Basically, then, it's a case of: back all horses, at least some of the bets will pay off! According to the TTAC report from the launch (link below), Toyota is only going to supply 100 of these eQs to local government agencies, making it more a proof of concept rather than anything viable.

Hybrid and advanced IC engines are the near future, Fuel Cell maybe for the next steps.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/09/toyota-launches-new-ev-but-doesnt-really-mean-it-a-report-from-green-hell/

Gen1 and Gen 2, 36% peak, Gen 3 37% peak.

http://green.autoblog.com/2011/04/24/toyota-targets-45-thermal-efficiency-for-engines-in-next-gen-hy/

They now have a fuelcell that is half the weight and size of the previous version. They should now take care of the upcoming hydrogen infrastructure if they are serious about a lunch of this technology in 2015. Im surprized that they prepare the fc vehicle but do not say anything about the fueling of it by hydrogen. What will happen in 2015 with the hydrogen infrastructure. As a hydrogen fuelcell can be operated in reverse i suggest to toyota to include the hydrogen making into the car instead of a costly external hydrogen infrastructure. With a simple plug of 110 volt into the car, one can do hydrogen and fill his tank with the same fuelcell included in the car. It take also a water plug, so you plug a 110 volts wire and a water hose and you fill the car and we can forget a big costly hydrogen infrastructure.

This website should take some responsabilities and ask and obtain informations about the problem of fueling a hydrogen car. There is numerous methods to produce hydrogen almost at no cost with the proper methods and catalysts and also it don't pollute at all. I suspect that many oil traders are impeding in some way this upcoming hydrogen infrastructure by buying some scientists, car compagnies, politicians and media. It's anormal that nobody is doing anything about the production of hydrogen and not talking about it.

Other sources are reporting this as Toyota giving up on Evs for now to concentrate on hybrids.

They don't say very much about PHEVs, except to release more "vehicle grades" of the Prius. I.e. no new PHEV cars, just more Prius "grades" and a V2H supply system.

It would be nice if one of the grades was a larger battery Prius PHEV (and also a smaller battery (cheaper)) version.

If it provides the range and short refueling time not available with an EV H2 is the way to go.

From Kelly

"When will Congress, and its GM/oil handlers, apologize before the Japanese parliament about Prius faults that not even NASA could find?"

I assume this is about the run-away acceleration events that Toyota/Lexus experienced. Some of these were caused by loose rugs, others were probably caused by drivers pushing on the wrong pedals but there were several that were not easily explained including one by a California State Trooper who probably knew something about driving. The fact that NASA looked at the code and did not find an obvious problem is not too surprising. They also did not find the problem in the Apollo 11 lunar landing code that caused an extraneous warning during landing (and neither did I although I might have as it was my job at the time to run the lunar landing simulator) and this code was far less complex than the code controlling modern cars. These problems can be caused by extremely small probabilities of different events happening simultaneously.

I do know that not having a absolute kill panic switch that will kill the engine is a bad idea when you have computers running both the throttle and controlling the brakes along with keyless ignition is not smart. This is particularly true given the skill of the average driver. Until a few years ago, I had a faculty appointment in both Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering at the local University and still act as adviser for students building FormulaSAE and BajaSAE cars. SAE requires all of these vehicles to have multiple kill switches and forbids the use of throttle by-wire systems.

I could be retired but I currently work for a start-up company building a high tech self-propelled machine that is largely computer controlled including both throttle and steering by-wire. We have multiple safety kill switches both inside and outside the vehicle and our vehicle typically runs at a speed of a moderate walk.

Just some comments on the article. It is a relatively long article short on specifics. What is a D-4S injection system? Is this gasoline direct injection? If so, maybe Toyota will build an engine that will come close to the GM 2 liter direct injection turbo engine that has been around since 2006 except that they will need to quit using timing belt cam drives and start using iron cylinder sleeves instead of coated aluminum. Also Hyundai and Ford (Eco-Boost) also already have equivalent DI turbo engines.

Just what is i-ART (Intelligent Accuracy Refinement Technology)?

Also, why would you build CVT transmissions (an idea that GM looked at and rejected in the mid 1980's) which continuously slip and wear instead of building an seven, eight or more speed dual clutch transmission that is equally smooth and more efficient.

@AD,
H2 infrastructure is the easy part. To provide access to a H2 station within 5-7-mile driving distance, we will only need one station for every 100 square mile area in urban area, the H2 station will be located within the center of that 100-square-mile area.
Assuming a relatively low urban population density of 10,000 per sq.mile, then one single H2 station can serve 1 Million persons. Densely populated cities in the world may have population density of 50,000/sq.mile!

Assuming that only 1 person in 1000 will need access to that H2 station, this means that that single station can have as many as 1000 customers. Assuming that H2-Vehicles will need on average one fill up every 7-10 days, then each station will serve on average over 100 customers per day. Assuming 120 fill-ups per day and $25 per fill-up, then daily revenue will be $3000 and yearly revenue will be $1.1 million USD. Enough business to pay for itself within just a few short years. Since this is a money-making proposition, to assure enough H2 station to be present at mass roll-out of H2-FCV in 2015, the car dealers can join with the automakers to finance the opening of these H2 stations.

Since one station can serve a population of 1 million persons initially, the USA will need only a minimum of 300 stations. If rural areas along highways corridors will be included, the number of stations may have to be increased to 500. Assuming $1 Million cost per station, then the total cost of building enough H2 stations by 2015 will be only $300-500 Million USD. This is pocket change for the auto industry with gross revenues in the tens to 100 billions USD yearly.

Now, your enthusiasm about your "Hydrogen Battery" is admirable, however, it won't be competitive with Lithium batteries. It will require 3 times more electricity for a given driving range than Lithium batteries which has above 95% round-trip efficiency, since a combined PEM FC-electrolyzer (regenerative FC) is very inefficient in comparison to a dedicated specialized PEM FC or dedicated high-pressure electrolyzer. A PEM regenerative FC has a round-trip efficiency of about 33-37% max. Unlike Lithium batteries that can be fast-charged in 15 minutes, you can forget about fast charging in your "Hydrogen Battery", because electrolyzers can only work so fast to produce H2. The only way to fast-charge your "Hydrogen Battery" is to fill it up with H2, and for that, you'll need a H2-filling station.

And, all electrolyzers require distilled water, so you can forget about putting tap water into your Hydrogen-Battery Car! Sorry for the bad news.