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A quick video from Smart Motors Toyota Scion VP and General Manager, Allen Foster, addressing the recent drop in our Google Local scores and some information as to why Smart Motors Toyota Scion is Wisconsin's #1 Volume Toyota Dealer.

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Pushing Buttons Like the Jetsons - 2012 Prius Adds Revised Styling and Infotainment Features

The Prius surpasses itself once again!  For the 2012 model year, the global hybrid sales champion features an advanced infotainment system with mild exterior and interior styling revisions.  The 2012 Prius Liftback (the new name for the original member of the new Prius extended family) is still the same fuel economy master it always has been but with expanded options and some added content that includes, of all things, car-generated spaceship sounds.

The best-selling hybrid in the world offers Toyota’s signature Entune infotainment systems for 2012, including a suite of connectivity features which are accessed via your smart phone.  The Toyota Entune system is a collection of popular mobile applications and data services that are offered with the standard audio systems with three years of complimentary access on the Prius Three, Four and Five models.  Once a smart phone is connected to the vehicle using Bluetooth wireless technology or a USB cable, Entune’s features are operated using the vehicle’s controls, or for some services by voice recognition.  Entune offers mobile apps for Bing that facilitate point of interest searches for destinations such as shopping or dining, Open Table for restaurant searches and reservations, MovieTickets.com, Pandora and iHeartRadio.  Entune data services include a fuel price guide, sports scores for your favorite teams, stocks, traffic and weather information.  Depending on the Prius model all of this is delivered through a 6.1 or 7-inch touch screen.

The 2012 Prius is unbeatable when it comes to its audio capabilities.  The standard AM/FM CD player unit offers MP3/WMA playback with six speakers, a USB port for iPod connectivity and Bluetooth for audio streaming and hands-free phone capability.  The display also provides vehicle hybrid system operation feedback and fuel economy data. On screen menus also allow the driver to customize specific vehicle settings such as door-locking operation, Smart Key features and auto headlamp shut-off settings.

The third-generation Prius has plenty of other changes for 2012 some subtle, others not.  Outside it gets a slightly re-styled front-end with new headlights and LED daytime running lights.  In the back, the Prius gets new tail lights and some models get new wheels for 2012.  Behind the wheel the styling changes include revised graphics on the multi-information display with a new Eco Savings display that shows fuel savings versus other vehicles.  The Prius Two comes with re-styled 15-inch black alloys with new wheel covers and standard display audio with an integrated back-up camera.  The Three model now gets navigation as a standard feature along with Entune, a back-up camera, Sirius XM satellite radio and a revised smart-key system that now opens three doors.

The Prius Four model includes that system plus eight JBL GreenEdge speakers and an eight-channel JBL amplifier.  GreenEdge audio technology is quite cool really and since it significantly reduces electric draw on the vehicle which in turn, enhances fuel economy, it is perfectly at home on the Prius.  It also does not hurt that JBL GreenEdge sound systems pump out the equivalent of 600 watts of sound while using only 120 watts of power either!  The Prius Four also provides the driver with a ‘first’ for the Prius -- an eight-way power adjustable driver’s seat!  Then there is the ‘enhanced’ comfort of the new leather-imitating SofTex-trimmed seats! ‘Enhanced’ because no animals were injured in the making of these seats since they do not use real leather hides.

When the Solar Roof Package is ordered on the Prius Four, that system is further upgraded with a Head-up Display and a Premium HDD (Hard Disc Drive) Navigation System, which uses a seven-inch touch-screen with split-screen capability.  Other Prius models offer a navigation system with the 6.1 inch screen that is a little more ‘Garmin-like’ in its appearance and functionality.

The Solar roof package is the world’s first sliding glass moon roof equipped with solar panels located over the rear seating area that power an interior ventilation system.  The photo-voltaic system from Kyocera Solar powers a ventilation fan that helps reduce interior temperature when the vehicle is parked directly in the sun.  Cool down time is shorter when the driver returns to the Prius, thus reducing  air conditioner usage.

The top of the line Prius Five model’s Advanced Technology Package for 2012 includes an HDD Navigation System, the Head-up Display, Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Pre-Collision System and Lane Keep Assist.  The Pre-Collision System retracts the front seat belts and pressurizes the brakes when the system detects that a crash is unavoidable. Lane Keep Assist alerts the driver when the Prius wanders out of it’s lane.

The new Head-up Display (HUD) is maybe the most interesting change in the Prius for 2012.   The feature projects information like speed, navi details and hybrid efficiency onto the windshield.  The system, which originated in the field of aviation, improves safety by keeping the driver's eyes on the road instead of the complex dashboard display.  This is the first time HUD has been available on the US spec Prius and it is an option on Prius Four and Five models.

For those who want a sportier Prius, there is the PLUS Performance package which gives the world-class hybrid a more aggressive attitude as well as sharper handling. Toyota Racing Development (TRD) engineered the package to deliver a more aggressive and lower-profile stance.  It includes a custom body kit that was aerodynamically designed to further reduce the already remarkable coefficient of drag of the Prius while retaining its already great fuel efficiency.  Track width and rolling resistance is increased while unsprung weight is reduced with the addition of seventeen inch forged alloy wheels.  Lowering springs reduce the vehicle’s stance by 1.1 inches in the front and 1.3 inches in the rear to enhance steering response and cornering ability. A rear sway bar helps reduce body lean for flatter cornering.  The PLUS Package can be ordered from Toyota or dealer installed.

The Prius is an Eco Icon that is also known for its trend-setting design and features.  With all the updates and additional content available for 2012 the range of options for the Prius buyer has expanded with only a moderate uptick in price.  Still, many of us choose the world-class hybrid for its Hybrid Synergy Drive and its record of continuous improvement in fuel economy and low emissions.  For those of us who are fuel misers and not necessarily swayed by added content and additional option choices there will always be the time-honored Prius Two. The Prius base -- all the legendary Prius MPGs without all the change-ups!

While the big news with the 2012 Prius improvements has to be the addition of the Entune multimedia system for those who live life through the connectivity of their smart phones, there is another, not so subtle change.  The Prius makes a new sound, a sound alert system to be more precise.  The 2012 Prius, the Prius v and the Prius Plug-in model and every hybrid and electric vehicle going forward will now have a sound- emitting Vehicle Proximity Notification System (VPNS) as standard equipment.  Toyota engineers designed the new audible alert system to be recognizable as a car yet be futuristic enough to represent the advanced state of Hybrid Synergy Drive.  Just like Nissan, Ford and every other manufacturer of hybrids and electric cars, Toyota engineers have come up with a sound that is a little like a cross between a Jetsons-like spaceship and well, an amplified electric motor.  The VPNS is only activated at low speeds when the internal combustion engine is off, such as in a parking lot.

The Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010 has made all these new science-fiction sounds coming from our hybrids and EVs mandatory out of rising safety concerns for pedestrians, in particular the blind and the elderly and bikers.  An oft-silent-running hybrid or EV does present a clear danger to pedestrians.  Yet it is ironic that after decades of efforts by automakers to produce vehicles that are more quiet we finally get there and the cars are so quiet that we have to add a noisemaker, albeit a futuristic noisemaker.  It only activates at parking lot speeds and to be honest, it is barely noticeable to those inside the Prius.  So, it doesn’t look like the days of the silent running Prius are particularly over.  Who knows?  Soon drivers might download "vroomtones" for their cars, the way they download ringtones to their smart phones today!

Toyota Newsroom, AutoblogGreen, Scientific American, US Congress GovTrack, Energyboom.com, Engadget.com, Hybridcars.com

   

VPNS Demonstration

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1YVwM3HpII]

    The Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive System

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CFxQGWAaho&w=420&h=315]

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Does the Prius Do Snow?

<a href="http://blog.smartmotors.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/prius-snow_100177931_l2.jpeg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-559" src="http://blog.smartmotors.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/prius-snow_100177931_l2-300x225.jpg" alt="A Gen II Prius Delivers the Mail in Wisconsin" width="300" height="225" /></a>Now that snow finally blankets the land that is a fair question.  So how does the Prius handle snow, really?  This time of year the winter ‘mannerisms’ of the Prius are regular discussion topics on hybrid owner chat boards.  By visiting sites like <a href="http://PriusChat.com" target="_blank">PriusChat.com</a> you can read the accounts of new drivers and those with 8 to 10 years of winter driving experience in all kinds of weather with the Prius from the Rockies to the nether regions of darkest Canada.  The discussion topics on these chat boards range from reduced winter fuel efficiency to the various driver experiences of how well the Prius performs in wintery driving conditions. <div> </div> <div>The seasonal drop in fuel economy with the onset of winter is a little complex but easily understandable.  To start with, air is drier in the winter and cold air reduces the amount of energy that can be extracted from fuel.  In addition, winter refinery formulas also reduce fuel efficiency.  Any driver of a gas-only vehicle who is paying attention at all, has in all likelihood already noticed a drop in fuel economy.  Winter gasoline contains more butane, which according to <span style="text-decoration: underline"><strong><span style="color: #993300"><a title="Winter Gasoline" href="http://blog.gasbuddy.com/posts/Winter-blend-gasoline-rolling-out-drops-in-MPG-possible/1715-422955-413.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="color: #993300;text-decoration: underline">Gasbuddy.com</span></a></span></strong></span> costs less, but also evaporates at a quicker rate and is more volatile.  Other factors, like the higher rolling resistance on your tires caused by snow-packed roadways and frigid wheel bearings contribute to decreased seasonal fuel economy, but in a less noticeable way.</div> <div> </div> <div>So, all vehicles experience reduced efficiency during the winter.  The seasonal cycles with a hybrid such as the Prius are no different.  On the hybrid side of the equation, fuel economy takes a hit when the climate control system runs continuously to heat and defrost the cabin.  The heater-core in the Prius is supplied with hot anti-freeze which heats up the air passing through it.  Just like a normal car.  When keeping winter’s cold blasts at bay and maintaining the cabin of your hybrid all warm and toasty you are in effect, asking your gas engine to barely ever shut down.  On such days with the climate control running high, the dashboard indicator may show fuel economy in the 34 to 42 mpg range for the Gen. II Prius and 38 to 46 mpg for the Gen. III model.  Anecdotal reports say the 50-mpg average of summer may even fall to somewhere between 33 and 40 miles per gallon. That's not really that much extra gasoline (up to 1 gallon extra every 100 miles), but Prius owners are known for taking their fuel economy seriously.</div> <div> </div> <div>Further complicating the situation is the reality that battery capacity is reduced in cold weather, so the engine runs more often to top off the hybrid battery pack.  The performance of the nickel-metal-hydride high-voltage battery declines somewhat with the colder temperatures (just as it does for regular 12-Volt lead-acid starter batteries).  The less time the Prius runs on battery power, the more gas it burns, meaning fuel economy declines.</div> <div> </div> <div>To say that Prius owners take their fuel economy seriously qualifies as a classic understatement.  Fuel efficiency awareness is heightened for the Prius driver dramatically by the Multi-Display Screen on the dashboard.  Every little nuance, information you were totally unaware of in your traditional vehicle, is displayed before you at all times.  If you had that information in front of you in any other car there is no way you could continue to believe that the effects of winter on fuel economy are minor.  Veteran Prius drivers do not let themselves get overly concerned with mpg calculations during the winter season without first considering the effects of cold weather on fuel efficiency.  Focus on the ‘big picture’ -- the seasons change and soon enough the fuel economy cycle will improve with the warmer temperatures!  Remember, if the Prius suffers from reduced fuel economy during the winter months then other, gas-only vehicles are affected too, just to a greater degree!</div> <div> </div> <div>Other than the palpable reduction of fuel economy that accompanies cold, wintry weather the other most common topic in Prius chat rooms seems to evolve around the winter driving experience itself.  Specifically, "How does a smaller car like a Prius handle in the snow?"   Comments are all over the board, ranging from those who claim the Prius is one of the best front-wheel drive small cars they have ever driven in snow to those who say it’s nearly useless in the stuff.  The majority of the folks commenting on traction issues (pro or con) in these forums own the Gen II Prius (2004-2009 model years).</div> <div> </div> <div>Even a small hybrid sedan has the potential to do well on snow and ice.  Hybrids, like the Prius, tend to be front-wheel drive<a href="http://blog.smartmotors.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Prius_NightSnow_51.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-574" src="http://blog.smartmotors.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Prius_NightSnow_51.jpg" alt="" width="234" height="184" /></a> (FWD) vehicles.  While not as sure-footed in snow as all-wheel drive, front-wheel drive cars have the advantage over their rear-wheel drive counterparts in that the heaviest part of the car -- in this case the Hybrid Drive System, is on top of the drive wheels.  This helps to push the drive wheels down through the snow and gives them better grip.  Because electric motors are more efficient at distributing torque than internal combustion engines the hybrid has an additional advantage in the snow.  It is precisely due to this huge amount of torque from the electric motor that traction control technology is applied to hybrids.  The purpose of the system is to prevent wheel slip and loss of traction. Because electric motors provide maximum torque from 0 rpm, on slippery roads the wheels spin easily--whereupon the traction control promptly brakes the spinning wheel. The result, owners say, is halting vehicle acceleration with an accompanying beeping sound from the skid alert as the wheels lose traction, are slowed down and stabilized; then the cycle repeats itself as the car slowly digs itself out of a traction loss.</div> <div> </div> <div>Spinning tires are never a good thing.  Loss of grip may cause safety issues and will definitely increase tire wear.  Traction control helps prevent all that.  Brute force is not the most effective method of getting through snow anyway.  A slow and powerful dig is what traction control is designed to provide.  Like many other aspects of driving the Prius -- the vehicle prompts some re-learning.  Putting the pedal to the floor in a Prius is the last thing you want to do, especially when there is a loss of traction due to a slippery surface.</div> <div> </div> <div>Beginning with the Gen III Prius (2010) the Traction Control system (TRAC) was re-designed, along with 90 per cent of the hybrid drive components in the Prius.  In previous models, mostly from 2004 to 2009 (Gen II), the electric motor design had more torque (295 ft. lbs.) and as a result, the TRAC system was more aggressive, cutting power (throttle) at the mere hint of wheel spin.  TRAC in the Gen III Prius functions more like any other Toyota (not the Gen II Prius) in that it does not cut out all torque (throttle) in a slip condition.  Instead, TRAC in the current Prius will try to provide adequate torque (by utilizing a more powerful 80 hp electric motor with 153 ft. lbs. of torque) to maximize friction between the wheel and the road.  Without going into too much detail, Toyota engineers simply moved traction control responsibility from the hybrid system control unit to the skid control ECU (electronic control unit).  As a result, the skid control ECU instantly determines the state of the vehicle when wheel slippage is detected and operates the brake actuator to apply braking to the slipping wheel.  At the same time, the skid control ECU initiates cooperative control with power management (the hybrid drive system) in order to adjust motive force.  In this way the TRAC system in the Gen III Prius can constantly maintain stable vehicle traction and minimize wheel slippage.</div> <div> </div> <div>A hybrid like the Prius (with a ground clearance of 5.25 inches) handles snowy conditions just fine.  The misconception is that more clearance is needed.  Most urban and suburban roads are plowed before accumulation of that depth occurs.  In fact, you can always drive through piles deeper than that anyway!</div> <div> </div> <div>If you have traction issues more demanding than normal winter driving, just upgrade to a more aggressive snow and ice tire.<a href="http://blog.smartmotors.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/snow1.jpeg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-562" src="http://blog.smartmotors.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/snow1-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>  The factory mounted all-season tires on the Prius are a good choice for most drivers.  More aggressive snow and ice tires do involve an efficiency penalty (and they are usually noisy, too) but their better road gripping ability is an acceptable trade off for some hybrid owners.  The traction on any vehicle could be improved with a more aggressive tire.  To that end, many Prius owners with unique challenges during their winter driving cycles have upgraded to heavier snow and ice tires such as the Bridgestone Blizzaks or the Nokian Hakkapeliitta RS which are both great winter tires.  But for the rest of us, the factory tires and the TRAC system on the Gen III Prius work just fine for basic winter conditions.  The Prius can handle the winter weather.  Cold weather and slippery driving conditions present challenges for all vehicles, but the hybrid system in the Prius is well-equipped to deal with them!</div> <div><span style="color: #000080"><strong>    Sources:</strong></span>  <em><a title="PriusChat.com" href="http://priuschat.com/forums/">Priuschat.com</a>, Toyota Prius Owner’s Manual, <a title="Hybrid-Cars.org" href="http://www.hybrid-cars.org/">Hybrid-cars.org</a>, <a title="GreenCarReports" href="http://www.greencarreports.com/">Greencarreports.com</a>, <a title="Hybridcars.com Forums" href="http://www.hybridcars.com/forums/index.html">Hybridcars.com/forums</a>, <a title="Milwaukee Hybrid Group" href="http://milwaukeehybridgroup.com/">MilwaukeeHybridGroup.com</a>, Drive$mart America</em></div> <div><strong>Gen III Prius Demonstrate TRAC On A Icy Driveway:</strong></div> [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrcfA1BvRu8]

<strong>Demonstration of Gen III Prius Vehicle Stability Control:</strong>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=Y-R4ZPjVmm0

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This video follows a group of hybrid vehicle owners and Smart Toyota as they attempt to set the Guinness World Record for Largest Parade of Hybird vehicles. The footage was shot on July 24, 2011 at Smart Toyota located in Madison, WI.

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If you have purchased or are planning to purchase a new Toyota vehicle during Toyotahon, here is your chance to receive up to $1000 just for tweeting about your new Toyota purchase during the Shareathon event. It's open until December 21st! Watch this quick video to see how!

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A quick tutorial from Toyota on how to use audio streaming with the HDD Premium Navigation Unit and Entune.

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Welcome to our tumblr Page!

We are just getting started so check back here often as we update our tumblr!

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The Whole Prius Family Receives GreenCarReports’ 2012 Best Green Car to Buy Award

GreenCarReports.com has just named the entire 2012 Toyota Prius family of vehicles its “Best Green Car to Buy 2012.”  As we have reported in this blog earlier, the Prius will expand in the 2012 model year to a family of four, including the third-generation Prius Liftback, the Prius v, the Prius c and the Prius Plug-in Hybrid.

  GreenCarReports editors choose the most significant new ‘green’ car available to shoppers during each model year based on practicality, new technologies and their impact on the environment.  The website’s “Best Green Car to Buy” award recognizes mass-market, environmentally-friendly vehicles.  Utilizing the CarConnection’s ratings as a starting point for their evaluations, their editorial team applies their own criteria to select the winner that will carry the “Best Green Car to Buy” environmental message.

  “The Prius is more than just one car this year,” said GreenCarReports editor John Voelcker.  “With a new Prius v and the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, it is now a family of vehicles with some of the highest gas mileage on the market today, and the Prius name is likely to help encourage buyers to take the plunge into plug-in vehicles.”

  The Prius vehicles that won the award were chosen from a very competitive field of environmentally sensitive cars that also included the Honda Civic Hybrid, Infiniti M35h, Mitsubishi i and the Volkswagen Passat TDI.

  “Judging from the regular stream of e-mails asking us when someone will make a hybrid minivan or wagon”, Voelcker said, “Toyota should see a lot of interest in the 2012 Prius V wagon. It's taller, longer, and has far more load space--and a much more flexible rear seat--than the standard 2012 Prius hatchback.”

And based GreenCarReports first drive review of the 2012 Toyota Prius V wagon, Voelcker said that Prius v’s 42 mpg mileage figure is real--and can be replicated by real-world drivers.  The Prius v is every inch a Prius, but with more space.  “That means that families with a couple of kids in car seats now have 34 to 40 cubic feet of load space behind the rear seat, or 67 cubic feet with the seat down. The rear seat of the Prius V also slides back and forth several inches, expanding and contracting the load bay as needed”, added the GreenCarReports editor.  (By comparison, the five-door hatchback Prius offers 22 cubic feet with the seat up.)

Concerning the Prius Plug-in Hybrid Voelcker said, “we think it will be viewed as the safest, least risky way for car buyers to experiment with plug-in vehicles. The production plug-in Prius carries an asset that neither the Volt nor the Leaf has: the Prius name, which for a decade now has stood for very high gas mileage and Toyota solidity.”

For more info on the GreenCarReports Best Car To Buy 2012 award, see their dedicated page, Best Car To Buy 2012, which includes a profile of every nominee and more on the award itself (as well as last year's winner, the 2011 Nissan Leaf--the first battery electric vehicle sold in volume in many decades).

Sources:

pressroom.toyota.com, greencarreports.com

    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE-pE3bXhAk&w=560&h=315]

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2013 Scion FR-S: More Passion, More Fun Toyota Re-Connects With the Sports Car

It’s no secret to sports car enthusiasts that Toyota has been developing a rear-wheel drive sports car in concert with one of its subsidiaries, Fuji Heavy Industries, the parent company of Subaru.  The concept version of this ‘driver focused’ sports car, the Toyota FT-86 has been showing up on the auto show circuit for the past couple of years.  Now the production-spec machine is set to make its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month.

  In advance of the Tokyo premiere Toyota’s UK division recently released the first official photos and some initial specs.  In Europe, the car will officially be called the Toyota GT 86.  In the US, however, it will be a part of the Scion family and dubbed the FR-S.  While in Japan, the car will be known simply as the 86.

  The Scion FR-S (aka. the GT 86 and the 86) will be the world’s only current sports car to feature a front-mounted, horizontally opposed engine and rear wheel-drive.  It will be Toyota’s most recent entry in its 50-year sports car heritage going back to the 1962 Sports 800 and the sleek 2000 GT straight-six that made its debut at the 1965 Tokyo Motor Show.  This is a heritage that also includes four generations of the Supra, which also came with straight-six engines and rear-wheel drive and culminated in the MR2 which was recognized as one of the best handling sports cars in motoring history.

  The real inspiration for the FT-86 concept, however, was the Corolla GT (or Levin) AE86, a classic front engine, rear-wheel drive, limited slip differential configuration sports car introduced by Toyota in 1983.  The Corolla AE86 was a classic drift car suited to rally racing and drifting motor-sports.  For this reason, it became hugely popular with Japanese street racers called “Hashiriya” who would take the car through mountain passes and the tight corners that so suited the AE86.  Many auto enthusiasts refer to the AE86 by its Japanese name “Hachi-Roku,” which translated means “eight-six”.

  The Scion FR-S (Toyota 86) is Toyota’s effort to re-engage with driving enthusiasts after discontinuing vehicles like the Supra, Celica and MR2 a few years ago.  It’s important to note that Toyota describes the car as a sports car that has been “designed by passion not by committee”.  Purists have griped that the bean counters have taken over Toyota in recent years and the company has over-focused on producing reliable, but vanilla cars that appeal to the mass market.  Judging from all the chat-room buzz and the FT-86 clubs out there, the diehards are already fully engaged.

  In addition to its front-mounted engine and rear wheel-drive, this entirely driver-focused sports car will feature a low center of gravity and an excellent power-to-weight ratio.  Built on an all-new platform, the Scion FR-S (Toyota 86) will have a highly aerodynamic body with a near-perfect 53:47 front-to-rear weight distribution.  Both the driving position and the power-train have been set as low as possible for the best balance.  The driver’s hip point will be the lowest of any current Toyota model.  Low curb weight combined with a suspension that features MacPherson struts in the front and double wishbone at the rear make it easy for drivers to push its nimble handling and cornering potential.

  The Toyota 86’s engine is a joint venture between Toyota and Subaru (with a little Yamaha thrown in for extra measure.  Yamaha has long been a partner in engine design with Toyota going back to the GT2000).  Toyota added its D-4S fuel injection technology to Suburu’s new, horizontally opposed 2.0 liter four-cylinder boxer engine.  The D-4S injection system features twin injectors for both direct and port injection and a high 12.5:1 compression ratio, increasing power and torque across a wide  acceleration range without sacrificing fuel economy or environmental performance.  Just like earlier Toyota sports cars, power to the rear wheels is distributed via a limited slip differential to give the best possible grip on all road surfaces.  The ABS and switchable vehicle stability systems have been tuned to precisely deliver stability and performance with minimal electronic intervention.  The Toyota 86’s handling is so precise that Edmunds.com called the Scion FR-S “the Scion that slides”.

  The 200 horsepower 2013 Scion FR-S should more than re-engage Toyota buyers into the world of sports cars.  Since it will be a Scion you can bet there will be loads of customizable accessories.  Its well-engineered lay out and usable engine power will actually make driving fun and affordable.  The FR-S will definitely be worth the wait!

          Some Specs:

  2.0-liter boxer with D4-S injection (direct and port injected)

197 hp @ 7,000 rpm and 151 lb-ft (205 Nm) @6,600 rpm

6-speed manual or automatic transmissions

17-inch wheel/tire package standard

4,240mm (167 in.) long, 1285mm (50.6 in.) high, 2,570mm (101 in.) wide

53:47 front-to-rear weight distribution

475mm (18.7 in.) center of gravity

  Sources:  Toyota Pressroom, Autoblog, The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), http://driftjapan.com/blog/

wikipedia, Edmunds.com, http://www.ft86club.com, https://www.frs-scion.com/, FR-SForum.com

  [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw6WnrqMDTw&w=560&h=315]

  [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkOfUcoKWDE&w=560&h=315]

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Prius Projects No. 11: A Bicycle That Can Read Your Mind

  Last year Toyota kicked off the Prius Projects to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the Prius, track its history and to encourage partnerships and projects that engage the Prius community.  According to Toyota, the Prius Projects encourage inventors and dreamers alike to tinker with technology and “celebrate how Prius people are making the world more interesting.”  The Prius Projects website will track and document the various Prius-related partnerships, sponsorships, contests and projects over the next year.

 

One of the more innovative side projects to come out of the Prius Projects incubator so far from Prius folks is the Prius X Parlee (PXP) concept bicycle.  The svelte carbon fiber bike is a hybrid, which is appropriate given the Prius connection.  The PXP is part road racer, part time-trial bike and part tourer.  Like the Prius, the bike is also designed for optimal aero-efficiency.  The designers at Parlee Cycles put in a lot of time in the wind tunnel at MIT to get the bike’s shape right.  The matte white interlocking carbon frame is slick and gorgeous and with all the electronics installed it still only weighs around 16 pounds.

 

Did you catch that phrase, “with all the electronics installed”?  Why in the wide, wide world of sports would a bicycle need a lot of electronics?  Well, going for a ride on this bike requires a little more thought than simply hopping on and just pedaling off down on the trail.  That’s because the Prius X is a mind-controlled bike that uses neurotransmitters in the rider’s helmet to switch gears by simply thinking about it.  That's right, the derailleur shifts by mind control.

 

Parlee Cycles teamed up with the human/digital interface specialists Deeplocal who crammed the rider’s helmet with neurotransmitters that allow the rider to shift gears “without using a single one of their appendages”.  The neurotransmitter helmet is connected to an iPhone 4 mounted on the bike’s stem.  Once your brain gets synced through the helmet to the iPhone app you can shift gears by just thinking “shift up” or “shift down”.  The electrodes in the ‘neuron helmet’ pick up neuron-electrical brain activity to send signals to an electronic gear shifter controller mounted under the bike seat.  Apparently, the gear transitions couldn’t be smoother.  It supposedly takes a few minutes for the helmet to adjust to your individual brainwaves allowing for smooth gear transitions on the road or bike trail.  The iPhone will also choose gears according to your desired exercise level and pedaling cadence.  The bike is capable of remembering past behavior.  For instance, the bike will downshift the next time you ride past a location where you have downshifted before.  If shifting with your brain is a big deal because your thoughts are too clouded by that guy in the SUV that cut you off earlier, you can also do the shifting by simply touching the screen on the iPhone.  There are also traditional levers for low-tech manual shifting.  

 

There are plans to mass produce the Prius X Parlee (PXP) possibly in 2013, so you just might see one parked at your local coffee shop one day.  The technology is cool, impressive and really does work.  Then again, if I want to change a gear on my 29er using my mind, I can get my brain to fire off a signal to my finger to squeeze the Shimanos to get the derailleur to do my bidding.  At least, for now.

Sources: Prius Project, Parlee Cycles, Deeplocal, Global Graphica, Wired, Los Angeles Times, Autoblog Green, TreeHugger

  [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWzdWMapJ-c]

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[smarttoyota-blog]

Upcoming Toyota Aqua Launch in Japan Offers Clues to the Mysterious Prius c Slated for the U.S.

We have been obsessing in this blog for months now about the upcoming extended Prius family of hybrids -- a family that will include a van-like, wagon-ish version of the Prius, dubbed the ‘v’; a Plug-in Prius and the somewhat sketchy Prius ‘c’.  Up to now, details on the city version of the Prius known simply as the ‘c’ have been scarce.  What we know is that it will be a smaller, more compact version of the iconic Prius, probably with the same power-train, but with noticeably better gas mileage and at a significantly lower selling price.  A stylish concept study of the Prius c made the rounds on the auto show circuit last year, but that was all that was revealed about the future Prius sibling.

  That is, until now.  According to Reuters News Service, the Nikkei, a leading financial newspaper in Japan, is reporting that Toyota will launch a new compact hybrid car for the Japanese market this January known as the 2012 Toyota Aqua.  The Aqua is quite possibly the Japanese market model of the Prius c, a lighter, less expensive, more efficient version of the hatchback Prius that is slated for North American delivery early next year.

  The new vehicle will use the same power-train as the Prius and the newspaper listed the mileage at just under 40 km/litre (without saying where it got the information).  The standard Prius gets 32 km/litre in Japan.  The daily added that the Aqua is likely to sell for “around 1.7 million yen” which equates to $22,000 U.S. ($1 = 76.655 Japanese Yen) and that translates to about 300,000 yen less than the cost of a standard Prius in Japan (about $4,000).

  The fuel economy figures for the Aqua as quoted by the Nikkei represent gas mileage of 94 mpg on the Japanese test cycle which is not as strenuous as test cycles used by the EPA in the U.S.  The current Prius returns 75 mpg in the Japanese test cycle.  By those numbers the Aqua would be around 25% more efficient than the Prius.  As an educated guess, it is safe to speculate that real-world combined gas mileage according to EPA test cycles will be closer to 60 mpg when the Prius c arrives at Toyota dealers here.

The Aqua, like the Prius c, will be aimed at younger, urban buyers and could be the most significant gas-electric hybrid of the new Prius family of hybrids coming from Toyota.  When it arrives in the U.S. next spring, it will occupy a price-point noticeably below the current mid-size Prius hatchback.

 Sources: Reuters.com    Greencarreports.com

                      Comment:  The Prius c made its debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 2012, check out the teaser video below for an early peek at the 2012 Prius c:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptqNwDJFVh8&w=560&h=315]

  Original Article

[smarttoyota-blog]

The Camry Hybrid Gets The Prius Treatment: (Yet Another) First Look At The 2012 Camry Hybrid

The 2012 Camry Hybrid finally sheds that ‘after thought’ status of the outgoing model it replaces.  While the former Camry Hybrid got better gas mileage than its gas-only relative, it lagged behind in drivability – its throttle response could be a little ‘mushy’, the brakes would get grabby, and the battery took up too much trunk space.  This time the Camry was developed by Toyota from the beginning with the hybrid version firmly in mind.  This is important because with the all-new 2012 Camry, the Hybrid is no longer a niche model but a key part of the product line.  In short, the ‘greenest Camry’ got the ‘Prius Treatment’.  As a result, the new Hybrid is so well thought out, so completely seamless in its operation, that it is nearly Prius-like.

 

To start with, the all-new 2012 Camry Hybrid gets excellent gas mileage (up to 43 mpg in the city, 39 highway, 41 mpg combined).  That’s better than the Ford Fusion Hybrid and significantly better than the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid.  The new mid-size Camry Hybrid even comes close to the mileage of the 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid which is rated at 44 mpg.  That’s amazing, because the new Camry Hybrid is a full class larger than the compact Civic Hybrid, which uses a mild hybrid system and cannot even run on electric power alone.

  Considering the Camry has been the best-selling sedan in America for the past eight years, Toyota must have thought consumers were pretty content with the last generation Camry.  As a result, the exterior dimensions of the new Camry are almost identical to the outgoing Camry.  That said, the Camry Hybrid is 100% re-designed for 2012.  The changes include a substantially upgraded exterior and interior along with significant engineering updates.

 

Like the rest of the 2012 Camry lineup, the Hybrid retains a conservative but more stylish exterior look.  The biggest styling upgrades were focused on the car’s interior.  Touches like a stitched dashboard cover, a better-organized center dash instrument cluster and better interior materials on the whole, are significant upgrades.  Interior-wise the Hybrid essentially mirrors its gas-only siblings, even to the point of coming in LE and XLE trim levels for the first time.  The XLEs will be available with the high-end version of Toyota’s new Entune app-based infotainment system and the LEs will get a less-tricked-out version with a smaller screen.  All Camrys will come with Bluetooth for hands-free cell phone integration.

 

The 2012 Camry Hybrid benefits from a redesigned battery pack with a more compact design that is over an inch shorter and two inches narrower than the old version.  The battery pack’s position was then moved up 5.5 inches to provide more trunk space.  That space has now grown from 10.6 cubic feet to 13.1 cubic feet.  

 

The most eagerly-awaited news involves the significant engineering upgrades that Toyota has made to the hybrid system of the all-new Camry Hybrid.  The hybrid system is updated with a new inverter with cooling technology borrowed from the Prius and it’s overall weight has slimmed down by 220 pounds.  Toyota dropped the old 2.4-liter engine and replaced it with a special Atkinson-cycle version of the base Camry’s 2.5-liter four-cylinder.  The Atkinson-cycle closes the intake valves later that the normal cycle to improve fuel economy and emissions.  The result is much quicker acceleration from the hybrid system's 200 total horsepower (13 more than last year) with a 7.6 second 0 to 60 time (as well as the 41 mpg combined fuel economy).  The Hybrid can also go up to 1.5 miles per charge cycle in EV mode up to 45 mph (if the driver has a very light foot on the skinny throttle pedal).  Yes,  Toyota has added the EV Mode and the ECO Mode to the Camry Hybrid -- just like the Prius.  So, under some conditions, given the proper state of battery pack charge, the absence of hills and light throttle pressure, the Hybrid can travel over a mile in electric mode.

 

It is precisely this performance that sets the 2012 Camry Hybrid apart from most other hybrids.  It’s perfectly capable of keeping up with traffic with the electric motor, but press that skinny pedal harder and you will experience what’s extra in the new gas engine.  Whether you drive like a hypermiler or a torque monster, the power transition is seamless.  The smoothness of the Camry Hybrid’s CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) coupled with one of the softest suspensions in the industry means that Toyota has kept noise, vibration and harshness in check while making huge gains in drivability.

 

The other big news concerns pricing:   if you are considering the 2012 Camry Hybrid, you could save from $800 to $1,200 compared with the 2011 model.  The 2012 Camry Hybrid should reach Toyota showrooms by December.

      Original Article