Report: Toyota Prius minivan coming in 2011

We've been hearing the rumors for over a year, and it's now looking increasingly likely that Toyota is getting ready to launch a new hybrid minivan that will wear the Prius nameplate. If true, this would be the first completely new vehicle added to the Prius stable, where it would join the well-known hatchback sometime in 2011.

According to Reuters (which is citing the Japanese Nikkei), this new Prius hybrid minivan may very well be the first such vehicle from Toyota equipped with an in-house developed lithium ion battery pack. The three-row vehicle, which we can only presume would also have sliding doors, would potentially seat up to seven people, expanding Toyota's hybrid technology further into the family-use market.

No other details are available other than the notion that Toyota would like to keep the price close to that of standard minivans currently on the market. Stay tuned for more as we hear it.

Ford Needs a *Little* Convincing When it Comes to Small Diesels in the U.S.

If you’re a fan of small to mid-sized diesel passenger cars and are frustrated with our lack of choice on the matter in the U.S. listen up: Ford says that they won’t bring diesels here until they see enough demand. So get on the horn, type out an email, write letters to national magazines and let Ford, your politicians and your state auto dealer associations know that the demand is out there.

What’s crazy is that they need to be given the nudge though… all it takes these days is to look at the success other manufacturers are having with diesels in the U.S. to know that there is demand.

Chevy Volt on Track For Production, EPA Still Doesn’t Know How to Rate Mileage

In an update on the Volt, GM says they’re charging ahead towards full scale production of the Volt for general release later this year. They’ve completed all sorts of harsh weather testing in the cold and will be conducting extreme hot weather testing this Summer. They’ve done marathon test drives and taken the car up to the tops of the mountains.

After all the testing this last year — 500,000 miles spread across all of their test mules — they say they’ve been able to eek out the average claimed 40 mile EV-only range and haven’t come up against any showstopping problems. So, as we come to the end of testing, it seems the only major question yet to be resolved is how the EPA will treat the vehicle when it comes to fuel economy ratings.

At Climate Change Summit, 14 of World's Biggest Cities Commit to EV's

A group of fourteen of the world’s largest cities came together at the UN COP15 climate summit in Copenhagen on Wednesday to form the ‘C40 Electric Vehicle Network’, which will work collectively in four areas of municipal action that they see as critical to the successful introduction of electric vehicles.

The cities–Bogota, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Copenhagen, Delhi, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Toronto, Sao Paulo, Seoul and Sydney, have pledged to-

1. 1. Facilitate the planning and deployment of charging infrastructure and related electricity supply systems in collaboration with local utilities.
2. 2. Work with relevant stakeholders to streamline permitting processes associated with charging equipment to encourage the safe and expeditious installation on customer premises and elsewhere.
3. 3. Coordinate monetary and non-monetary incentives available to the general public and organizations purchasing electric vehicles, and contribute to the package appropriately.
4. 4. Develop and publish a plan to mobilize demand for electric vehicles in city fleets for the period 2010 - 2013 and rally private fleets to the safe end.

The C40 group will include input from not only municipal/governmental agencies, but from NGO's such as the Clinton Climate Initiative and private sector partners BYD, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Nissan and Renault.By advising on vehicle specifications, charging parameters, business models for electricity supply, and incentives, these companies will help the cities craft electric vehicle policies, as well as advise on vehicle procurement and infrastructure development and investment decisions.

In a statement read at the climate summit, former United States President Bill Clinton Said "By bringing together cities and private sector companies to make electric vehicles a viable option for every driver, this network will help improve air quality, create more sustainable, good-paying jobs, and establish new models for other cities to follow."

Get a Free Electric Car from Drive Electric

A headline like the one above begs the question, "What's the catch?" Can you really get an electric car for free? Well, kinda.

Oklahoma-based, Drive Electric, sells neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs - a.k.a. electric golf carts) made by Western Golf Cars and Zone Electric. The NEV retailer is currently offering the four-passenger Zone Electric NEV-48 EX for $6,496.53. Not free you say? Subtract the $6,496.53 federal tax credit for EVs from the purchase price and voila. You've got yourself a free EV.

Sure, this EV is only legal to drive on streets with speed limits of 35 mph or less, and of course, you'd better talk to your tax planner before you write the check. If you live in a community where the pace of life is slow enough to accommodate golf carts though, this may be the deal for you.

Head of AMG Says Mercedes SLS EV Will Offer Supercar Performance

The Mercedes SLS AMG is a supercar capable of delivering an exciting driving experience, breathtaking top speeds, and track worthy handling. In gasoline engine trim, the car is one of a handful of vehicles to offer performance on par with true race cars. However, this vehicle will soon be available in EV form and enthusiasts have wondered if the electric vehicle will deliver the same driving experience.

According to AMG head Volker Mornhinweg, the EV version will meet all of the performance objectives of the original car. The EV version of the SLS AMG has 4 electric motor cranking out 525 hp and 649 lb-ft of torque. Each motor powers an individual wheel making the awd EV version capable of reaching 60 mph in 4 seconds flat. The vehicles sports 3 separate li-ion battery packs delivering a 110 mile range.

Weighing in at 500 pounds more than the gasoline version, the EV SLS AMG has its work cut out. The additional weight is overcome by the traction ability afforded by awd and an advanced torque vectoring system developed by Mercedes.

As Mornhinweg said, "Effectively being four-wheel-drive does alter its character, but our torque vectoring systems give us opportunities to make it as good. It's important to get the emotional level of an EV right and we have some solutions."

The electric SLS AMG should reach the market by 2013. Price has not been disclosed and the vehicle may be offered on a lease only basis. The SLS AMG EV could be Mercedes answer to the Audi e-tron. Who could have thought that supercar and EV would exist in the same sentence?