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2013 Pikes Peak Hill Climb, Practice Day 4

The fourth and final practice day of the 91st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is complete. Tomorrow everyone will make any last-minute adjustments and get their cars, their bits and bobs lined up in the pits for Sunday morning's this-time-it-counts run.
The Unlimited runners took on the top section of the course today, Sébastien Loeb and his big-mouth Peugeot acing the practice test again with a time of 2:11. Rhys Millen's team proved its got the engine issues of two days ago in the Hyundai PM580T sorted out, posting the next-best time at 2:27.16. The reason we had to dip all the way into the hundredths for his time is because he nipped Romain Dumas by just .31 of them, the Frenchman in the Norma M20FC PP running the course in 2:27.47. In fourth came the Frenchman in the monster Mini, Jean-Philippe Dayraut six seconds back at 2:33.
Time Attack competitors, also on the upper section, were led by Paul Dallenbach in the Hyundai Genesis Coupe with a time of 2:36, Porsche pilot Jeff Zwart crossing the line six seconds later at 2:42, fellow Porsche driver David Donner coming in another six seconds back at 2:48. Dallenbach has topped three of the four practice-day sessions, sliding into the second spot behind Donner only on Practice Day 2.

Toyota JV will sell Leahead EVs in China next year

You may have read that Toyota is about to establish a new electric vehicle sub-brand in China called Leahead that will focus on "cheap electric cars aimed at young and hip car buyers in China." This isn't 100 percent true, but the Japanese automaker is revving its electric motors for EVs in China, in a fashion. It makes sense for automakers to push for more EVs in China, given government support for the technology and the proven success of Tesla there. Low-speed EVs are popular, as well. Indirectly, Toyota is going to sell electric vehicles to Chinese customers next year. We've heard reports before that Toyota is interested in going electric in China, with a different Toyota JV and thus a different brand but now we have an official word on Toyota's future EV moves in China, direct from Jana Hartline, the environmental communications manager for Toyota Motor Sales, USA. Hartline told AutoblogGreen that Toyota just celebrated the 10-year anniversary of GAC Toyota Motor Co., Ltd (GTMC), its joint-venture manufacturing company in China. And it is GTMC, not Toyota directly, that is the company behind Leahead (called Ling Zhi in Chinese). Leahead will begin selling EVs under the Ling Zhi brand starting in 2015. So, yes, indirectly, Toyota is going to sell electric vehicles to Chinese customers next year. There are rumors that the new EVs will be electric versions of the Corolla EX and/or the Yaris L, but we've got nothing confirmed on that front. We will be waiting for more new at the Shanghai Motor Show next April.

100-year-old Yellowstone ranger station now powered by Camry Hybrid batteries [w/video]

With a new project, Toyota is bringing power to the prairie and finding a way to reuse nickel-metal hydride batteries at the same time. The automaker recently completed assisting Yellowstone National Park's installation of a solar power station at the Lamar Buffalo Ranch to electrify the ranger station and education center there for the first time. Toyota's major part in the system is an array of 208 batteries that are repurposed from old Camry Hybrid sedans, and they can store 85 kilowatt-hours of energy at a time. That's as much as one 85-kWh battery pack from one top-of-the-line Tesla Model S. Toyota figures that the whole setup should generate enough annual electricity for six average US homes, which is plenty for the ranch. For a constant source of power, the site plans to install a micro-hydro turbine in a nearby stream in 2016. Prior to creating the wall of batteries to store all of this energy, Toyota disassembled and tested each one. It also installed a new management system on them to maximize their lifespan. You can get a better idea of what the whole system looks like in the automaker's video, below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Toyota Flips the Switch to Sustainable Power at Yellowstone National Park Lamar Buffalo Ranch Renewable, Zero Emission Energy System Is Now Online System Features 208 Re-used Camry Hybrid Batteries May 12, 2015 Torrance, Calif. (May 12, 2015) – The lights are on where the buffalo roam. At the Lamar Buffalo Ranch field campus in Yellowstone National Park, an innovative distributed energy system that combines solar power generation with re-used Camry Hybrid battery packs is now online. The result: reliable, sustainable, zero emission power to the ranger station and education center for the first time since it was founded in 1907. Announced in June 2014, the partnership among Toyota, Indy Power Systems, Sharp USA SolarWorld, Patriot Solar, National Park Service and Yellowstone Park Foundation is an innovative effort to extend the useful life of hybrid vehicle batteries while providing sustainable power generation for one of the most remote, pristine areas in the United States. Solar panels generate the renewable electricity stored within the 208 used Camry Hybrid nickel-metal hydride battery packs, recovered from Toyota dealers across the United States.