Rumors about the introduction of a Prius Coupe and MPV refuse to die out. It has long been rumored that Toyota’s very successful hybrid car will spawn other models, like a coupe and an MPV. In fact, there were even rumors of the Prius becoming a brand itself, with an entire range of vehicles.

After a calm of a few months, speculation has fired up again, contending that the Prius coupe is indeed in the works, and along with the coupe, will come an MPV.

The rumor goes on to say that the coupe will get the same 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine with hybrid synergy drive as the Prius, and would also get the same chassis.

According to the rumor, the MPV model will compete against the Honda Skydeck concept that was displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show. This speculation also means that Honda will put the Skydeck into production, even though the automaker has not announced anything to indicate that the Skydeck is going to production.

Source: Autoblog Green

The US President Barack Obama, and Vice President Joe Biden are expected to make important announcements that will provide stimulus for a greener future. An Obama administration official has said that the President will make announcement regarding Smart Grids during his visit to Florida. Obama’s announcement of a Smart Grid will be the government’s largest investment of economic stimulus funds in clean energy.

The Smart Grid will bolster the production of energy from clean domestic sources to consumers in 49 states. At the same time, this will also help create a more powerful, stable and robust grid with clean energy playing an important role.

In a separate visit to a closed General Motors plant in Wilmington, Delaware, the US Vice Presiden Joe Biden will announce that the plant will be reopened for production of plug-in hybrid electric cars. However, it isn’t GM that is opening the plant, it is California based Fisker Automotive that will take control of the plant. Fisker is well known for its first plug-in electric vehicle, the Fisker Karma.

Source: Reuters

The United States Navy just completed the maiden voyage of the USS Makin Island.  The ship is of the WASP-class multipurpose amphibious assault ship.

Built by Northrop Grumman, this ship is designed to support both wartime and peaceful humanitarian support.  It was delivered to the Navy on April 16^th and is going to be commissioned on October 24^th in San Diego.

Underneath its hood (excuse the car comparison) it is drive by gas turbines and electric motors, making it the world’s first “green” naval vessel.  There is a nice video showing the new hybrid insides and all-electric drive.

This ship was designed to spend a lot of time off-shore to support operations such as troop landings and even relief of natural disasters such as massive destruction of tsunamis.

In keeping with modern technology, this proud ship even has its home web page and is also on Facebook.

Toyota Prius Hybrid Plugged In For Electricity

As the number of electric vehicles, or plug-in hybrids increases, there is a good chance that they may put greater strain on the grid with a lot of vehicles going for a recharge simultaneously. Google is currently working on a solution to this problem, by integrating vehicles with the electric grid so as to minimize strain and help utilities charge better.

Google is currently working on creating a software that would help meet this end. The idea obviously is to avoid a large number of vehicles getting plugged in at the same time. The software would monitor usage, and find the perfect time to recharge the vehicle, thus avoiding charging during times of peak and high demand, and putting less strain on the grid.

Customers who choose such options may be allowed for credit from the utilities in return. A couple of years back, Google also explored the possibilities of having the plug-in hybrids feed their stored energy back to the grid, and create a potential back-up power source.

[via Yahoo!Tech]

Tom Stephens, Vice Chairman of General Motors, said in an interview that that the company also could consider launching an all-electric small car for crowded cities. This plan will, according to Stephens, mark GM’s return to a technology that it had abandoned in 2003.

GM said that, aided by the US-government’s turnaround funding, the company will launch 14 new, fuel-saving hybrid models by 2012.  The focus is on the Volt, an electric-drive car that GM is aiming to present in late 2010. The Volt also has a small gas-engine for extended-range driving.

The Volt will have a 40-mile driving range on a single battery charge – a distance that the company claims to cover a round-trip for most urban commuters.  However, the consumer will have to pay over $30,000 for the Volt, even after a federal rebate.

In 2008, General Motors also announced its plans for a plug-in version of its Saturn Vue sport-utility vehicle which would carry a lithium-ion battery pack rechargeable at a standard outlet – thus lessening the need for using gas from its 3.6-liter engine.

The Saturn Vue plug-in SUV was being designed with the capability to be driven 10 miles on electric power only. However, the company’s plans to launch the rechargeable Saturn Vue plug-in SUV were complicated by a decision in 2009 to abandon the Saturn brand.

According to Tom Stephens, work on the plug-in technology behind the Saturn Vue SUV “remained on track” and the vehicle that would replace the cancelled Saturn will be an SUV from one of General Motors’ four remaining brands – Chevy, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.

Chevy Volt

General Motors is launching its rechargeable Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid vehicle by the end of 2010. It plans to build a total of 14 hybrid models by 2012.

According to a top executive of General Motors, in order to meet the US federal government’s goal of having 1 million plug-in hybrid cars within 6 years, there has to be an increased supply of batteries. Five or more battery manufacturers will be needed to make the sufficient number of batteries for 1 million plug-in hybrid vehicles.

General Motors has designed the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid to carry a lithium-ion battery with an all-electric driving range of 40 miles. For longer trips, a small gasoline engine will power the battery. The Chevy Volt is likely to cost around $40,000. However, federal tax incentives could help make the car available to consumers at about $32,500.

General Motors says that the costliest component in the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid is its 400-pound (181-kilogram) battery pack.

2010 Toyota Lexus HS 250h hybrid

The Lexus Hybrid is Toyotas’ first hybrid-only luxury model which will be sold in the US. The car is added to the line up of the highly successful Prius which is headed into its third generation in the not too distant future. With 60% of the entry level sedan buyers considering a hybrid model, Toyota could actually achieve its targets.

A major factor of consideration for Toyota is the decline in the sale of fuel-efficient cars as the hybrid cars demand a premium of $3,000 to $5,000 over the regular gasoline powered competitors. The Lexus is roomier, wider and longer compared to the Prius so it may attract more buyers even on this count.

2010 Toyota Lexus HS 250h hybrid

Toyota sells 75% of its hybrid cars in the United States. Therefore the estimates for the new entry level luxury hybrid may sound unrealisticl, but the reality could startle us in the near future, we only need to wait a year for the results. Oh, and have you noticed the trends in the price of fuel lately?

[via Reuters] Images courtesy of geognerd

The point is, when there are price wars, the consumer wins.

Toyota and Honda are going to go at it with their hybrid cars. Remember those three reasons why Honda’s New Insight Will Beat Out Toyota’s New Prius? We may have been right, eh? Honda introduced its hybrid Insight last month and it has already received 18,000 orders, more than three times its monthly sales target.

Toyota is countering by preparing to lower the price of its Prius and roll out a new hybrid less than Y2 million (Insight costs Y1.89million). But their new hybrid with an engine smaller than 1.5 litre, isn’t expected out until 2011.

In the end, however, the consumer is going to win this war.

Via: AFP

The car will be on sale in the States from April.

There are three reasons why the Honda Insight will beat out the Toyota Prius in the long run … maybe.

1. Honda Insight has a mass appeal – former mini-car owners, sedan-owners and minivan-owners are checking it out.
2. Honda Insight costs under $20,000, almost 20% less than a Toyota Prius.
3. Honda Insight boasts 61 miles per gallon, 33% BETTER than the Toyota Prius, and 20% BETTER than the new Prius due out this spring.

Economy is bad, gasoline prices unstable and leaning upwards, and the new Insight is not nearly as funky looking as the older one. My bet is this Honda Insight has a pretty good chance of making inroads into the market that the Prius now dominates.

Images via Autoblog

Honda Insight Hybrid

The Insight base model of the Insight goes for $21,000 compared with $26,000 for the base model of Toyota Motor Corp.’s Prius hybrid hatchback.

It’s all about the price, industry analysts said.

Question – would you buy a fuel-efficient hybrid knowing it’s better for the environment even you have to drive it 10 years to get your money back out of it in savings?

Let us hear from you.