THE NEW PRIUS MODEL CONCEPT ????

That looks like this (in fact, the web page they scroll through just before showing it even says "Hybrid X"):

http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/future/hybridx.html

Personally, I'm waiting for one of these:

http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/future/volta.html
http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/future/cs.html

B)

 

They also talk about the Volt . . . mistakenly calling it a 'Pure' electric vehicle?
Really? Then what's that ICE for ? What's that gas tank for?

 

The 'new Prius" so far called 'Hybrid X' looks great! Suicide doors, lounge chairs, distinctive styling and 100mpg all come together in a nice package.

 

It wouldn't be hard to start producing the X in a couple of years. If only Toyota had a little more brass in the right area we could see this in the near future. Glass roof looks nice but I'll bet that would be very hot in the south and southwest.

 

That car was first shown in Germany last winter. It is indeed called a "concept car". A Toyota rep. stated at that time "this shows some of the ideas we are considering for future Toyota hybrid models". Note "some of" and "future Toyota Hybrid models". I think you are reading way too much into this. It's a "concept car", not a pre-production test model.

Most automakers are not brave/foolish enough to produce such a different design. It's the "Edsel effect". They hate bathing in red ink!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hill @ Oct 27 2007, 08:00 AM) [snapback]531127[/snapback]</div>

From what I read, the gas "engine" is only a generator that powers the battery (ie, the gas engine never directly makes the tires spin). It's simply an alternate source of electricity. If you never drain the battery, you could get away with never using any gasoline.

That's the way it was described in the article I read, anyway.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tiki Robot @ Oct 29 2007, 10:02 AM) [snapback]531924[/snapback]</div>

Sure, Volt's gas engine can spin the tires. When the battery is drained, the power from the engine goes straight to the electric motor and in turn to the wheels. The battery pack can not be charging and powering the electric motors at the same time!

The crucial question is will Volt's IC engine kick in to assist during high power demand? If it does, it will make Volt a hybrid. If they IC engine does not assist, the demand / spec / life and price on the battery pack is going to be very expensive making it not ready for the mass market.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(usbseawolf2000 @ Oct 29 2007, 01:44 PM) [snapback]532008[/snapback]</div>

That's not what the article I read (or the wiki) says. Obviously when the gas generator is running, it's the original source of the power that ultimately spins the wheels, but it's the electric motor that does the work.

It's not entirely clear to me whether the gas generator would be supplying power directly to the to the motor or whether it charges the batteries which power the motor. The implication in the article I read was that the generator is simply another way to charge the batteries, just like plugging it into the wall.

It wouldn't need to do that if the generator simply kicked on when the batteries were running low and kept them at a minimum charge.

I saw one on display a while ago and they did mention that they were having trouble making the battery hardy enough.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tiki Robot @ Oct 31 2007, 12:05 PM) [snapback]532945[/snapback]</div>

Right, there will be no mechanical connection but the power can flow skipping the battery pack. When the Volt's battery get low, it would be a series-hybrid then wouldn't it? From that we can say Volt is a series hybrid with an extended EV mode.

Volt's generator will need to be at least 85hp(Prius: ~35hp) and the traction motor with 160hp (Prius: 67hp). Considering it's battery pack can hold 12 times more juice than Prius', it is going to be expensive.

We'll see how the spec of the next gen Prius is going to come out. I think Toyota is going to use the same 1.5 liter engine. They may raise the ICE RPM to 5.5k or 6k RPM. The generator and electric motor should get more powerful while decreasing in size. The battery pack may weight slightly less because they will continue to use the same proven NiMH.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MJGreen @ Oct 27 2007, 07:43 AM) [snapback]531072[/snapback]</div>

The shape I would say is spot-on for the next Prius. If you can imagine the Hybrid X with conventional seats, a B-pillar and regular doors, I'd say it would be very nice as a Prius3.

I do hope the change the dashboard....I don't like that pod in the middle that looks like a big eye...staring at you.