Toyota Prius Next Generation Hybrid Car

According to Auto Observer, Toyota is preparing the next generation for the year 2009 launch of the Prius. The new Prius will be powered by a 1.8 liter engine and will come with nickel metal hydride batteries to start. It is expected that the Prius will get bigger in size.

2011 Toyota Prius Hybrid Car

Toyota announces 2011 all new cars hybrid Prius. Backed by a four-cylinder engine 1.8-liter VVT-i offers 98 hp at 5200 rpm and 105 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm. Magnet 2011 Toyota Prius electric motor's synchronous, on the other hand, provides 80 hp and153 lb-ft of torque. It features fuel-efficient 50 mpg.

2011 Toyota Prius offers three driving modes: EV-Drive Mode allows driving on battery power alone at low speeds for about a mile, if conditions permit. There is also a Power Mode, which increases sensitivity to throttle input for a sportier feel, and an Eco Mode, which helps the driver achieve their best mileage.

Toyota Announces Yaris HSD Concept and New Prius+ MPV with 7-Seats for Geneva Salon

Toyota is going to have an interesting collection of cars at this year's Geneva Motor Show in March as the second and closer to production concept version of the FT-86 rear-wheel drive sports coupe will be joined by the Yaris HSD study and the new Prius+ minivan, which appears to be the European version of the Prius V with seating for seven instead of five.

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Poll: Should GM give in and call the Volt a hybrid?

Apart from the humorous articles and the plethora of eBay finds we come up with, Carscoop’s bread and butter is automotive news straight from the manufacturer. And as such, we read a lot of press releases. In all the ones I’ve read, General Motors refuses to call the Chevrolet Volt a hybrid. It’s a range extended electric vehicle.

I speculate that it might have something to do with hybrids being uncool (so sayeth GM CEO Dan Akerson) or to avoid comparisons with that other hybrid. You know, the one made by the world’s other biggest car manufacturer.

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EV Owners in California to Feel the Shock of Higher Electricity Rates

Woe betide the electric car. Outpaced by their petrol-powered cousins in the 1900s, saddled with heavy and potentially dangerous batteries in the 1970s and crushed in the name of the Almighty Dollar in the 1990s, it’s been a rough road from there to here.

And now, on the dawn of a new age where electric cars seem poised to take their rightful place alongside gasoline cars, the electricity companies are about to throw a wrench into the works. If you live in California and intend to buy a plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius or Chevrolet Volt or an all-electric Nissan Leaf, you could be in for a...shock.

If the energy giants have their way, the Chevy Cobalt, which would have to rate on my list as one of the least desirable cars built by GM, is more economical to own or operate than any of the above. The reason?

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Toyota Prius blossoms into...Chrysler 300 with Custom Makeover

From our 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon "Strange But True" files comes this custom creation of what appears to be a second generation (judging by the interior door panels) Toyota Prius hybrid wearing a...Chrysler 300 front end. The show car also features sliding rear doors, lowered suspension, larger five-spoke alloy wheels, Chrysler 300-style tail lights and a high-end audio-visual system that replaces the rear seats. More pictures after the break.

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VIDEO: 2012 Toyota Prius V Minivan Presentation and Driving Footage

In a move that was more expected than surprising given the success of the Prius over the years, Toyota launched the first addition to the Prius family, the V-branded minivan, and announced an upcoming compact hatchback, previewed by the Prius C concept study, at the 2011 Detroit Motor Show. The two models will join the regular Prius hatchback and its forthcoming plug-in version in the North American market.

The production Prius V seen in the videos after the jump, is a practical five-seat minivan based off the hatchback version of Toyota's popular hybrid model. It uses the same 1.8-litre petrol engine and Hybrid Synergy Drive tech offering 50% more luggage space than its smaller counterpart, while returning an estimated 42 mpg city, 38 mpg highway and 40 mpg combined. The Prius V will go on sale in North America in late summer 2011 as a 2012 model year.

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Toyota Prius C Hybrid Concept will Spawn a Production Model in 2012

Along with the new Prius V minivan, the Detroit Show also welcomed the world premiere of the Prius C Concept, which will provide the inspiration for the next Prius Family member that Toyota plans to launch in the first half of next year.

The Japanese automaker said that the production version of the Prius C will be smaller, more affordable and with even greater fuel efficiency than the regular Prius. According to Toyota's claims, the Prius C will deliver the highest mpg of any available hybrid model without a plug in North America.

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2011 Detroit Show: All-New Toyota Prius V Minivan Hybrid

Toyota is expanding its family of Prius models with the presentation of the all-new Prius V minivan that will join the current, third-generation Prius as well as the forthcoming Prius Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (PHV), starting from late summer 2011.

The Prius V shares the same platform and hybrid drivetrain as the regular, five-door model, however, Toyota claims the minivan will feature over 50-percent more interior cargo space than the current Prius.

According to the Japanese automaker, the new model "has been designed from the ground up, with a shape that evolved from Prius rather than being an elongated version."

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Toyota Prius Tops Corolla's 1990 Record as Japan's Best Selling Model in 2010

The Toyota Prius has set a new sales record in Japan as the automaker delivered more than 315,000 units (final figures will be released by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association in mid-January). of the gas-electric hybrid model in 2010, overtaking the Corolla for the first time in two decades. The previous annual record was held by the Corolla which sold around 300,000 units in 1990.

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BREAKING: Toyota to Debut Prius Concept Alongside New Prius Minivan at Detroit Show

[Updated] It's going to be all about the Prius hybrid family at Toyota's 2011 Detroit Motor Show stand, as the Japanese automaker revealed today that in addition to the current third-generation Prius and Prius Plug-in vehicle (PHV), the first all-new addition to the Prius range, the as-of-yet unnamed compact minivan seen in the teaser above, will debut along with a new Prius-branded concept model.

The company is keeping details on the prototype model under wraps for now, but with the Detroit Show just around the corner, it won't be long before we find out what it's all about. In the meantime, hit the break to check out two new teaser photos of the Prius MPV's dashboard and interior space.

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GM CEO Calls the Prius a Geek-Mobile, Wouldn’t be Caught Dead in One

In the grand scheme of things, General Motors is a little late in the purpose-built hybrid range extended electric vehicle game. Toyota has recently launched its third generation Prius and Honda its second generation Insight. At worst, the soon-to-be-released Chevy Volt is a logical move from a marketing perspective; if the consumer wants frumpily styled eco-cars then who are we, the automakers, to say otherwise?

So it’s a little hard to swallow when GM’s current CEO, Dan Akerson, describes the Volt’s major competitor – some may even say raison d’être – as a geek-mobile. Here are his exact words:

“We commonly refer to the geek-mobile as the Prius. And I wouldn't be caught dead in a Prius."

If the Prius is a geek-mobile, what does that make the Volt? Is it a me-too-mobile? And the word “geek” is so muddied in our 21^st century world. In the United States, 74% of the population use the internet, 27% own an Apple iPhone and almost half are on Facebook or MySpace. And Avatar, film widely considered to be the most successful film ever made, is a member of that classic geek genre: science fiction.

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Toyota to Voluntarily Fix 378,000 Prius Hybrids for Overheating Problems

Toyota's US division has issued what it describes as a "limited service campaign" (and not a recall…) on approximately 378,000 U.S-spec Prius hybrids from the 2004 and 2007 model years to resolve a potential problem with the water-pump that can cause the cars to overheat.

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Toyota Plans to Slowly Bore us to Death with Prius MPV Puzzle Teasers

Toyota has decided to build some anticipation about its upcoming Prius MPV [the name has not yet been announced] hybrid, before the big reveal at the Detroit motor show in January 2010, by launching a series of teasers in the form of puzzle pieces. The puzzle theme appears to be central to the Prius MPV campaign as it was also used in the billboard that showed the hybrid minivan hiding behind the normal Prius liftback.

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Toyota Debuts Prius PLUS Performance Package from TRD with Aero and Suspension Mods

The annual SEMA aftermarket show in Las Vegas will see Toyota launching an all-new sporty package for its Prius hybrid, which will be available in limited production beginning in April 2011.

Developed by Toyota Racing Development (TRD), the Performance Package doesn't justify its name with changes under the hood, relying instead on a sporty outfit and a sports tuned suspension plus beefier tire and alloy wheel combos for improved handling.

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Busted: 2011 Toyota Prius MPV Picture is an Older Photoshop

Not that we expect the actual production version of the upcoming 2011 Toyota Prius MPV (or whatever else the Japanese maker names the hybrid minivan) to look any more exciting than the vehicle shown in the black-and-white picture above, but just to set things straight, what you see here is an older photoshop created by Japan's Best Car magazine and not the real deal as some hastily baptized. Proof seekers may follow the jump for color shots from the magazine.

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New Toyota Prius Special Edition Celebrates Hybrid's 10th Anniversary in the UK

Marking the 10 years since the launch of the Prius onto the UK market, Toyota has released a special 10th Anniversary edition of its hybrid model. Said to be the most exclusive production Prius to date since only 1,000 examples are to be built, the"Prius 10th Anniversary" is offered with a choice of two paint finishes - White Pearl or Astral Black- and an on-the-road price of £26,150, with first customer deliveries to commence this winter.

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Toyota to Build Prius Hybrid in Thailand

Toyota today revealed it will begin manufacturing its Prius hybrid in Thailand starting from November. The car will be built at the firm's Gateway Plant, near the Thai capital Bangkok, where it also makes the Corolla, Camry, Camry Hybrid and other models. Thailand will be the third country to make Toyota's popular hybrid after Japan and China.

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Toyota Confirms New Prius Minivan Debut for 2011 Detroit Show in January, Releases New Teaser Video

With a simple tweet on its Twitter page that said "Next member of the #Prius family (to be revealed at Detroit Auto Show) will be all-new model w/ more comfort, style and versatility", Toyota announced that the world premier of its highly anticipated Prius Minivan will take place at the forthcoming Detroit motor show in the second week of January, 2011.

The as-of-yet unnamed minivan will be the second Prius-badged hybrid in Toyota's range, while the company has already revealed plans to extend the Prius family with a third model that will be smaller than the current five-door liftback. Both the smaller and larger Prius-branded hybrid-electric vehicles are scheduled to go on sale in the States by 2013.

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Google’s Latest Killer App is one Step Closer to the Driverless Car [with Video]

It came from San Francisco Bay. A hybrid killing driving machine with a singular purpose: to destroy mankind to further the cause of safe motoring. A Toyota Prius infused with advanced technology that allows it to kill without remorse drive itself and created by the Devil himself Google! Pardoning that brief flight of fancy, here's the real scoop:

Google is working on an automated / driverless car with the help of DARPA Challenge luminaries Chris Urmson and Anthony Levandowski. Mr. Urmson was the technical team leader on CMU's 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge winning entry, whilst Mr. Levandowski built the world's first autonomous motorcycle for the DARPA Grand Challenge as well as an automated pizza delivery vehicle.

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