Toyota planning to launch Prius in India

After a lot of yes and no Toyota once again seems to be preparing to launch the prius in India.Ofcourse just like the Honda civic hybrid it would not be a mass market car and would only be intended for the premium segment customers.Both honda and Toyota would not benefit from the lower duties for hybrids as their hybrids would be imported,the Government of India has made it clear if you want incentives to sell a hybrid make it India.

An all new prius is scheduled in 2009 and hopefully we get the same in India too.

Regarding their mass market cars Toyota seems to be too happy with the success of their innova mpv that their tone seems to be a touch too overconfident.Toyota say they have not missed the bus in India and are confident of growth in India.Considering the PR exercise they are currently undergoing with each media report screaming about toyta in India things somehow look different.Anyway lets hope we get some cars from Toyota here in India after all.

Landrover,Honda,Toyota plan new hybrids

Looks like hybrids it is to tide over the present oil crisis.Whether it is a sustainable long term solution or only a temporary fix is the million dollar question.Manufacturers like Nissan do not think so and are betting on electric vehicles.Even the poster boy of hybrids is talking of electric vehicles and even hydrogen to power its vehicles.However even by the most conservative estimates a Tata Nano powered by hydrogen is not a possibility in the near future[not atleast for the next 15 years says a study].For the time being then we have no option but to depend on hybrids to save the planet and our wallet.

In this backdrop Honda plans to follow toyota and have an exclusive Hybrid only model[like the toyota prius].This after the honda accord hybrid did not bring in the intended sales and had to be discontinued.The civic hybrid too isnt really the dream car of greenpeace activists.What is also interesting is that the civic hybrid too is getting a facelift perhaps Honda are going to come out with a facelift version of the civic[non-hybrid] version too in the near future.

Toyota too are not resting on the back of the sucess of the prius.Toyota now plan a bigger and more powerful[reportedly 2-2.5L engine].Apart from this ofcourse lexus too plans a hybrid only model.

Finally Landrover to have taken the green plunge and although they will initially start with diesels with start-stop technolgy they are heading towards desel -electric vehicles[Would FEV be working on this too is not known at this moment].Landrover say these vehicles would be equipped with e-terrain[electric rear axle drive (ERAD)] technology.What these means is you can drive these cars without starting the engine[it will do it for you].However unlike honda and toyota landrover don't intend a hybrid only vehicle.

Mileage run:BMW M3 Vs Toyota Prius

Why oh Why do we think that hybrids are the answer to our prayers to counter high oil prices.Sorry for breaking the suspense but shockingly the more powerful M3 performs better in the fuel efficiency test as compared to the Toyota prius[the prius was pushed to the limit while it was more or less a walk in the park for the M3].

Could not agree more with top gear"Its not what you drive that matters its how you drive"



[source: trev0006 from youtube]

Honda civic hybrid- Taking nature for a ride

Now its a well known fact that most of the save the planet claims regarding hybrids is just nothing more than shrewd marketing.But what's most interesting is the company which rides on the green tag has actually performed the worst when it came to real world conditions.

Auto express UK tested various hybrids under standard road conditions and the results are quite startling.Unlike manufacture claims Hybrids are nowhere as environment friendly or fuel efficient.Infact these green cars are emitting 56% more carbon dioxide than what the manufacturers claim.Auto manufacturers are taking undue advantage of the scare regarding global warming and are misinforming customers.Its upto federal agencies to ensure that consumers are not taken for a ride.

Of the cars tested not a single hybrid lived upto expectation and such was the Honda civic hybrid performance that the hybrid tag is called nothing but a marketing gimmick.Neither did it live upto its fuel efficieny claims but also polluted the environment much more than claimed by the company[Instead of the 109g/km of CO2 claimed in the makers' specifications, it was found to put out 171g/km. ].Now we know why Honda says it has taken nature for a ride.So if any of you are interested in the Honda civic hybrid[which in anycase is overpriced at Rs.20-25 lakhs] may this be an eyeopener.

But its not only the civic hybrid,even though other hybrids like the Toyota prius did not do so badly at the tests they certainly do not live upto the environmental friendly tag and all incentives by governments for such petrol-electric hybrid vehicles need a serious relook.

Whats the way forward,thankfully we have cars like the Honda Fcx,now that's an environmental friendly car true to its name but for the moment its best to stick to diesel and not get carried away by the manufacturers marketing brilliance.

[source: sify]