CrunchGear

Surely it will be sold Outside Japan, But after 2-3 or may be 10 years… Japanese People get the Technology earlier than the other people.

http://free-and-useful.blogspot.com

We’re probably better off without it considering a Prius with these solar panels will cost alot more than one without them. If all it powers is “part of the the A/C” then it will not save much money.
The Green People will love it but those of us concerned about our pocketbooks will wait for a better, more cost effective, version.

hey rich, I guess you’re really not so rich after all.

What a jerk

So why didnt they just enlarge the battery pack… Solar pannels will not help everyone, and even those who it will benefit it will not benefit them daily….

I’m too lazy to take the snow off the top of my car for half the winter…

I’ll wait for the GM Volt

oh really, do you use your air conditioner much when it’s snowing?

Most of the cars I have driven run the AC when the defroster is on. It pulls the humidity out of the car.

There is no humidity in the air when it is snowing.

Unless the people in the car are breathing.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t run my air conditioning in the winter. Besides, the idea was to have the panels run the AC when it is parked so the cabin isn’t 300 degrees when you get in. At least that is the idea I sent to them back in 2005 when I bought my Prius.

Yes, because worrying about our pocketbooks is, ultimately, more important than worrying about our contribution to a filthy planet.

“Green People”? Can these only be faceless automatons, and not people who try to give a s**t? I think that’s a little unfair.

Our gay organization GFSE ( Gays for Solar Energy) in NY is interested in this technology. As a Prius owner I can see why they chose this car

“Toyota is the world’s first major automaker to install solar batteries on vehicles”

back in 99 my A6 came with solar panels in the sun roof to power an interior fan during hot summers; that was almost 10 years ago.

Sure, the A6 had solar panels to power the interior fan, but it wasn’t connected to a solar battery.

10 years is a lot of time betwen technologies. I’m surtain if Toyota was right with hybrid tech. they will also be a winner with this concept. There are no bad ideas just bad execution.

What a gimmick.

No, seriously:

http://tinyurl.com/5ys4e4

Wired laid it all out. What about the 30 lbs of Nickel in *each* car? If prius owners were serious, it would be:
1) Their only vehicle
2) Used only when public transit couldn’t

I’m tired of pious prius owners claiming this as salvation. Umm, motorcycle anyone?

I am *not* anti electric car concept, just this one.

Prius may not be the ideal solution, but when we bought ours in 2004, it was one of the two hybrid options reasonably available at the time.

By purchasing this car (along with 1 million others) we sent a message to auto makers that new efficient technology is in high demand.

I don’t think American manufacturers would have even considered producing cars like the GM Volt if Toyota and Honda’s hybrids weren’t so successful. (Maybe the current cost of oil would have got them started, but this all got rolling long before)

Here here! Along those lines, even if the solar panels only power part of the A/C, their installation will send a message, and encourage growth in the industry leading to more advanced technology along the line. Also, mass transit is not always a convient option, especially in Southern California. I would be interested to see how much gas would be burnt to run that A/C if the solar panels were not used.

The reason they will be producing these cars with panels is to get the public use to seeing these evolutions in design. Plopping something radical on the market never works becasue it is too different. People like their creature comforts, offering a way to enjoy them guilt-free is an excellent marketing tool.

It’s far, far, FAR better than all of us continuing to drive V8 Hemis and other pointless macho-mobiles. When a little four-banger wagon will do the job just as well, who needs a V6 Minivan or a Lincoln Navigator for the family??

I bought a 38mpg Honda Fit (after driving a V6 Maxima for years) and I will NEVER GO BACK. It’s more convenient in more ways than I can list (with the seating configuration flat, I can carry 8′ lumber in that car; my old Subaru Outback couldn’t even do this).

Less is more.

I read Honda is going to offer a hybrid Fit in 2010.

Seriously… My parents had a conversion van that had solar panels on the roof to keep the battery charged. Was the greatest thing till the glass on the panels got oxidized and solar performance was reduced greatly.
The whole prius concept is a gimmick. My dads 1997 Toyota Tercel gets over 56MPG street. The car cost him 10k new. All he has done to it since is replaced the spark plugs, oil, breaks, tires, air filter.
Problem with the Prius is that nobody is willing to pay out so much for a stripped down car that offers no advantages over a cheap-o economy car. The prius gets good only in favorable climates and situations. I.E stop sign on every corner, stop light at all intersections, driving 35MPH everywhere… no high way.
Why can’t car companies ether make something that doesn’t use a 100+ year old technology or something as reliable as the tercel again. I’m 90% sure this new prius will break the 40k mark and still have more problems/less advatages then my dads car.

Tercel was the best car toyota ever made. Too bad they stopped making cars like those. I’ll always be surprised how so many people don’t even understand what hybrid cars are for. Hybrids are not designed to save fuel… They are designed to lower carbon emissions only. Fuel savings is just a side effect. It’s just like Fuel injection. Helps but doesn’t fix the problem with the archaic technology.

This must be a joke! I don’t believe your dad’s Tercel gets 56 mpg. You might get this by over inflating the tires and driving 40 mph steady and coasting a lot but not in real world driving. The Tercel was a nice little car especially the wagon.

No, really! His dad drives the car to work and then back home… and it is downhill both ways!

The Nikkei is not the largest newspaper, it’s the fourth largest after the Yomiuri, Asahi and some other one. What the author may have meant is that it is a leading economic newspaper.

What’s great about the A/C in a Prius is on a hot day you can run it while setting in the car, with NO motor running until the battery gets low and any input by the solar panel will help. Prius 2007 owner.

Cheers for Toyota! The continue to be bold in there attempts to make a difference.

Regarding GM, they deserve BANKRUPTCY! It is inexcusable that a global monster like GM has dragged its feet and failed to produce an automobile that runs on batteries.

Let see if big oil saves there BUTTs .

if GM goes under thousands of retirees will lose thier pentions and the only income that they have. maybe you should think about the people over the environment, i am a proud owner of a 2003 yukon xl denali 13 mpg and dont really care. the environment will take care of itself it doesnt need us to make retarded hybrids and ethanol that makes food prices go up. all you environmentalist are just hippies that need to just disapear. there should be a tax on all those stupid japanese cars instead of letting them ship thousands here with no import tax. support america not slanty eyed morons. if you really care than much you should walk everywhere you probably have an ass the size of texas

By ‘your’, do you mean “you’re”? Be cool, stay in school. How can your children ever develop past Neanderthal level if you can’t even read, write, or spell correctly? By ‘disapear’, do you mean “disappear”? By ‘pentions’, do you mean “pensions”? By ‘dont’, do you mean “don’t”? Your inability to communicate as a well-read, well-educated adult simply allows those who read your comments to immediately dismiss them. In other words, you completely wasted your (ignorant and racist) time. You are nothing. Congratulations.

One think I’m convinced of is that the ability to write correctly is no true measure of intelligence. I understood them perfectly. I’m also convinced that dismissing someones ideas because they are not written properly is prejudice. You go on to prove it. “ignorant and racist) time.”

The person was correct. If GM was able to remove large numbers of people from their “pentions”

seriously? thats the most ridiculous, ignorant and racist comment i’ve read in a while. you’ve don’t nothing more than embarrass yourself.

(by the way, it’s “you’re an idiot”)

“maybe you should think about the people over the environment”

Umm, without a hospitable environment, where will the people live?

“the environment will take care of itself it doesnt need us to make retarded hybrids and ethanol that makes food prices go up.”

Yes, and we don’t need gas guzzling Yukon’s to make oil prices go up, which in turn affect food prices.

You, Mr Racist, are the real idiot.

This is the kind of conservatism we will leave behind us(hopefully for good) in the next election.

When someone whispers in your ear is there an echo? Your name pretty much sums you up…but just for giggles, cupcake, when exactly do you suggest we start worrying about the economy, energy alternatives and the environment? They are all inextricably linked, Einstein.

Let me guess… you don’t have children. A response like yours only shows how selfish and short sighted you are. A Grasshopper instead of an ant (If you don’t catch my fable reference - you’re ignorant too). And yes the environment will take care of us by killing us first. Only then will it be able to fully repair itself.

For folks who get a winter then a solar paneled vehicle may not sound like a useful purchase. Those of us who get 15 hours of sun a day would benefit from this configuration. Anything that takes part of the load off the primary power source makes for a step in the right direction.

I wished I could do that with my Dodge 1500. There is enough surface area there for several meters of panels. Put a lid on the bed covered with panels and you have almost enough power collection to run a house. Would be nice to add an electric system to that truck. Add a motor aft of the transmission case. If I could get 30 miles out of it a day I would cut my fuel needs by 3/4’s

But I know I am wishing out loud.

Sounds like you know what your talking about. Why not send a letter to the manufacturer of your choice with these suggestions. That’s what I did (back in 2005) and look they are doing. Maybe I helped or maybe they were planning all along, the point is ideas should always be shared. This advice comes to you from an industrial designer (ie: product designer) :)
I specialize in toy design, but I am always looking out to improve anything I get my hands on!

cbmtrx:

I admire your passion, but it is misguided. The current Prius is less economical and less environmentally friendly than a BMW M3. This solar model is not a great leap forward.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP6fe6i1vaY

The ‘green people’ the other poster referred to, I’m sure, is directed towards those who continue to fall for the current global warming swindle. Any designer who knows his basic history of trends (like myself) will tell you that this current ’save the planet’ stance is as much a marketing technique as it is a global issue.

The Prius is a perfect example of something that attracts customers by saying it’s helping to save the planet - but doesn’t. With a bit of research, you will also find yourself condemning this awful machine along with a great number of other ‘environmentally friendly’ products.

Unfortunately, prioritising one’s pocket book is the best way to approach things while companies continue to con us at the earth’s expense.

The Prius is the most economical consumption wise. The problem is people have not adapted their driving technique to maximise the potential of the car. Everyone expects to jam on the accelerator and start saving. It does not work that way. You have to coast a lot more (further away from stop light and stop signs than normal). Slower accelereation from stand still, and most importantly do 105 KM on the highway with cruise, or 50 KM on streets. You’d be surprised how many green lights you catch when you do the speed limit! I’m a Prius owner by the way :)

This may or may not be a good idea. Solar panels are somewhat expensive to produce, in both energy and materials. The Prius may end up in the dump before the energy of the panels’ manufacture is recouped.

toyota continues to show why they are the number one car company.
and, true to form, our american car builders will follow (after waiting several years) rather than lead.