article thumbnail

Junkyard Find: 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line

The Truth About Cars

Honda beat everybody to the production gasoline-electric hybrid game in the United States, putting the Insight in showrooms in 1999. Toyota followed with the Prius a year later, but it took GM until 2006 to introduce its first true gasoline-electric hybrid here. liter engine and automatic).

VUE 89
article thumbnail

Looking to get in a hybrid for cheap? Used Toyota Prius 1.5 HSD 2004-2009 Review

Green Car Congress

People might be bored reading about the Prius but a review on four Priuses (2004, 2005, two 2006s) that my family owns that ran a total of 913k km (570k miles) should be interesting, right? We need to go back to November 2017, to the start of the ‘Prius Revolution’ in the family. This criteria only left the Prius in play.

2004 409
article thumbnail

Prius drops to 48mpg; How will 2008 Prius get 80mpg? Plug-in hybrid?

Plugs and Cars

Fuel-saving gasoline-electric hybrid cars don't save as much fuel as thought, according to new government fuel-economy ratings available to the public for the first time. But now it's possible to tell what rating 2007 and older models would get using the 2008 standards. Tags: mpg toyota prius plug-in hybrid.

Prius 100
article thumbnail

Third Phase of SDGE In-Use Study Shows PHEVs Excel on Fuel Economy and GHG Emissions Reductions Compared to Gasoline ICE and Hybrid-Electric Vehicles

Green Car Congress

The third phase of a SDG&E multi-year in-use study on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles showed that plug-in hybrids offer significant improvements in gas mileage and reductions in emissions when compared with standard hybrid-electric and gasoline internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Click to enlarge. Earlier post.)

article thumbnail

Toyota and Denso develop SiC power semiconductor for power control units; targeting 10% improvement in hybrid fuel efficiency

Green Car Congress

In hybrids and other vehicles with an electrified powertrain, PCUs supply electrical power from the battery to the motor to control vehicle speed, and also send electricity generated during deceleration to the battery for storage. In the current PCUs, coils and condensers, which temporarily hold electricity, take up 40% of the PCU.

Toyota 296
article thumbnail

Toyota continues prepare the market for fuel cell vehicle in 2015

Green Car Congress

From the perspective of mobility zones based on travel distance, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles can match the everyday usability of a current gasoline car, and become mainstream environmentally friendly vehicles. On the other hand, fuel cell vehicles are extremely versatile, with a long cruising range and a short fueling time. “In

2015 274
article thumbnail

Toyota to Lease More Than 150 Experimental Li-Ion PHEVs in Europe

Green Car Congress

Based on Toyota’s full hybrid technology, the new PHV will come equipped with a lithium-ion battery, extending the vehicle’s range in electric vehicle mode. In the future, the PHV will be the perfect complement to Prius. The first wave of PHVs will reach Strasbourg in late 2009. Earlier post.).

Li-ion 170