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By Danny at 2008-10-29 14:17
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Our tipster was able to grab 4 new photos today for us of the upcoming, but as yet unannounced new Lexus small SUV to compete with the BMW X3 and Infinity FX series "crossovers". While the two cars pictured look different, they are the same car. Lexus does a pretty decent job with the camo to hide the car's distinct lines.
Enjoy!
 Lexus Small SUV Spy Shot 1
 Lexus Small SUV Spy Shot 2
 Lexus Small SUV Spy Shot 3
 Lexus Small SUV Spy Shot 4
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By Danny at 2008-10-23 11:16
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Edit: Just received word from our tipster that you are seeing 2 different Lexus SUVs. 1 is the next RX model and the other is a yet-to-be-announced small Lexus SUV that will compete with the BMW X3. It will be based on the RAV4 and is said to be powered for the US market by a 3,5 litre V6 engine, for Europe an additional V6 2,5 litre Diesel engine is in the pipeline.
We were just sent in 2 spy shots from a tipster of ours out in California of the redesigned 2010/2011 Lexus RX 350 and 400h Hybrid. The reason we are calling it 2010/2011 is because the traditional ICE RX 350 is coming out in 2009 as a 2010 model, while the RX 400h will be delayed by a year and coming out in 2010 as a 2011 model.
Here they are:
 2010 Lexus new small SUV Spy Photo
 2010 Lexus RX 350/400h Spy Photo 2
And here are some close-ups.
 New Lexus Small SUV Spy Shot - Close-up
 2010 Lexus RX Spy Shot - Close-up
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By Danny at 2008-09-04 09:09
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 Honda Insight Concept: Photo of the Honda Insight concept.Honda Japan put out a press release today with the first official picture of the upcoming Honda Prius-fighter. Looks like Honda has decided to go back to using the Insight product name, but this time the Insight will be on steroids in the form of 2 extra doors and about 1000% more usability.
It will be as expected - a 5-door, 5 passenger hybrid running the IMA hybrid system. It'll be out in the spring of 2009 and Honda expects to sell 200,000 of them annually worldwide.
UPDATE: There is now a US release. It'll probably make more sense for you.
Honda Insight Concept Hybrid Vehicle to Debut at Paris International Auto Show
Concept to show styling direction of new more affordable hybrid vehicle
TORRANCE, Calif., Sept. 4, 2008 – Honda will reveal a concept version of its new small hybrid vehicle, to be named Insight, at the 2008 Paris International Auto Show, Oct. 2, the company announced today. The new Insight Concept, shares styling cues with Honda’s FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle, and will provide an early look at the highly anticipated 5-passenger hybrid vehicle.
 Honda Insight II Concept 2Going on sale in the U.S. next spring, the all-new purpose built Insight will come to market at a price significantly below hybrids available today. From this unique position in the marketplace, the Insight will advance the affordability and accessibility of hybrid technology to a new generation of buyers.
“The original Honda Insight pioneered hybrid technology in the U.S. and remains a symbol of Honda’s commitment to innovative technology and fuel efficiency,” said Takeo Fukui, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. CEO. “This new Insight will break new ground as an affordable hybrid within the reach of customers who want great fuel economy and great value.”
The Insight Concept defines a new stage in the evolution of hybrid technology, utilizing a more cost-efficient version of Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist™ (IMA™) hybrid technology, resulting in a new level of affordability for hybrid customers worldwide. Evoking the innovative styling cues first seen in the FCX Clarity, the Insight Concept is designed with a low center of gravity and a generous five-passenger cabin, offering the kind of driving pleasure and roomy interior that customers have come to expect from Honda. While the Insight Concept’s aerodynamic design clearly identifies its fuel efficient purpose, its five-door access and folding rear seats speak to functionality that is designed to meet the needs of customers with an active lifestyle. The Insight Concept is a small, fuel efficient hybrid car that delivers big style and functionality with a healthy dose of fun.
Honda achieved a significant cost reduction in Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) components which should make Insight the most affordable hybrid vehicle to date. The production Insight will be offered as a five-door, five-passenger hatchback. Numerous technologies, including a function to assist customers in achieving more fuel efficient driving habits, will be applied to achieve a further improvement in real world fuel efficiency. With its affordable price, the new hybrid vehicle will represent the best value in its segment. Along with the Civic Hybrid, the new vehicle will be produced at an expanded hybrid vehicle production line at Honda’s Suzuka factory in Japan.
The Insight is expected to have annual global sales of 200,000 units per year – approximately 100,000 in North America. Following the launch of the new Insight, Honda also plans to introduce another unique sporty hybrid vehicle based on the CR-Z Concept, first shown at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. All together, Honda’s global sales of hybrids should increase to approximately 500,000 units a year, or more than 10 percent of its total worldwide annual automobile sales.
The original Honda Insight was introduced in December 1999, as America’s first gas-electric hybrid car. The first vehicle to break the 70-mpg fuel economy barrier, Insight was designed from the ground up to demonstrate the ultimate potential for fuel-economy in a 2-seater subcompact automobile.
A leader in the development of cleaner, more fuel-efficient mobility products, Honda introduced the first low-emission gasoline vehicles; America’s first gas-electric hybrid car and the world’s first EPA-certified hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, the FCX. In 2007, Honda was named “greenest automaker” by the Union of Concerned Scientists for the fourth straight time.
For more information and downloadable high-resolution images of the Insight Concept and other Honda vehicles, including the Civic Hybrid, please visit www.hondanews.com. Consumer information is available at www.honda.com.
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By Danny at 2008-05-21 19:08
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 Fit Hybrid - not really
More news out of Tokyo today...
"Honda will expand hybrid sales in the small class by introducing a new sporty hybrid based on the CR-Z, Civic Hybrid and the addition of a Fit Hybrid model," said Takeo Fukui, president and CEO of Honda Motor, in Tokyo. "Combined annual sales of these four hybrid models is expected to reach approximately 500,000 units [globally]."
Ok, let me do some counting... CR-Z, 1, HCH, 2, Fit Hybrid, 3... oh yeah, here's the 4th one. Anyway, this is a pretty exciting quote. Honda expects to come out with a Fit Hybrid sometime in the early 2010s. Whether "early 2010s" means like January - March 2010 or like before 2014, well, your guess is as good as mine. Won't we all be in flying cars by then anyway?
No word on whether it'll cost $149 and be available at Amazon.
Thanks, Edmunds.
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By Danny at 2008-05-21 18:53
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 What do you get when you cross a Prius with a Honda engineer?
See, I was right! Today Honda finally officially confirmed the upcoming "Prius-ized" Honda hybrid using the IMA system. The new hybrid, which will be revealed at the Paris Auto Show this fall, will use the current generation nickel-metal hydride batteries instead of lithium-ion batteries. I guess if Toyota isn't going to use them, no one has to. As previously reported, the "Honda Civiprius" (as I call it ) will be a 5-seater hatchback with design elements very similar to the Honda FCX (pictured). Anticipated sale date will be in April 2009 - exactly when the Gen III Prius comes out. Honda expects to sell 100,000 of them in North America annually; 200,000 worldwide.
Keep holding your breath for the CR-Z. It won't be released until after the Civiprius has made its way around the block. Probably late 2009.
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By Danny at 2008-04-09 22:08
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 2010 Lexus Prius Hybrid Lexus Prius/Hybrid
Source: MagX
- Prius using Toyota's MC platform has been seen testing with the Auris front noze
- Next Prius will be using the 1.8L 2ZR engine instead of 1NZ
- Lexus will have a version of the Prius which is planning on debuting during late 2010/early 2011
- The Lexus will have the roofline profile similar to that of the Prius however have distinct Lexus styling in sync with the "L-finesse" design
language.
- The Lexus version would cost over $30k and obviously be equipped with luxury amenities; current internal code for the car is 812L
- Due to cost reasons the next-gen Prius should still be using NiMH batteries. However, Toyota has had a Lithium-ion Vitz hybrid in limited production for awhile, and the Lexus version may be equipped with Li-On batteries due to the higher selling price would allow enough margin to incorporate the more expensive batteries.
Thanks for the image Photobucket/ClubLexus and for pointing this out, Tideland Prius on PriusChat.
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By Danny at 2008-04-08 07:49
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 Chevy Volt Model: Chevy Volt model Judging from an article in this morning's Free Press, the Volt will only be released to select markets when it is released in late 2010. GM and the FP add some spin to the decision, saying that they want to release the car to "politically important and trend-setting markets on the coasts", but it can easily be viewed that they want to limit the car's availability in order to control distribution and service issues. According to GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, the early plan for distribution of the Chevrolet Volt is to begin with California, followed by Washington, D.C.; Florida; New York and elsewhere on the East Coast.
Detroit Free Press Article
 Volt Battery: Chevrolet Volt Battery
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By Danny at 2008-02-21 09:39
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Honda is planning to launch a new hybrid model at the Paris Auto Show this fall, but the much-rumored sports hybrid shown to us in the form of the CR-Z concept is still some way off.
The new model, due to go on sale in 2009, will be a small family-sized vehicle, intended to rival the Toyota Prius.
It will be a stand-alone model (no traditional ICE counter-part), seating four or five people, and although Honda has not confirmed details of its body structure as yet, it's expected to be a five-door hatchback or compact sedan.
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By Danny at 2007-11-29 18:11
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 So, what once was a small-time rumor could now move up to big-time rumor - a 2009 Hybrid Matrix. PriusChat poster naterprius has posted that he saw a "newer body Toyota Matrix, in medium dark blue, with an HSD badge on it, and a strange bumper sticker (on the tailgate) that said "Test Vehicle 70 MPH" or "Test Vehicle 70 MPG"." This sighting in Boulder, CO comes only a couple of days after AutoBlog reported the rumor that GM and Toyota might be working on a Matrix/Vibe Hybrid together.
Does that add up to a Hybrid Matrix in 2009? I guess we'll have to wait and see.
PriusChat Discussion
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By Danny at 2007-11-14 15:06
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Via press release from Toyota:
Quote:
Fairbanks-To-Vancouver Along The Alaska highway: Toyota Fuel-Cell Logs 2300 Miles In Seven Days, Averages Well-Above 300 Miles Per Tank
11/14/2007 Los Angeles, CA
November 14, 2007 - Los Angeles, CA - Toyota Motor Sales (TMS) U.S.A, Inc., revealed a significant achievement in its ongoing hydrogen-hybrid fuel cell development program at a press conference today at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show. A recent 2,300 mile trek in a Toyota Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle (FCHV) from Fairbanks, Alaska to Vancouver, British Columbia along the Alaska-Canadian (ALCAN) highway confirmed substantial progress in reliability and durability, cold-weather operation and extended range capability of Toyota's hybrid fuel cell system.
"When our Torrance-based product planners and engineers heard about Toyota Motor Corporation's (TMC) plan to run a distance of 348 miles from Osaka, Japan to Tokyo on a single tank of hydrogen, they thought it was a great idea…that probably didn't go far enough in showing how far this new system had advanced," said Bob Carter, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager.
"Beyond the single-tank range capability, this new system was developed to deal with two major challenges to the refinement of fuel-cell power-trains. That is, starting and operating in cold temperatures and standing up to the vibration and harshness of rough road conditions…over a long distance…over a long time.
"Equally important, was to show how the development of Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell powertrains continue to move forward and mature at an impressive pace, far in advance of an infrastructure that will be necessary to support them."
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