The Prius came out several years ago now and is still the king of green vehicles. What will be the next big?

Question

green vehicle?

Answer 1

Chevy Volt... without a doubt. Tesla is too expensive and too tiny. Aptera is too goofy, and limited.

The Volt is Just a regular car but will allow most people to do their daily driving without any gas. And it will seat 5 and go fast. I don't think it will sell as well as the Prius, as it will probably be ~$40k. But, i think it will be regarded as the ultimate green car once it becomes available.

Answer 2

The Prius is one of the 20 best-selling vehicles in the U.S. Hybrid gasoline/electric engines are more fuel efficient and they produce fewer emissions. In addition, there are more than a dozen hybrid gasoline/electric vehicles currently on the market including versions of the Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, several SUVs, including the compact Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner and Toyota Highlander as well as some high-end Lexus models. General Motors and Chrysler also are introducing car and large utility models that are mild or bimodal hybrids as well. GM plans to offer 8 hybrids in the U.S. this year and 16 during the next 4 years. The Chevy Malibu, Saturn VUE and Saturn Aura will be offered in hybrid versions.

One of our alternative powertrain experts points out that great strides have been made, and continue to be made in the efficiency of production and safety of nickel metal hydride (NiMH) and lithium ion batteries, as well as efforts to recycle all usable parts at disposal.  Due to the variation of hybrid powertrains that are in the market today, it is very difficult to state whether or not they are truly better at this time.

There also is great excitement of some other technologies that are here or close at hand. Some of the German automakers, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, for example, are bringing in models with clean diesel engines next year. General Motors also is in the forefront of working on a plug-in electric vehicle called the Volt that it hopes to market in 2010. Honda, Toyota and Ford are among automakers testing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in U.S. university fleets and with electric utilities.

Of course, major U.S. automakers also have made their vehicles--including pickups and SUVs--ready to operate on ethanol (15% gasoline and 85% ethanol) when that fuel is avaialble in more areas of the country. For more articles, and information about the array of alternative  fuels and alternative vehicles and powertrains currently available or soon on the market, please visit JDPower.com.

Answer 3

Hi,

Lots of misinformation and speculation out there, so let's concentrate on facts and let go of the myths and wants.

It depends on what you mean by the next big thing (fastest, most powerful, most efficient). However, Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) (used in the Prius) will still be the top hybrid vehicle platform for the forseeable future for several reasons.

Toyota is developing the next generation Prius platform into at least three distinct vehicles that will use the upgraded HSD that has made the Prius so popular.

The majority of people buying and driving vehicles have heard of the Prius and know what it stands for. There is amazing brand recognition and trust that is very hard to duplicate in a new and untested (by the general public in years of driving) vehicle.

And before I get in to the rest of the reasons why, lets put another nail into the coffin of the Prius/Hummer myth that refuses to die.

I have posted extensively on why the Prius/Hummer environmental debate is based on a very faulty and flawed study that was picked up by a Connecticut college newspaper that reported the poor report as fact without bothering to check the facts.

Do a search here at Answers for my full details on the Sudbury, Ontario plant that has been producing nickel, along with several other materials, since 1883. The Prius has been on the road since 1998. What about all the environmental damage done in the 116+ years before the Prius ever came along?

moving on...

Multiple independent reviewing agencies consider the Prius to be the best everyday vehicle to live with and still do something constructive and real to help the environment.

Use any benchmarks you want and the Prius adds up in the positives:

- There has never been an owner that has paid to replace their NiMH hybrid battery in the nine, almost ten, years the Prius has been in the US. There have been NiMH replaced due to accidents or owner abuse or modification (one guy drilled a s***w into his NiMH trying to install a big subwoofer), but other wise none.

Common sense says if these things were failing, it would be all over the news.

- There is no more environmental concern for the entire hybrid system than there would be for any standard vehicle. I have posted extensively on this, a search here in Answers will give you full details.

- Consumer Reports in their April 2008 auto issue named the Prius the highest vehicle in owner satisfaction for the fourth year in a row. 92% of owners say they would buy another one or recommend purchasing one.

- Consumer Reports also rated the Prius with the highest mpg of any family vehicle- 44mpg. This beats the Yaris, the Fit, the Aveo, and any other small car. April 2008 auto issue

- There are actually fewer moving parts on the Prius, meaning there is less to wear out or break down. The Prius has no starter, no alternator, no mechanical steering pump, no steering belt, no timing belt, and the brake pads should last the life of the vehicle because they are rarely used due to the regenerative braking generator.

- There is no maintenance on the hybrid system, it is self-regulating and self-adjusting.

- The current record I know of is over 360,000 miles on a Prius with the original NiMH and hybrid system. The system just doesn't wear out like a standard internal combustion engine (ICE) does.

HSD can be manipulated for multiple configurations. It can be adjusted to produce extreme power (Toyota is testing the new 400+ hp Supra with a version of the HSD), or extreme efficiency, as in the Prius.

Toyota has licensed HSD to various auto companies because the system works so well. And quite honestly, it is cheaper to pay Toyota in some way to use HSD than to develop a system from scratch.

Ford uses the generation one HSD in the new Escape Hybrid (Toyota is currently using generation four or five, depending on how you look at the HSD system).

Nissan is using the system from the current Camry Hybrid (minus the Toyota gas engine) in the Altima Hybrid.

GM is discovering how difficult it is to develop a system from scratch with the Volt, which GM's own engineers have publicly admitted will not be available for the 2010 release date. This can be easily Google'd or found in hybrid chat rooms with links to actual press releases and public comments.

And GM's current crop of "two-mode" hybrids do not get better mileage in city stop-and-go driving, the indicator of a full hybrid (like the Prius). GM claims the Tahoe gets better mileage than a standard Camry. Logic will tell you that is not possible in real world driving, hybrid or not.

A full hybrid can run on electricity only, the internal combustion engine (ICE) does not have to start to move the vehicle. A partial hybrid must have the ICE turn on to move the vehicle.

Honda has the best hybrid system after Toyota, but even it's current system is called an "Integrated Motor Assist" because a relatively small electric generator and NiMH battery assist the ICE, not move the vehicle in any real way.

As far as the Tesla, it is a great little vehicle, but it is a specialty vehicle that most average drivers will not purchase. There is a reason Toyota puts the HSD in vehicles that appeal to a majority of buyers, average people will actually buy them.

This is not a rant on various auto companies. But creating a hybrid system and making it work in real world conditions are two very different things.

Marketing is one thing, real world driving is another. Toyota, Honda, GM and all the rest can say whatever they want in their ads, but real world driving added up over a number of years is what is true.

So, public, go ahead and rant away about what I've posted. But check your facts and sources first.

Answer 4

Fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids will be the next big green vehicles.

Available in California in October 2008, the Aptera typ-1e will cost about $27,000 with a top speed of 95 mph and range of 120 miles per charge.

http://www.aptera.com/details.php

Soon thereafter Aptera will introduce the typ-1h, a plug-in hybrid version of the typ-1e with a 40-60 mile range on purely electrical energy, and a range of over 600 miles total when in electric/gas hybrid mode, for around $30,000.  On a 120 mile trip, the typ-1h will get 300 miles per gallon.  The shorter the trip, the higher the efficiency.

http://www.aptera.com/details.php

Available in late 2009, the ZAP Alias will cost $30,000, have a top speed of 100 mph, and a range of 100 miles per charge.

http://zapworld.com/electric-vehicles/el...

Soon thereafter the ZAP-X will be available at a cost of $60,000 with a top speed of 155 mph and a range of 350 miles per charge.

http://zapworld.com/electric-vehicles/el...

Available in 2009, the Miles Javlon will cost $30-35,000 with a top speed of 80 mph and a range of 120 miles per charge.

http://www.milesev.com/index.asp#hsv.swf

Phoenix Motorcars will start selling their SUT to individuals in late 2008 or early 2009.  It will cost $45,000 and have a top speed of 100 mph with a range of 100+ miles per charge.

http://phoenixmotorcars.com/

Answer 5

hybrid compressed air cars

using the motor to compress air and store the air in lightweight tanks

you would not have to move big heavy batteries around

this would make for a lighter weight car.

giving it better MPG.

Answer 6

Tata nano compressed air.

dirt cheap and they just bought out land rover so they have a factory in u.k. disruptive innovation at its finest!

Answer 7

The prius came out about 10 years ago, just after Chevron bought the patents to battery technology & sued Toyota for the RAV4. and GM crushed the EV1

so hybrid is a stop-gap until new Li-ion batteries not covered by the patents are avialable to give longer range.

Now there are lots of companies (large like GM volt, and small like ZAP) giving press releases about their new cars in the next few years.

The technology is there, but not the marketing/political will to take on the subsidised infernal combustion global oil & media corps. Bringing a new car is very expensive, especially for small companies.

expect a Li-ion plug-in hybrid in 2010, probably a prius. Mitsubushi have a decent ev development programme.

but it would probably be unpatriotic for US companies to admit there are better transport technologies than oil based, or subsidised industrial agriculture, or govmn't funded hydrogen vaopour ware.

Answer 8

In my opinion, the Prius is not the king anymore already.  There is the Tesla roadster, an all electric sports car that can do 250 miles on one charge.  There is also the world record holding 75+mpg VW Lupo TDI that can run on biodiesel, beating the Prius all around (alternative fuel and better mileage).

In fact, it has been argued that the Prius, from raw materials to end of vehicle lifespan, has always been worse than even a Hummer because of what is used to get the chemicals that have to go into the batteries.  See source for more info on this argument.

Answer 9

I vote for the Aptera.  It goes into full production next fall.