toyota

Industry expects fuel cells on U.S. highways in 2015

Today nearly all of the talk is about hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles.

But where are the fuel cell-powered vehicles that gained so much attention a few years ago? Closer to production than you might think--although in very small numbers.

"We will come to the market in 2015," says Bill Reinert, national manager of advanced vehicles at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.

That time frame "is not just us," Reinert adds. "You will hear that from General Motors, Daimler-Benz and some other people."

Automakers are going ahead despite the lack of a hydrogen refueling infrastructure--the long-standing obstacle to fuel cell growth. They hope that by 2015, refueling stops will begin to sprout up around the country.

And automakers are trying to find ways to stimulate the hydrogen network.

For instance, GM is partnering in Hawaii with The Gas Co. The utility plans to tap into its 1,000-mile utility pipeline system, separate the hydrogen from the synthetic natural gas and sell the hydrogen to refueling stations in Hawaii. The cost to add hydrogen fueling equipment is expected to be $300,000 to $500,000 per pump

Two advantages

Despite the formidable challenges, automakers favor the fuel cell because there is a huge twofold benefit: no need for petroleum and no emissions from the tailpipe. A fuel cell uses hydrogen to generate electricity through a chemical reaction and emits only water vapor through the tailpipe. Hydrogen is plentiful and can be derived from natural gas, methanol and even water.

The push for fuel cells also is fueled by the realization by automakers that hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery-powered vehicles collectively will be unable to meet stiffer CO2 regulations later this decade. … Read more

Car Tech Live 173: Giving the Nissan Leaf a voice (podcast)

GM recalls one and a half million cars, Audi puts 62 speakers in a Q7, Nissan makes the Leaf noisy, and we check out the back of a Toyota Sienna minivan.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 173 SHOW NOTES

• Nissan Leaf brings the noise

• iPhone app shows real-time traffic images

• GM Will Deactivate Heated Washer Fluid Systems

• VW unveils affordable all-new Jetta

• Clear Channel Readies Predictive Traffic Service

Tesla Motors raises target for IPO

Electric-car maker Telsa Motors said it expects to raise about $185 million in its planned initial public offering and an investment from Toyota.

On Tuesday, Tesla filed an amendment to its S-1 document in which it raised to 11.1 million the number of shares in the company it will offer, with an initial price range between $14 and $16. When it first filed to go public on the stock market, Tesla said it expected to raise $100 million.

If the stock sells at the high end of that range, the company will be valued at about $1.46 billion, … Read more

Tesla says Toyota deal on e-cars not formal

Electric carmaker Tesla Motors said says it has not struck a formal deal with Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp to develop electric vehicles.

The California start-up said in Thursday an amended registration statement for an initial public offering that it had "announced an intention to cooperate" with Toyota. "However, we have not entered into any agreements with Toyota for any such arrangements, including any purchase orders, and we may never do so," the filing said. In a stunning move last week, the two companies announced their partnership at Tesla's headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., attended … Read more

Tesla CEO: Model S to be 'platform' for other cars

The automobiles at the center of an announcement between Toyota and Tesla Motors are a jointly developed electric vehicle and the latter's Model S electric sedan. But the longer term plan is to develop multiple variations of the Model S at the same site, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The two companies said Thursday that Toyota will invest $50 million in the electric carmaker and jointly manufacture electric vehicles at the recently closed New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. factory, known as Nummi, which had been a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors.

Tesla is purchasing the Nummi … Read more

Toyota's safety blitz may delay product plan

TOYOTA CITY, Japan--Struggling to fix its quality problems, Toyota is reassigning top engineers and executives to new safety-related duties--a move that could slow product development and curb the company's breakneck expansion.

Since its global recall crisis erupted in January, Toyota has added layers of bureaucracy, including task forces, rapid-response teams, a business reform committee, even a new division--all to improve safety and prevent a relapse.

Now, as the world's biggest automaker shifts workers and resources from other programs, it is forced to re-evaluate some projects.

"We are trying to find the engineering man-hours for these quality issues," Seigo Kuzumaki, project general manager for vehicle safety, told Automotive News last week. The surging demand for engineers in safety is forcing Toyota to rebalance resources in product development while trying to keep products on schedule, he said. In some cases, that may result in slowed product development, but the company is trying to avoid this, Kuzumaki said.

"We will review the product development plan so that we don't have strains," he said. "Some product projects are already under review."

The safety executive did not say what projects are being looked at, and he added that "nobody is confused because we know what's to be done." … Read more

Toyota, Tesla to revive NUMMI plant

Toyota announced plans today to build an electric vehicle at the recently closed New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, Calif. Tesla will partner with Toyota, providing electric drive technology, and producing its own Model S sedan at the plant.

Toyota and Tesla officials joined California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to announce the plan at Tesla's Palo Alto, Calif., headquarters. Schwarzenegger commented that Toyota and Tesla have been working on the deal for some time; Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda said Toyota will learn about electric drive systems from Tesla.

NUMMI, which started life as a joint venture between … Read more

Ford Fiesta earns class-leading 40 mpg

It has proven itself to be a fun little ride. It even sort of defeated a super car. Now, the upcoming 2011 Ford Fiesta earns bragging rights at the pump with an EPA-certified fuel economy of 40 mpg highway when equipped with Ford's PowerShift automatic transmission.

To achieve this level of efficiency, Ford started with the Fiesta's new 1.6-liter Duratec engine. We found that this 120-horsepower mill was no neck-snapper during our First Drive, but it does feature an assortment of fuel-saving technologies including variable camshaft timing, aggressive fuel shutoff on hard deceleration, and a more efficient … Read more

17 fantastic concept cars

During the last international auto show season, we saw a range of concept cars, some with wild, futuristic designs and some that look like they could roll out of a garage today. Three particular themes emerged amongst these design studies:

Hybrid and electric power trains Small city cars Personal electronics integration

Obviously, automakers are making serious efforts to build more fuel efficient cars, prodded by new European and U.S. regulations. BMW and Porsche joined hybrid stalwart Toyota with new gas-electric concepts.

Automakers are also planning for growing urbanization with small cars that are easy to park and maneuver through … Read more