Autoblog

This isn't the first time we've heard that Toyota might spin off the Prius as a separate brand much like Scion. But we now have the most concrete news about the automaker's plans we've seen yet.

Micheline Maynard of The New York Times talked with James E. Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. recently who said he was actively lobbying Toyota for the Prius brand spinoff and that the company was working on future models to expand the lineup. Lentz said he was pushing for a Yaris-sized Prius and a "Prius on steroids." He wouldn't comment on rumors of a Prius crossover, however. Lentz also said the new line would be sold alongside Toyota vehicles instead of separately like the company's Lexus brand.

When might this new Prius brand be approved by Toyota? Lentz would only say that he has a meeting in Japan next month.

Maynard writes that in all her years covering Toyota, "...I can say that executives rarely talk this much about an idea unless it is under active discussion, so the chances of a Prius brand are probably pretty good."

[Source: The New York Times]

This could be Japanese-only news, or just a case of bad translation, but Toyota Managing Officer Toshio Furutani has apparently told Japan's Nikkei Business News that Toyota wants every vehicle in the Lexus product line to offer a hybrid option, and that "in the medium to long term, Toyota was considering making the Lexus lineup hybrid-only."

That sounds like he could mean Lexus, period, all over the world. But our questions come from the fact that the same report said that the Nikkei listed only the LS and GS models as currently available with a hybrid option, neglecting to mention the RX. And the fact that for Lexus to offer only hybrids in the U.S. would be an eyebrow-arching brand decision. Not that there isn't anyone out there in the market for a hybrid IS-F, but would you really risk it? We'll wait for a follow-up from someone at Toyota, or we'll just assume Furutani's comments were meant for other ears than ours.

[Source: Reuters]

Chrysler's EVs are for real

When Chrysler rolled out three electric vehicle prototypes a couple of weeks ago most EV experts were skeptical. They were even more skeptical when the company claimed that it would have an EV on sale by 2010. Wait a minute, everyone wondered, how could Chrysler have caught up with GM, Nissan and other automakers who have been working on EV's for a lot longer?

Well, to hear Chrysler tell it, it's not behind at all. It is the first major automaker to actually allow members of the media and dealers to drive its production-intent EV's. The company claims it's been working on EV's for at least two and a half years-or about the same time as the other major OEM's. Its effort came out of the fuel cell program it was working on with Mercedes, back in the good 'ole DCX days. They merely pulled the fuel cell out and dropped in a battery pack.

John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers. Follow the jump to continue reading this week's editorial.

Saying that "only a fool would ignore" the emissions of a new vehicle and the current global economy, AMG head-man Volker Mornhinweg realizes that it can't keep building gas-guzzling supercars with reckless abandon. Not that the company will lose its performance edge, mind you. In fact, hybrids and diesels could offer a meaningful performance boost if tuned properly. How so? Torque. Diesel engines are known for their massive axle-shreading twist, and electric motors, an essential part of any hybrid powertrain, make maximum power right off idle, allowing for an internal combustion engine that's tuned for stratospheric revs.

In a recent interview with CAR, the notion of fitting a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter oil-burning V6 inside the C class was kicked around. Mornhinweg suggests such a vehicle is a distinct possibility as AMG moves forward. Hybrid technology could be based on the new drivetrain powering the recently-unveiled S400 BlueHYBRID. No matter what the future holds, we can be sure that the AMG crew is obviously not made up of a bunch of fools, and will therefore continue to offer cars with the highest performance pedigree, regardless of what's underhood.


[Source: CAR]

Rumors of RUF's impending electric Porsche were true, except that the actual vehicle is based on a Porsche 911, not the Cayman as previously reported. Powered by a three-phase electric motor that offers about 200 horsepower along with an impressive 480 lb.-ft. of torque, the eRUF Model A can reportedly hit 60 miles per hour in under seven seconds and can reach a top speed of 160. Power comes from a lithium iron phosphate battery pack, which produces 317-volts and 480-amps and is made up from 96 individual cells. A full charge takes a rather long 10-hours, and regenerative braking is included in the package allowing for a range of up to 180 miles. From the outside, you'd never really know that something was different about this 997, except that it doesn't produce that soul-stirring flat-six sound. This is still just a concept and its specifications are subject to change. We can be sure, though, that this isn't the last electrically-powered sportscar set to hit the market.


[Source: RUF]

One of Citroen's big debuts at the Paris Motor Show was its HYmotion4 hybrid technology, which was fitted to the Citroën Hypnos and C4 WRC along with the Peugeot RC and Prologue. Unlike most hybrid systems, the French technology has no direct connection between the car's engine and battery, so the pack is recharged "through the road" when the car's regenerative braking is applied. There's a 125-kW electric motor attached to the rear axle that gets its power from 990 individual lithium ion cells wired up to produce 400-volts. The C4 WRC's driver can select from a number of modes to allow a specific amount of electric assistance, including running solely on the electric motor or using it as a short-term boost for added acceleration. This way, the car can be run in zero-emission mode or at full power, depending on the situation. Although no production machines have been announced with this new technology, the fact that the automaker has created four separate concepts with it shows that it is serious about its production possibilities.


[Sources: Citroen, World Rally Championship]

It may look more than a bit, um, quirky, but so did the iconic 2CV that the C-Cactus concept was meant to embody. Built to do more with less -- materials that is -- the Citroen C-Cactus concept that was shown last year at the Geneva Motor Show used innovative construction techniques to cut the number of components required to manufacture it in half and is what Citroen calls an essentialist vehicle. A production version would attempt to follow that same pattern and could be powered by a version of the French automaker's new HYmotion2 hybrid system, consisting of a 1.0-liter diesel coupled to an electric motor. The powertrain could return over 100 miles per gallon according to the automaker. Another possibility would be to go full electric with the goal of achieving a 100 mile range and a 70 mile per hour top speed. Just how much of the concept's radical look would be carried over remains to be seen, though being Citroen, we're sure it would be suitably radical no matter what.


[Source: Citroen, AutoblogGreen]

Regardless of what you think of Porsche's upcoming Panamera (we're currently on the fence), it is going to be an extremely important launch for the company. Despite the fact that purists panned the Cayenne, it has sold like hotcakes and has made an extremely tidy profit for the German automaker, now in the midst of a major takeover of Volkswagen, the most valuable automaker in the world. Obviously, Porsche is hoping for similar successes from its very expensive four door. As we've heard countless times, a hybrid option is currently in the works and a diesel engine is also on the drawing board. We're not entirely sure how the crazy German engineers will do it, but a targa-style top is also being developed. No matter, we'll have all the details soon enough as Porsche brings its production Panamera to the 2009 Geneva Motor Show in March.


[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

We haven't heard a peep from Carbon Motors in a very long time, but that doesn't mean the company hasn't been hard at work on its purpose-built E7 police car concept. To prove that it's moving forward, the automaker-to-be has just released two shots of a real E7. What's more, the company will show the car to prospective clients – police officers – at the upcoming 115th Annual International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference and Exposition. Unlike curent cop cars driven by these officers, usually police-spec Crown Vic Interceptors, the E7 was specifically designed just to do police duty. Instead of a 4.6-liter Ford V8 engine underhood, the E7 will feature a clean-diesel engine capable of running on biodiesel. With a cockpit derived from jet-fighter technology that includes built-in radar, radiation and biological threat detectors among other techno goodies, the E7 sounds suitably high-tech for real-life crime fighters of the modern era. To further highlight this point, check out the video, along with the press release, after the break.


[Source: Carbon Motors via Jalopnik]