Toyota Camry has been the best selling car in America for several years. This sedan debuted for the 1983 model year replacing the rear-wheel-drive Corona

There have been several redesigns and revisions over the years. The Toyota Camry Hybrid is a hybrid version of the Camry sedan. It is a 4 door, 5 passenger family sedan, available in one trim only, the 4 Door Sedan. It is a new addition to the Camry lineup which has good quality and reliability with increased fuel efficiency.

“The Camry Hybrid is equipped with a standard 2.4 liter, I4, 192 horsepower, hybrid engine that achieves 33 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the highway. A variable speed automatic transmission with overdrive is standard.” Reviewers state that the Camry Hybrid is a good performer and one of the most fuel-efficient mid-size vehicles around. The driving experience in the Camry Hybrid is as excellent as a normal sedan. ‘Most of the time you can quite simply forget that you’re driving a hybrid’

Unlike General Motors and Chrysler which have chose not to hold press conferences at this year’s L.A. Auto Show, Ford is using the show as an opportunity to roll out several new models including the Ford Mustang, Lincoln MKZ, Mercury Milan and the Ford Fusion. The centerpiece of the automaker’s next generation Fusion and Milan is hybrid technology, a first for Ford’s popular mid-size sedans.

The hybrid model is the biggest newsmaker as the 2.5L engine (paired with a six-speed automatic transmission) gets class leading city fuel economy, what Ford says will be 6 mpg better than the comparable sized Toyota Camry Hybrid. If that assertion holds up, then the Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan Hybrid will return 39 mpg in the city based on the 2009 Toyota Camry Hybrid’s EPA certified fuel economy of 33 mpg. In other words, the Ford twins will have the best city fuel economy of any car on the road, even beating out the Smart ForTwo and any diesel or other hybrid model.

With a refreshed style, a spiffier new electric motor, and a total cost of ownership of roughly $20,900 (based on average insurance cost, depreciation and other factors (for the base hatchback, as outlined by Motor Trend), the 2010 Toyota Prius, is one of the most iconic, and one of the most desired of all hybrid cars on the market. After all, driving a hybrid saves you money on fuel, allows you to know that you’re causing less damage to the environment, and in some states, it qualifies you to drive in the car pool, diamond, or HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes without passengers – without a penalty. There is also still some tax credit money floating around for savvy shoppers in states that aren’t hybrid-saturated already.

The 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid is both technologically advanced and practical, with several new features that make the model a vehicle of safety and convenience. Impressive new features include the standard Smart Key System, which automatically unlocks the door as the driver approaches, and also continually variable transmission, which allows for smoother shifting on the drive.

The 2008 Camry Hybrid offers several standard safety features, including front, side and rear curtain airbags, and tire-pressure monitoring. Its novel Vehicle Stability Control assists drivers in maintaining control during adverse conditions. The Camry Hybrid, though sleek, contains a family-friendly design. It comes standard with child-protector rear door locks and a rear seat Child Restraint System, which lowers anchors and top tether brackets.

Halogen headlamps, a power sliding moonroof and a blackout sport grill add to the striking appearance of the Camry Hybrid. Convenient features include heated outside mirrors and integrated front fog lamps.

All-new Toyota Camry Hybrid, the powerful redesigned version of a 4-door sedan, tops the safety rating for front and side crash protection. It was rated five out of five stars safety rating. 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid was given seven standard airbags which include knee airbag. The latter is also used to keep the driver in the right seat position in case of frontal crash.

Aside from its safety rating, the most obvious difference of Toyota Camry is the drive feel. In its newest version, said car was made more refined and quiet. With just a touch of the standard push-button, the driver can experience the difference. However, the downside of it is passed on to the pedestrians. The latter must be cautious enough to notice Camry Hybrid coming up from behind.

Of all of the hundreds of vehicles on display at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show, one of the most intriguing to me was the compressed natural gas powered Toyota Camry Hybrid concept. Toyota, which had a press conference for their luxury Lexus brand during the press days which I attended (but not for Toyota or Scion) still managed to display the hybrid Camry, a car not like any other one at the show. But, the concept Camry could one day prove to be a very popular model if certain energy initiatives come to pass. Please read on to learn about the natural gas powered Camry and how this car could revolutionize the way that we drive.

Toyota is a leader when it comes to hybrid technology, producing the gas-electric Prius and other models including the Camry. But, a natural gas-electric hybrid Camry is a new idea, one that hasn’t been considered for production until now.

Zeke Gervis asked:


A decade since the first Prius hit the market (in Japan) Toyota’s global sales of hybrid vehicles have now reached a landmark 1 million, highlighting the giant Japanese automaker’s lead in “green” technology that has changed the face of the auto industry.

In a statement released Thursday last week, Toyota says it has sold 577,311 gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles in the USA from mid-2000, when it launched the Prius here, through May. Toyota’s worldwide sales of gas-and-electric-powered vehicles totaled 1.047 million as of the end of May. Nearly 345,000 of those were sold in Japan.

Sales of Toyota hybrids have climbed from 18,000 in 1998 to 312,500 last year, the company said.

Demand for hybrids, which deliver superior mileage by switching between a gasoline engine and electric motor, has soared amid higher fuel prices and greater consumer concern about pollution and global warming.

Toyota’s dominance in the category has caused Detroit’s automakers to follow with their own versions and to depend less on lower-mileage SUVs as the main engine for their profits.

The Prius is the hands-down leader in the category, with a total of 757,600 units sold since its 1997 introduction in Japan. Toyota began selling the Prius in North America, Europe and other places in 2000. Last year, the model made up an amazing more than 40 percent of hybrid sales in the U.S.

The Prius, which gets 55 miles a gallon on combined city and highway driving conditions, has been enormously popular as a mid-size sedan, a best-selling vehicle category.

Although most automakers are now working on hybrids, Toyota has the advantage of almost 10 years of experience in selling the technology, as well as in using feedback from drivers to make improvements, rather than relying on information from labs.

Toyota believes hybrid technology is the way of the future. It offers several other hybrid models, including the hybrid Camry and hybrid Lexus models.

“Hybrids will play a key role throughout our lineup,” Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco said. “That means all vehicle categories.”

The company also started domestic sales of its most expensive hybrid, the 15 million yen — or about $124,000 at current exchange rates — Lexus LS 600h, which is also equipped with top of the line Lexus parts like the Lexus oxygen sensor. It will be exported over the summer, according to Toyota.

Not all hybrids however, enjoy the fortune like Toyota. Earlier this week, Honda Motor Co. said it will discontinue the hybrid version of its Accord sedans, which sold poorly because it didn’t fit the customer demand profile of the smallest, least expensive hybrids with the highest gas mileage.

Meanwhile, hybrid sport-utility vehicles have struggled in sales compared to the Prius, partly because an SUV doesn’t have a green image to start with, according to analysts.

Sales of Toyota’s RX400h hybrid SUV, sold as the Harrier in Japan, have reached 85,000 worldwide since it was introduced in 2005. Another hybrid SUV, the Highlander, or Kluger in Japan, has sold 67,000 over the same period.

The Prius, by contrast, has sold 478,800 units since the start of 2005.

Among American automakers, Ford Motor Co. offers the hybrid Escape sport-utility vehicle and General Motors Corp. sells the hybrid Saturn Vue Green Line sport-utility vehicle and hybrid trucks.

New hybrids are also reportedly in the works for GM this year – the automaker has promised four: two-mode gas-electric systems in the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon large sport utility vehicles, and hybrid systems for the Saturn Aura and new Chevrolet Malibu sedans.

The next innovation in hybrids is expected to come from a new type of battery, called the lithium-ion battery, which will be smaller and lighter than the nickel-metal hydride batteries Toyota now uses for its hybrids.

A major breakthrough is needed to switch to lithium-ion batteries, now widely used in laptops, to make them power cars.

Mitsuo Kinoshita, a senior Toyota executive, has reportedly told reporters that the Japanese automaker was still working on developing a lithium-ion battery system for the next-generation Prius.



Toyotausablog.com

Prototype presented in the Geneva Car Show (March, 9th, 2007) Toyotausablog.com

It’s Question and Answer time again, Mark asks:

I heard that the Prius’ battery or something causes more environmental harm than helping it, and that the Hummer is more cost/waste efficient that the Prius. Is this true?

Toyotausablog.com

Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) members pick Camry LE, Camry Hybrid and RAV4 as category winners for the 2007 Canadian Car of the Year. Toyota Trio were given the top honors. Toyota Camry LE won in the Best New Family Car, Toyota Camry Hybrid, in the Best New Family Car, and Toyota RAV4 V6 Sport in the Best New SUV/CUV category.

“Toyota is very happy to accept these awards and on behalf of everyone at Toyota in Canada, I’d like to thank AJAC’s members for these honors,” said Stephen Beatty, Managing Director at Toyota Canada Inc. “The Toyota Camry is North America’s most popular passenger car. The Toyota Camry Hybrid represents an important evolution of gasoline-electric hybrid technology in the second most popular market segment in Canada. And the redesigned Toyota RAV4 will be manufactured in Woodstock, Ontario when our new assembly plant, currently under construction, begins production in 2008.”