  Edmunds InsideLine.com explains that the test car fleet  includes six Toyota Prius hybrids which have put over 140,000 road miles in California and beyond.

These cars sport a rotating sensor scanning 360 degrees and 200 feet in diameter which creates a 3D map of the car’s location.  Sensors map the cars movement and help to pinpoint the current location of the car.

A rearview mirror mounted video camera helps find obstacles like pedestrians, bicyclists, traffic lights and other roadway interferences and sends that information to the cars onboard computer.  Radar sensors and GPS help round out the guidance package.

Google says its goal is “to help prevent traffic accidents, free up people’s time and reduce carbon emissions by fundamentally changing car use.”

The cars do include the fallback of a trained safety driver and a trained software engineer in the passenger seat to ensure the program remains safe to other drivers and pedestrians on the road.  The driverless cars have tackled challenging terrain such as San Francisco’s winding Lombard Street and the Golden Gate Bridge.  See this video of the driverless car below:

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Toyota announced plans to introduce two new Prius models by the end of 2012, according to an article in the Detroit Free Press. These vehicles will help cement Toyota as the leader in the hybrid and electric vehicle market in the U.S.

One of the vehicles will be larger and have up to 50% more interior space than the 2011 Pruis.  This strategy will appeal to car buyers who like hybrids, but want a larger vehicle overall.

If Toyota can expand that brand umbrella, it may stand a much better chance of driving up its hybrid sales – Mike Milliken, editor of greencarcongress.com.

The Prius has sold more than 2 million cars worldwide and in more than 70 countries.

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A modest village of six “smart-houses” in Rokkasho, Japan sets the scene for the future with a smart grid system and eight Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid vehicles, reports insideline.com. A two-year pilot project engineered to show the world how to live smartly, generates power exclusively from renewable energy sources.

Reminded of a Disney-themed “Epcot” community of tomorrow, Toyota’s project is on a tiny scale by comparison.  This two-year demonstration project tests the Toyota Smart Center system for creating and controlling the smart houses, Prius plug-in hybrid vehicle systems and even energy consumption and storage.  Even the water heaters received a Toyota makeover with the EcoCute system taking usage patterns and supply loads into account.

Toyota is partnering with Japan Wind Development, Panasonic Electric Works and Hitachi on the project. Electricity will be produced by wind power stations and local solar energy generation. Toyota said it is trying to develop a strategy for a “future low-carbon society” by setting up the village.

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