4th generation coming 2015!

The point with ethanol is that it is carbon neutral... in theory.

(i.e. that whatever you put out of the tailpipe into the atmosphere was originally sequestered into plant tissue from the atmosphere via photosynthesis.)

Hopefully cellulosic fermentation will someday allow the theory to meet with reality.

Ethanol fuel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Ethanol contains approx. 34% less energy per unit volume than gasoline, and therefore in theory, burning pure ethanol in a vehicle will result in a 34% reduction in miles per US gallon, given the same fuel economy, compared to burning pure gasoline"

"Based on EPA tests for all 2006 E85 models, the average fuel economy for E85 vehicles resulted 25.56% lower than unleaded gasoline."

 

I was more thinking about the energy required via all the equipment to til the ground, plant the corn, put fertilizer on it, put pesticide on it, put herbicide on it, harvest it, take it to the processing plant, take it to the gas station. Not to mention the gallons and gallons of water that is required to grow it.

 

I'm still waiting.

 

Wrong.

 

Not the point. It's about fossile carbon. Here in Sweden (and in Finland) we have factories producing ethanol from food waste and other inedible waste products, thus no extra growing of corn or wheat. So there is a strong argument for using otherwise unused products to produce renewable fuels in order to minimize fossile CO2. Another fuel produced in my hometown is biogas (CNG) which we power the local bus fleet and many cars with.

 

Maybe you should add where you're from in your details.

 

Sorry to jump-in with a slightly different question but I was cleaning out ice this morning in my Gen 3 rear glass when it occurred to me that a "bubbled-up" rear glass as in the above illustration will not clean well with a typical wiper, there would need to be a special wiper or a completely different tech. Any thoughts ?

 

Not only that, you can you see with your rearview mirror? The Prius fixes this by having an annoying divider in the back but a see-through screen as well

 

Good point you have. In my case, I have learnt to survive with limited rear visibility on my Gen 3. In fact, most of the time the bottom part (below the spoiler/divider) gets smuged with dirt and grime that I never attempt to see through it anyway. So basically I wouldn't mind not having a lower see-through screen but then that's just me.

 

Model year or calendar year?

 

Yes, model year; '15 or '16, and approximately when may we expect to see that baby up for sale, my lease ends 12/14 .

 

cmth - Remember, the depictions are artist drawings. They do not need o be concerned with such things as rear wipers.

I am not personally bothered by the spoiler bar. I am tall enough to comfortably see over it, and the bar block a great deal of bright headlights from can trailing me ..... often with their high beams on.

 

Hmmm. Someone might be extending their lease.

 

Extending his current lease or extending his lease through Toyota with the new model!

Say it's coming next year (albeit end of '14)! When is the Volt 2 set to arrive?

 

Yes, but by how much?

 

I like the open space in front of my gen2 console- actually, I would prefer a 60/40 split bench seat design from a older caddy with fold down armrest.

 

imagine if you could still buy a car with a bench seat?

 

I think It's Time They Made a car with a Standard Front Bench seat again! no headrest, no seat belts, no seat side bolsters, just hang on when cornering! The good Old Days!

 

lol, what was that you deleted?

I still expect more spypicks this winter. But the "High Priustess" Dianne Whitemore who works for a dealership is killing my hopes for waiting out for a next-gen.

2014 would be the year for my family and I to take a look and possibly invest in two vehicles: a van like hybrid (Outlander or Prius + !) and a plugin which of course would be interesting for the Mitsubishi Outlander because it's a plugin hybrid and a 7 seater!

I have a 2010 Prius...love it, but time's tickin' on us willing to pull the trigger. I guess 4 years for a car is still young though

 

'63 impala?