By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
The North American International Auto Show in Detroit, that perennial display of motor muscle, finds itself in a serious mood this year.
With every top automaker in the U.S. reporting double-digit sales declines for 2008 (and GM still teetering on the precipice) it is a safe bet that the tenor at times will be more matte gray than Corvette red.
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But for those who seek the light at the end of the tunnel, there is much to celebrate — or at least laud — at this year’s show. And most of it is green, green, green.
“It’s the most important year ever for hybrid vehicles. We’ve had most of our major press conferences completed, and probably 80 percent of the major press conferences all revolved around hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles,” said Doug Fox, co-chair of the 2009 NAIAS, which opens to the public on Saturday.
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Toyota eyes a bigger future for Prius
By Tom Kessler
Just as the iPod has become synonymous with digital music players, Toyota’s Prius is the only car people tend to think of when it comes to hybrid electric vehicles. The Prius alone accounts for 75 percent of the hybrid cars sold in the United States, according to Toyota.
With Honda taking aim at the same market with its redesigned, very Prius-looking Insight, it appears Toyota may try to extend its lead by turning Prius into a line of cars much like its Scion and Lexus brands. The New York Times reports that James E. Lentz III, president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., is lobbying Toyota executives in Japan to make the move.
Lentz may well have the clout to pull this off: Americans buy 65 to 70 percent of all Toyota hybrids sold worldwide. The Times says Lentz doesn’t know when Toyota might approve the project but talks will continue next month in Japan.
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Tags: · green cars, hybrid cars, Prius, Toyoya
Report: Prius Will Get Solar Panels
Toyota will become the first major automaker to use solar power when it installs solar panels on the next-generation of its Prius hybrid, according to a Reuters report citing Japan’s Nikkei business daily.
The Japanese automaker plans to add solar panels on the roof of the high-end Prius models to power the car’s air conditioning, according [...]
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Tags: · Prius, Toyota
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