Here's a cool little car. The paint job is kinda ugly (and the interior is even worse -- some kind of vols nightmare gone horribly wrong!), but other than that, it's really cute, and it runs on corn ethanol. The instrument panel is very retro and it brings back the bench seat. OTOH, it has a computer in the dash and the gear shift is on the left of the steering wheel. Oh, and the foot pedals look like flip flops.
3 comments:
I don't know, for 6k more you can get a hybrid with better performance and fuel economy. The computer thing is pretty interesting, but that sort of distracting. And I agree that the colors are a disgrace.
From what I hear, it might be easier (and quicker) to get this car than to get a hybrid these days. I'm hearing reports that waiting lists are long and the supply is short.
I'm also curious about the ethanol. I only half-heard a story on CNN late last night about how Brazil is almost completely energy independent because they're using so much ethanol. The hybrids are a good start, but they still run on a non-renewable resource.
Your point is well taken, though. My parents are on their 2nd prius and couldn't be happier with it. I'd leap at the chance to get one. And given the fact that I don't know of a station in my area that sells ethanol, the marketers of the Obvio have some work to do before the autos start arriving next year...
Toyota has started taking a serious look at the ethanol equations. They are suppose to be looking to start increasing the ethanol levels their engines can support. Most cars in the US can only support 85% Ethanol because Ethanol burns so efficiently it causes problems with catalytic converts we use to clean up pollution. Evidently something about the heat of the exhaust drops too low for it to work effectively on pure Ethanol. I believe that all Toyota's are rated for E10 currently. Actually all new cars in America are suppose to be E10 capable by law I believe.
I'm betting that you will see in the next generation Prius, E85 support on the Prius. Or at least that's my hope. But Toyota is being very tight lipped about where they are going with the Prius next. Rumor mill whispers, Lithium Ion batteries and new composite bodies. And some people are pushing for Plug-in technology as well, but I'm not convinced that they are ready to buy into that yet.
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