SmartEnergyViews

Toyota Prius (Prii?) are hard to find. There are currently no new Prius models on the lots of any Toyota dealer in our area (East Tennessee).

Toyota can't make them fast enough. From the Detroit Free Press

Toyota has also struggled this year to produce enough small cars and Prius hybrids to keep up with customer demand. Sales of the Prius, Toyota’s best selling hybrid, declined 8% in July to 14,785.

Batteries are the critical path. From FTD.de

Waiting lists for Priuses have expanded sharply as demand outstrips the Japanese carmaker's capacity to build the petrol-electric hybrid vehicles. Toyota - normally a paragon of supply-chain management - admits to "bottlenecks", particularly in batteries, which have slowed turnover even as drivers clamour for more fuel-efficient cars.

This has created a hot market for used Prius:

According to data released by the Power Information Network, the average used Prius with 8,000 miles on the odometer is selling for $1,300 over the suggested retail price of a new one. What’s more, even a Prius with 22,000 miles sells for just $276 less than a brand new one.

Glad we got ours last year, just in time to get the tax credit (which has now expired):

(Sorry, ours is not for sale.)

IC Corporation manufactures a line of diesel electric hybrid school buses and "people mover" buses.

There are two versions of the school bus. The "charge sustaining" type uses a lead-acid battery based electric motor along with the diesel engine for a 20% to 50% improvement in mileage. The "charge depletion" is a "plug-in" hybrid that uses lithium-ion batteries and achieves up to 70% improvement during the first 70 miles of a route, falling back to 20% to 50% improvement over the rest of the run.

One of their people mover hybrids was recently placed on loan to the Denali National Park in Alaska for testing.

According to Business Week, Hertz has added 3400 Prius cars to their "Green Collection," and Enterprise has 4000 hybrids and 450,000 cars that get more than 28MPG.

But, car rental companies say people on vacation with lots of luggage still prefer larger vehicles and SUVs.

Fuel costs draining local governments, law enforcement agencies

The city has also purchased a hybrid Toyota Prius for Dothan Utilities’ Water Division supervisor to use.

Officers doing part to conserve gas

Urbana also has purchased three gas-saving hybrids, a Toyota Prius and two Ford Escapes, for parking enforcement.

N. Texas City Uses Hybrid Cars To Save Money

The Prius is one of six purchased for the city's housing department and officials said they are getting about 41 miles per gallon in the city. [..] Now the city may replace 250 other vehicles with hybrids.

Feeling pain at the pump, agencies downsize, scale back

[Clark Co. NV/Las Vegas] is trying to combat higher fuel prices by replacing its heavy Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis models with more fuel-thrifty cars such as the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry and Prius. It also is phasing out gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles such as Ford Expeditions and Chevrolet Blazers for hybrid Ford Escapes.

Cities going green as gas prices go higher

Forty cars in Salt Lake City's 1,000-plus vehicle fleet are hybrids or run on CNG, which sells for about 80 cents per gallon. [..] And Murray's Power Department has used four Toyota Prius hybrids during the past few years. [..] West Valley City just bought hybrids and is considering purchasing more. The city says the fuel savings through the car's service life will far outweigh the purchasing costs.

Agencies feel pinch of gas

Salem's fleet now has six hybrid vehicles. Don Thomson, the city's fleet and warehouse superintendent, said replacement cars and trucks will be smaller and more fuel-efficient where possible.

Others are taking a more low-tech approach:

Twin Falls, ID

Deputies are being told to do at least an hour and a half of foot patrol, said Lori Nebeker, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.

Cost-conscious cops - NJ.com

Idling patrol car engines are being ordered turned off, more officers are being assigned to walk or bike the beat and even battery-powered Segway scooters are being used to cut back on gas consumption, according to local law enforcement officials.

How Law Enforcement Is Handling High Gas Prices

Sheriff Nielsen says as of last week, deputies have been asked to go 10 miles per hour slower on the interstate and about 5 miles per hour slower in the city.

WBIR.com | Knoxville, TN | Fuel costs change work schedules in Blount Co.

To help offset the ever-increasing cost of fuel, Dunlap proposed a change to the weekly work schedule. Crews now work 2 extra hours per work day but only work 4 days each week.

If you purchase a hybrid vehicle this year (2008), make sure to check on available federal tax credit incentives.

Here's the current IRS hybrid tax credit schedule for 2008 models.

Here's the IRS hybrid tax credit program summary.

Tax credits for Toyota models (Prius, Camry, Highlander, and Lexus models) have phased out because sales have exceeded their quotas.

Tax credits are still available for the following 2008 vehicles: Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid and Tahoe Hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid, GMC Yukon Hybrid, Honda Civic Hybrid (reduced 7/1, phased out 12/31), Mazda Tribute Hybrid, Mercury Mariner Hybrid, Nissan Altima Hybrid, Saturn Aura Hybrid and Vue Green Line. Some new 2007 vehicles are also eligible.

Currently, the highest credit is $3000 for the Ford Escape Hybrid along with the Mazda Tribute and Mercury Mariner versions.

Note that you are not eligible for the hybrid tax credit if you are subject to AMT, and even if you don't pay the AMT your credit amount can be reduced by the AMT calculation and other credits. Here's the 2007 tax year credit form (PDF) with instructions.

Ford Motor Co. EVP Mark Fields discussed Ford's hybrid and plug-in electric plans at a recent industry conference. He noted that Ford is launching hybrid versions of its Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan autos later this year and discussed some of the challenges in bringing a PEHV to market.

Read more...

According to a Prius Chat newsletter, the "Next Generation Prius will be unveiled at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show in January. The rumor around Toyota dealerships is that the Gen III Prius will be on sale in April 2009."

Edmunds Auto Observer speculates on updates which include 50 more horsepower and improved gas mileage. They suggest plug-in and Li-Ion options won't be available until Gen 3.1 in 2010.

Nissan has announced it will invest $115 million in a joint venture with NEC to mass produce lithium-ion batteries, a key component for the next generation of plug-in hybrid and plug-in electric cars. Production is set to begin in 2009, with an initial capacity of 13,000 batteries per year and eventually 65,000 per year.

Lithium-ion batteries have higher energy density which allows for smaller, lighter, higher-capacity batteries.

Toyota was planning to introduce lithium-ion batteries in the next generation Prius, but safety concerns have delayed that for one or two more model years according to industry analysts.

GM is said to have a lithium-ion battery ready for their Volt plug-in electric car. Whoever gets there first will get a jump on the next generation of hybrids and plug-ins.

GM had a big, green, full page ad in the Sunday New York Times entitled "We need to talk." It touts their commitment to the environment and energy efficiency.

It says that because they have a large environmental footprint they have an obligation to change. They say the are one of the leading users of renewable energy, that they have reduced CO2 emissions at their facilities by 80% since 1990, that they have 14 facilities that send no waste from production operations to landfills.

So far so good.

But then they say "there is no greater proof of our commitment to change than the ongoing development of gas-friendly to gas-free fuel solutions by our Chevrolet brand" and that they are "making vehicles with better fuel efficiency than ever before."

Really?

Read more...

The MPG/trip meter was reset to zero in the driveway on our way out, and here it is in the garage after an afternoon drive up to Townsend and around the Cades Cove loop with a short side trip up Parson's Branch Road.

Well, we finally decided between the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Prius. We took delivery of a 2007 Prius yesterday, just in time before the tax credit (assuming we qualify) gets cut in half (again) as of today.

We got a fairly basic model, with option package #2 (upgraded AM/FM CD with six speakers, auxiliary audio jack and MP3/WMA playback capability, Smart Key System, backup camera and Vehicle Stability Control). Sticker price with the option package was $23,970. Here it is:

Read more about the deal and first impressions...

Been out shopping for a hybrid this weekend. Think we've narrowed it down to the Honda Civic Hybrid or the Toyota Prius.

(Eliminated the Camry Hybrid early on because of higher price and lower MPG, but they've got a nice one with leather, moonroof, and all the toys which they claim gets 40 MPG in the city but user reports say otherwise. Plus, it's about $33K. You can't get the Altima hybrid here yet, but it's positioned about the same as the Camry.)

Prius pros: Hatchback, fold-down seats give more cargo capacity and greater convenient. Runs more on electric motor. Higher EPA mileage rating (EPA 60/51, user reported avg. 44). Slightly better acceleration. Slightly roomier in the back seats.

Prius cons: Ugly. Goofy touch screen to control most everything in the cockpit. I want to drive my car, not program it. Goofy startup procedure and gear shifting. Did I mention ugly?

Civic Hybrid pros: Looks and functions more like a "normal" car. Handles great, better ride, more fun to drive. Better layout and operation of cockpit functions and controls. Better visibility out the rear window for backing up.

Civic Hybrid cons: Smaller trunk capacity and no fold-down seats. Slightly less room in the back seat. (And no cupholders!) ICE motor runs more frequently, slightly less MPG (EPA 49/51, user reported avg. 43). Not quite as peppy. (Although neither car will be winning any drag races any time soon.)

Pricing is about the same for base models at around $23K. One difference, though, is that the Civic Hybrid has no options except navigation system, and the base model is nicely equipped. With the Prius, you can get leather seats, navigation, comfort packages, etc. etc. You can also run the price up over $30K. (Sorry, ain't no way I'm paying that.) One other nice option for the Prius is the backup video camera, but on the other hand you almost need it because of the poor view out the rear window.

I like the Civic Hybrid because of handling, ride, and "normal car" styling and operation. The Mrs. likes the techno-geek factor of the Prius, and we both like the hatchback/fold-down seats.

(P.S. Can't compare stereos. The Civic has an adequate to nice system that is XM and Aux/I-Pod ready. So does the Prius, but apparently they can't leave some fuse in because the battery will run down and the salesman was too lazy to install it so we didn't get to hear the stereo or work the $5K option package navigation system. Advantage: Honda sales person.)