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  • Hooked on Oil

  • Because of the Prius we all think of Toyota as a green gladiator, trailblazing clean energy for the auto industry with its cutting edge battery technology. But news of the release of their 2012 PHEV Prius sheds new light on this point of view: it's only going to have a 10-12 mile all-electric range with its battery. http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/07/05/toyota-will-launch-series-production-phev-prius-in-2012/ What does this mean? Nissan-Renault are already in the beginning phase of producing electric cars that can go 60-100 miles on pure battery power: http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/05/plug-in-be-bop-its-a-box-its-french-its-got-batteries/ And this Prius is 3 years away! Given, car companies lock in the technology for cars they will produce about three years in advance, but this is terrible even compared to the Volt from GM. This, on top of the fact that Toyota's been in the battery game for years now. For all Toyota's touting of being 'in sync with mother nature,' they are adamant on clinging to oil-consuming hybrid technology for as long as possible. This minimal battery range is a slap in the face to all environmentalists who have stuck by Toyota's side faithfully the past few years, giving the company all their green and chatting up the brand like it was a boon to their cause. If Toyota truly were a green brand, they'd plan on producing an all-electric by 2012, or at the very least, a hybrid with a respectable range.
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