Clean Carfax One Owner Automatic Loaded Navigation Warranty Dealer Inspected on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Recharge Wrap-up: 1M Lexus hybrids, Best Buy Geekmobile goes Prius

Cummins is developing a plug-in hybrid system for heavy trucks. Its plug-in system for Class 6 trucks (those with a gross vehicle weight between 19,000 and 26,000 pounds) is expected to improve fuel economy by 50 percent. Funded in part by a $4.5-million grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE), the system will use a battery pack and some form of range extending internal combustion engine. The system will employ various drive cycles in order to help commercial fleets save fuel based on their needs. Read more at Gas2. German automaker Borgward, LG Chem, Bosch, and software firm SAP have joined forces to form an electric mobility partnership. Borgward recently revived its brand with a new model, the BX7. Borgward has also announced that two other models, the BX5 and BX6, will be available as plug-in hybrids. SAP will provide software services, and LG Chem will supply battery technology to Borgward. Bosch will supply and help develop a number of components for Borgward cars. Read more at Inside EVs. Lexus has sold its millionth hybrid. The luxury automaker began selling hybrids with the electrified RX in 2005, and the millionth hybrid was a NX 300h sold to a customer in Milan, Italy. "This is my first Lexus," says the customer of that vehicle in a Lexus release, Aldo Pirronello. "... and I am honored to celebrate this important milestone with Lexus!" Lexus currently sells 10 hybrid models worldwide. Read more from Lexus. Best Buy's Geek Squad is switching from Volkswagen Beetle Geekmobiles to the Toyota Prius C. As part of an update to the home electronics chain's house call service, the Geeks will be driving more eco-friendly cars with a refreshed logo. More than 1,000 Prius C Geekmobiles are being deployed nationwide. With the Geek Squad answering more than 5 million house calls a year, the fuel savings from switching to a more efficient hybrid cars means reduced emissions over the 12.6 million miles they'll drive per year. Read more in the press release below. Vehicle of Choice for Geeks? Toyota Prius c An armada of agents is about to roll out in Toyota Prius c. Their mission: to help people across America get the most from their technology. Starting today, Best Buy's Geek Squad will dispatch more than 1,000 of the vehicles – fully decked out as the new Geekmobile – nationwide.

Toyota GT86, Scion FR-S sales disappointing worldwide?

Okay, folks - it appears we've got a problem. The Toyota GT86, Europe's counterpart to our own beloved Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S coupes, is apparently not selling too well. This, according to Toyota's European Vice President of Research and Development, Gerald Killman, is what's limiting plans for additional variants of the rear-drive coupe.
"A faster version of that car would be at the top of most people's wish lists, but like the cabriolet, it is hard to justify a business case to push either model into production based on the current sales," Killman told AutoExpress. "Personally, I think that engine could use a little bit more," he added.
More troubling is that slow sales aren't limited to the Euro-spec car, with Killman claiming that the GT86 have been missing sales targets in major markets around the globe. It may not be that the US is one of those major markets, though. Scion's Vice President, Doug Murtha, tells Autoblog that his brand is happy with the sales of its version of the GT86, the FR-S. 18,000 units were sold last year, which Murtha says is "generally in line with original expectations for the car."

Toyota puts three-wheeled i-Road into public tests in Japan [w/video]

The lucky citizens of Japan are getting it now, and some folks in France will join the fray later this year, but that's about it for public, leaning-trike fun. The car in question is Toyota's three-wheeled i-Road concept electric vehicle. And in addition to being really narrow and quite environmentally friendly, this little EV leans quite a bit when it scoots around curves. Earlier this week, the Japanese automaker started testing the super-narrow vehicles in Toyota City, Japan. They're part of a broader scheme called "Ha:mo" in which people can link shared vehicles with public transportation systems to get around with minimal environmental impact. Grenoble, France, will be the recipient of some i-Road EVs for a vehicle-sharing project that starts later this year. The i-Road weigh about 660 pounds, is less than a yard wide and has a 28 mile per hour top speed. The i-Road was first shown off at the Geneva Motor Show early last year and shortly thereafter was the subject of a groovy video that showed a group of four cruising and leaning through the streets of a Mediterranean village in France. Check out Toyota's video on the vehicle-testing program and the official press release below and read our driving impressions here. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Changing Mobility and Lives, Three Wheels at a Time Residents of Toyota City, Japan, might be wondering what they just saw on the street. If it had three wheels and was leaning around a corner, it was the "i-Road", Toyota's ultra-compact all-electric, all-fun concept. On Sunday, the i-Road, which weighs a mere 300 kg and is less than 90 cm wide, was let loose on public roads at an event to mark its introduction into "Ha:mo", Toyota's optimized urban transport system. Soon, even more i-Roads will be zooming around Toyota city when they are made available to residents at vehicle-sharing stations. And later this year the lucky residents of Grenoble, France, will also be able to have some three-wheeled fun, thanks to a vehicle-sharing project that will last until 2017. Besides being an absolute blast to drive, how could the i-Road actually help you out? Well, picture the following: You just got off work. You get a phone call. You need to get across town, pronto, because your wife just went into labor. But your car is in the shop, there's no time to call a taxi, and your co-workers with cars are stuck doing overtime.