Used 2012 Toyota Camry Xle By Riley Toyota In Missouri on 2040-cars

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This classic Firebird restomod swallowed a Prius

It takes an unusual eye to look at a 1967 Pontiac Firebird and see the Toyota Prius hidden inside. But that's just the kind of eye that a creative mechanic known online as "Bill the Engineer" has. Bill is updating his old Firebird into a true classic for the 21st century and has documenting the changes over at Priuschat and EcoModder. The TL,DR version of the story: he's replacing the worn-out powertrain with the gas-electric hybrid one from a Prius V, because it turns out the two vehicles have almost exactly the same wheelbase. Bill, who's from Columbus, Ohio and doesn't want his full name used, said in his posts on the conversion project that he's made many memories with this vehicle since buying it back in 1979. Since then, a few moves, a few decades, and some time in storage meant that the car would no longer function as he wanted it to. As he wrote, "when it comes to mice in the vehicles IT IS WAR." His solution is to make new memories and making a greener vehicle, and so we wanted to ask him how things have been going. Bill's been traveling a bit recently, but told AutoblogGreen that he's now figuring out the next steps for this amazing and complicated project. "I always plan things out before I do them," he said. That's the only way something like this can work. ABG: I think we have to start with what gave you the inspiration for this project. Was it simply that you had the two cars and wanted to see them merged into one cool mashup, or was it something else? "One day my wife wondered out loud if the car could be converted into a hybrid... The rest is history." Bill: I have been the owner of my 1967 Firebird convertible since 1979 when I bought it for $750.00. I drove it for years and made many memories. Afterward it was in storage for many years during which time mice at their way into the car and trashed the interior and wiring. I started working on a conventional restoration but always ran into major problems with hidden corrosion, electrical issues and an engine on its last legs. The car was never going to be as nice as I wanted going the conventional route. One day my wife wondered out loud if the car could be converted into a hybrid like our two daily driver Prii. That got me thinking about how it could be done. The rest is history... ABG: It looks like you started in late 2014. Have things gone well since then, or has it been one hassle after another? What has been the biggest setback, and what were the biggest victories?

5 highlights from the 2018 Petersen Automotive Museum Auction

From the avant garde exterior design to the collection of vehicles between the walls, the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles is one of the coolest car museums in the U.S., and possibly the world. Among several others, the Petersen has two featured exhibits, The Porsche Effect and Legends of L.A. But the museum has a different type of viewing coming up at which you could touch, or even buy, a variety of special vehicles. After hosting its SoCal auction on the coast in Santa Monica for several years, RM Sotheby's has moved the event to the more central location of the museum. In addition to several works of art, the auction which takes place the weekend of December 7, will show several dozens of blue-chip vehicles, chosen by RM Sotheby's 30 car specialists. After sorting through lots that range from microcars to new-age supercars, here are five of the highlights that caught our eyes. 1956 Ferrari 290 MM by Scaglietti Projected Value: $22,000,000-$26,000,000 Without question, this is the crown jewel of the entire show. As the eldest and most experienced of the 11 total Ferrari lots, its estimated value of $26 million is more than five times the values of the other five cars listed below combined. From the jump, Ferrari threw the 290 into the line of fire. Starting its life with a four-cylinder 860 Monza engine and a Tipo 520 chassis, its first race was the Mille Miglia. Peter Collins was behind the wheel and racing photographer Louis Klemantaski was his copilot. Ferrari took the top five spots in the race, with this car, chassis No. 0628, finishing second. It went on to see multiple races and took on multiple forms, including a V12 swap at one point. After switching through the hands of multiple owners, it was sent to Ferrari Classiche in Maranello, where it was restored to its form at the time of the 1957 12 Hours of Sebring. It retains its original chassis, original bodywork, and original transmission, and houses the V12 from its 290 MM spec. The restoration was completed in 2015, and the car remains in incredible shape today. 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV by Bertone Projected Value: $2,100,000-$2,500,000 Simply put, the Miura is one of the most significant supercars, and therefore one of the most important cars, of all time. Its two-seat, mid-engined configuration seismically shifted what a performance could and should look like, and its V12 gave it the power to be the fastest car in the world when it debuted.

Dutch Toyota dealer has plans for old Prius batteries as solar backup

A Toyota dealer in the Netherlands is looking to the sky for power. The Louwman Hague Toyota dealership has put almost 1,000 solar panels on the roof, and there might be some Prius hybrid batteries involved. Our Dutch isn't as good as it could be and our questions to Toyota in the US haven't turned up any definitive answers, but there is some mention that these solar panels are will someday be feeding power into a bank of Toyota hybrid batteries. The 1,000 panels make up 1,600 square meters, about the size of 4.5 IMAX movie screens, and is the largest in the area. They generate around a quarter of a megawatt of energy [as our readers point out, this is what the translation says, but it doesn't make sense, so we think it might mean a quarter MW of power a day], which is enough to power 80 homes. The excess electricity will go into the battery packs that have (possibly) already been used in a Prius or another of the company's hybrid. There are many examples of automotive batteries being tested as stationary back-up power sources, and maybe this Dutch solution can be used as a guide when Toyota sets up its new US headquarters in sunny Texas.