Toyota/Lexus unveiled their hybrid engine SUVs at the Detroit Auto Show; Toyota will make a hybrid Highlander and a hybrid pickup, while Lexus will make a hybrid RX400. From the Toyota press release:
Like the popular four-cylinder Prius gas-electric hybrid, the 3.3-liter V6-equipped Highlander Hybrid will be powered by a new version of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain. The system was specifically developed to meet the load-carrying requirements of a mid-size SUV.
The system features a larger-capacity battery that will deliver nearly double the power of the battery in the Prius. An all-new high-speed electric motor will operate at twice the speed and deliver more than twice the power as the motor in the Prius. With combined peak-system power projected at approximately 270 horsepower, the new system will improve upon the V6 Highlander’s already impressive less-than-eight-second zero-to-60 acceleration.
Very cool!
Amazing! Manufacturers can develop technology to dramatically improve the fuel economy and emissions performance of the vehicles people want/need to buy, without government mandates. Such activity must be “nipped in the bud” immediately, before it spreads out of control! Time to return to the “tried and true” government-mandated solutions to the problem, such as electric vehicles with lousy performance and very limited range. Why should buyers be permitted to purchase the vehicles they prefer when we can force them into “upholstered roller skates” instead? Unthinkable!
I am reading a British Car Magazine titled (strangely enough) Car. They report that Honda is previewing the replacement for the Acura NSX sports car. It will have a hybrid set-up that will total 400 hp. It will go very fast.