Solar Panels for your Prius?

[Brucelee]

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to add solar panels to its popular Prius hybrid early next year to power the vehicle's air conditioning, a newspaper report said Monday.

As part of a complete design makeover, the Prius will be fitted with rooftop solar panels on its high-end models, the Nikkei economic daily reported.

"It's more of a symbolic gesture," said the unidentified source. "It's very difficult to power much more than that with solar energy."
Toyota, who declined comment on the report, would be the first major carmaker to use a solar power generation system on a mass-produced vehicle.

The automaker plans to produce 450,000 Priuses in Japan in 2009, up 60 percent from 2007, Nikkei reported.

The Prius, the world's first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid car, first went on sale in Japan in late 1997. Total global sales have since topped 1 million

[ekam]

In other words, a feel-good feature solely designed for the latte-sipping hippies. :cheers:

[Brucelee]

In other words, a feel-good feature solely designed for the latte-sipping hippies. :cheers:


Pretty much so! :D

[Quickurt]

Air conditioning, heat, stereo, multi-function wipers & washers, power seats, heated seats, self dimming mirrors, etc., etc., etc., don't get alot of mentions in articles about the greatness of electric vehicles, do they?
My cousin's son (whatever that makes him?) has a Prius. We rode in it last summer and I believe bodily fluid evaporation was a large part of their AC design......

[70Sixter]

At least they are fast and corner like they are on rails.

[Perfectlap]

you know people think this car is a "libearl Yuppie device" but don't see the bigger picture. Like an airfcraft industry cycle (7 years) changing over to new tech, it's a huge economic oppurtunity for all companies that supply the builders, from cockpit electrics to seat belts, its new business.
Right now this country's manufacturing (the base of middle class wages) is in the toilet. We shouldn't be dismissive of these trendy cars but should see them as a window of oppourtunity to clean the slate on the huge trade deficit we have. Toyota, Honda and Nissan are getting the jump on us again like they did in the 70's when Honda started making Accords during the oil crisis.
Seems like we spend more time mocking the perceived social agenda of a car while those clever Asians take us to the cleaners.
.....If the Prius were a stock I'd by 1,000 shares tomorrow.

[Quickurt]

you know people think this car is a "libearl Yuppie device" but don't see the bigger picture. Like an airfcraft industry cycle (7 years) changing over to new tech, it's a huge economic oppurtunity for all companies that supply the builders, from cockpit electrics to seat belts, its new business.
Right now this country's manufacturing (the base of middle class wages) is in the toilet. We shouldn't be dismissive of these trendy cars but should see them as a window of oppourtunity to clean the slate on the huge trade deficit we have. Toyota, Honda and Nissan are getting the jump on us again like they did in the 70's when Honda started making Accords during the oil crisis.
Seems like we spend more time mocking the perceived social agenda of a car while those clever Asians take us to the cleaners.
.....If the Prius were a stock I'd by 1,000 shares tomorrow.
Try getting into the US car market. Don't think, for a second, Detroit will do more than try to pacify some people will silly stuff like hybrid suvs.
Several road tests report no better mileage with a Prius than you can get with a base model Civic. That's where I come off with my attitude, these cars are mainly greenwashing. That is they make people feel clean about driving their car because they spent extra to LOOK like they are doing something, but no-one is talking about the ecology of the extra energy it takes to make them, disposal of the batteries or spilling of the battery chemicals in an accident.
Same thing with electric cars, no-one is discussing the fumes given off during charge of all those batteries. Believe me, if everyone drives an electric car the charging fume pollution WILL become an issue.
In case you missed it, the issue with the green movement is not a solution to the problems they invent. The issue is ending industrial society.

[Perfectlap]

I drove from Orlando to Holywood at 90+mph on the FL turnpike in a Prius.
My gas mileage was at least 35mpg. The computer read a much higher figure but I'm going to low ball it for argument's sake. I'm not sure there are many cars out there that can boast that kind of gas mileage at those speeds.
A guy recently drove, on a single gas tank, from Chicago to NYC!

The Prius driven like a regular car will not net you SIGNIFICANTLY more gas mileage. But with a Prius you have the ability to drive the car in a way that will produce far greater gas mileage than you could achieve with a similar driving style in that non-hybrid Accord. Some "hypermilers" have been able to get 100mpg on their regular commutes. There are whole forums devoted to just that. Unlike a conventional car there is the ability to coast while using neither electrical power or gas. If this dynamic can be fully harnassed with further R&D it will mean billions of dollars in saved gas and sales of new cars.

All cars will produce more destruction of the air and water. THere's no way around it. The issue is which cars will consume fewer resources and cut foreing depedence. I don't really think this is an eco issue at the ened of day at all.
To me its a dollars and sense issue, albeit in the long term.
Even if we cut carbon emissions completely the rise in global population will still produce more carbon output. This is simply due to the sheer magnitude of the growth of global population when you consider how quickly we arrived at 7 billion people. We've been on this planet for millions of years yet in the last 80 years the population is up some 300%, the last 300 years population growth being up 1000%. Humans are active, make fires, dump things into the air and destroy trees. Now its being done at Tsunami like pace vs. the last 6 millions years. I'll let you decide if this has no long term consequence to global temps and the resulting erratic weather patterns.


But the concept of continuing to dump more money into conventional gasoline powered cars is completely asseinine to me. Imagine if you had to buy batteries for your cell phone every couple of days vs every time you bought a new phone? Now multiply that by the 1.5 billion cell phones that are currently in use around the planet. That would equal 100 billion dead and useless batteries. $30 billion (for a $20 rechargeable) vs. $600 billion for toss aways. That's a tidal wave of precious energy spent for little more than a short term benefit and a huge profit for those making batteries. Well that's what we're doing with crude oil. A spectacular waste of money and resources when our needs could be met using a fraction of the energy and $.

[Quickurt]

My wife had a '98 5 spd TDI Jetta that she averaged over 50 MPG with. She has an 02 Civic now - 1.7 5spd that she gets in excess of 40 MPG in her commuting.
The TDI got nearly 50 MPG with me driving 80 to 85 on trips and the Civic gets 38.5.
Those numbers don't make me want a Prius, nor am I interested in getting run over by real world traffic trying to get 100 mpg with a Prius.
I'm not in favor of wasting anything, but until alternative vehicles and fuel sources become commercially realistic we still need a realiable petroleum source.
The only point of agreement we'll probably reach is current oil prices have finally forced some evaluation of our situation and [I]may[I] produce some much needed leadership in this area.
That's what is great about our system, go out and invest in new technologies and if you make it work, I'll happily help make you rich!! :cheers:
Unfortunately, the majority of those loud mouthing today's problems don't understand the free market is the only solution. There are no regulations they can institute to cure anything. There is nothing the government has ever produced, other than more problems.