A Japanese newspaper is reporting that Toyota plans to install solar panels on its next model of the popular Prius hybrid. If the company follows through, it would be the first major automaker to incorporate solar power into its vehicles. Even with the panels, though, the pimped-out Prius wouldn't actually run on solar power (it's still a gasoline-electric hybrid, yo); instead, the solar panels would reportedly power the vehicle's air conditioning.
On a Clear Day, You Can AC Forever
Toyota may put solar panels on new Prius to power air conditioning 14
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Posted 8:47 AM on 7 Jul 2008
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stopgreenpath Posted 2:43 am
07 Jul 2008
support!
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Delay And Deny Posted 2:48 am
07 Jul 2008
I guess the engineers at Toyota will scan the Green blogs and simply add any contrivance on the Prius that they think will sell to the Guppies (Green Yuppies -- Wealthy Urban professionals with extra income to consume all things green).
How about a wind turbine hood ornament? Or a cup holder for vegan soup? A cigarette lighter made of bioluminescent algae that have been genetically engineered to heat a filament to 500F while at the same time consuming microscopic amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere?
Thing about the Prius is...it still has a tail pipe doesn't it?
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savee419 Posted 2:54 am
07 Jul 2008
give me a diverse energy portfolio and call it a day!
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GoodCheer Posted 6:31 am
07 Jul 2008
Lance Armstrong and I have both done a triathlon, so what's the difference really?
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kmp Posted 10:23 am
07 Jul 2008
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gadgetman17 Posted 7:06 pm
07 Jul 2008
With better fuel efficiency, no GWP, no ODP R744 MACs are the perfect complement to solar panels. For more info go to http://www.R744.com
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bkrell Posted 11:00 pm
08 Jul 2008
My bigger concern is how is this going to work? I'm having trouble reconciling the energy produced by a solar roof and the amount currently used by the Prius's already-efficient a/c.
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DannyGirl Posted 10:50 am
17 Jul 2008
--one guppy who >chooses< to line dry clothes and flout my HOA's rules
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Paleocon Posted 11:18 am
17 Jul 2008
Yet the Pious squint and feel so self satisfied when they see an SUV.
Frankly, I think the Prius is an awesome vehicle. I would love a two seater with a solar panel roof based upon the synergy hybrid drive system...with plug-in capability.
Drive the first 20 miles (?) on batteries alone...that would absolutely rock.
But I also want affordable, abundant electricity to charge it up at night. Lets use nuke, coal, CNG and oil to build the wind and solar infrastructure we need.
Why? Because there isn't a conservative alive who doesn't like the idea of moving forward, improving standards of living, cleaning up the air, and standing on our own energy feet.
Can we come together and work toward that goal, or is the only answer soaking feet in buckets of water on hot days and eating any children you can find? (I meant grinding them up to fertilize plants that you would then eat, of course.)
Seriously. Do you have to be a Marxist to be in the environmental club?
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Delay And Deny Posted 2:00 pm
17 Jul 2008
And then it struck me. I could design a car that is just as efficient as the Prius if I simply could turn the engine off when idling and at stop signs! I would simply do what the prius does, add in a lot of batteries, and use those to run the electric lights, A/C, power steering when the engine is off. I might add a fly wheel that could power the car for a say five minutes without the engine on. The car itself would decide when to turn the engine on and off...just like a hybrid. But my car would have only one engine, one drive train and hence be lighter than the Prius.
Bob Lutz? Are you listening? Call me...
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scatter Posted 4:46 pm
17 Jul 2008
But I wouldn't recommend switching off the engine in your car too frequently - it's the recipe for a swiftly broken starter motor. Start/stop systems have beefed up starter motors which can take it but normal cars don't.
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MAD MAC Posted 6:58 pm
17 Jul 2008
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Delay And Deny Posted 4:35 am
18 Jul 2008
Ok, sorry to be all Rip-Van-Winkle on this!
Stop/Start sounds great:
http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/news/14-07-08_4
"Start/stop systems still gaining ground
14th July 2008
Bosch has already delivered 500,000 starters for the start/stop application
In addition to BMW and MINI, three further manufacturers plan to introduce Bosch start/stop technology within the next few months
Significant reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in urban and stop-and-go traffic
Bosch start/stop technology has proven its worth in production applications, supplying half a million starter-based start stop systems to BMW and MINI since the introduction in 2007. Three further vehicle manufacturers have decided to use this cost-effective and efficient Bosch technology, and are planning a roll-out within the next few months. Vehicles equipped with this technology consume considerably less fuel, especially in urban traffic, and thereby emit less CO2."
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Delay And Deny Posted 4:42 am
18 Jul 2008
http://www.egmcartech.com/2007/06/14/20-of-all-cars-to-ha ...
"Dr Bernd Bohr, Chairman of automotive component company Bosch, has been recently speaking out against hybrids, saying that the technology isn't as efficient as it's made out to be. Bohr, on the other hand, believes that the star-stop technology, which Bosch developed for the new BMW 1-Series, is more efficient and is the start of a new generation of technology."
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