Archive for the ‘Eco-driving tips’ Category
Moving on with Hybrids
Posted by Colin Hensley on January 22, 2009 in 360° approach, Eco-driving tips, Green Technologies
I have to confess I am now jealous of my colleagues in North America, at TMS, who have already had the opportunity to “show-off” the new Prius at NAIAS in Detroit. I’ve followed the buzz with great interest, and I should add, quite some pride.
I’ve spent a lot of hours talking to people about hybrids, at conferences, press launches and many times during dinner or at parties with friends.
I’ve always been enthusiastic about hybrid technology, it’s one of those wonderful feats of science, where the holistic result is more than the sum of the parts, even somehow seeming to defeat logic.
This is where the new Prius shines too. The engine is now bigger than the current Prius, 1.8l vs 1.5l, but this results in enhanced efficiency! This links back to what I said in my last blog about eco-driving, that you should keep the revs as low as possible, for better fuel efficiency. With the 1.8l engine, when driving at higher speeds, the Prius does this bit for you, and engine turns at fewer rpm, hence the result.
But, in the end, the thing that really makes me happy about Prius, is that it makes the owners happy. Some people accuse Prius owners of being ‘smug’, well, wouldn’t you have the right to be if you had the car which won the J.D. Power and Associates award after emerging as the highest scoring individual model in the 2008 Customer Satisfaction Index Study in both the UK and France. I’m also struck by how Prius owners feel like they’re part of something special. They have even set up quite active online communities and forums such as Priuspoint and Priuschat.
Whether you’re a Prius driver or not, I’d really appreciate your thoughts on our hybrids – or anybody else’s.
RSS
Comments(4)Greener driving
Posted by Colin Hensley on January 19, 2009 in 360° approach, Eco-driving tips, Green Technologies
Day-by-day, we are all made aware of the environmental impact of our daily life and more and more of us change our routines for the better. Things like recycling bins and low voltage lightbulbs are part of my family’s daily life, .and I’ve even got used to taking my bags and boxes with me when I go to the shops.
We could all be more environmentally aware on the road too. At Toyota we know the best way to encourage ‘greener’ driving or as we like to call it Eco-driving is to work closely with drivers. Through the Toyota fund for Europe, we’ve commissioned specially developed simulators so new techniques can be tried and tested. On the simluator’s we’ve set a challenge to drive as far as you can on 0.1 litres of petrol. At the recent IUCN World Conservation in Barcelona, the champion was 12 year old McKenzy Haber, who is already a great advocate for eco-driving.
Next time you’re behind the wheel, why not try these simple Eco-driving hints?
Starting
• Travel as light as you can, extra weight means you use more energy
(10% for a ski box, up to 30% for a cycle rack)
• Don’t use your car for short journeys
• Plan your route
Checking/Maintaining
• Have your car serviced regularly
• Check your tyre pressures at least every month
Driving
• Change up to a higher gear early: it means lower engine speed and lower fuel consumption
• Only use the air conditioning, rear screen heater etc. when you really need it
• Drive at a constant speed
• If possible, switch off your engine if you’re in a traffic jam or whenever you have to wait longer than 30 seconds
• Keep your windows closed and use the ventilation system
• Use cruise control or a display showing your current consumption and save up to 10%
Any other suggestions?
Towards the ultimate eco-car
Posted by Colin Hensley on January 16, 2009 in Eco-driving tips
Every day I’m reminded how leaps in technology have become an accepted part of everyday life. With a lightweight laptop and a wireless connection I can take my whole office just about anywhere, I can fit my entire music collection into my shirt pocket, well, I could if it wasn’t already full of my Blackberry, which takes e-mail to places you never knew you needed it.. It wasn’t so long ago that things like these were just the stuff of Doctor Who!
When it comes to cars, according to sci-fi, we should, by now, probably be getting ready for flying cars. Even though we won’t be doing that today, it shouldn’t be said that there hasn’t been innovation in our industry. There have been huge changes in things like safety and in-car entertainment, but also critically in the vehicle’s powertrain.
It’s the improvements in powertrain technology that let us make more efficient use of the energy source we use. There is no single engine technology or fuel that can deliver the whole solution to efficiency or emissions challenge. Consequently hera at Toyota we are simultaneously exploring further development with a whole range of cleaner and greener innovations: clean diesel, biofuels, PHV, hydrogen fuel-cells, all with hybrid as a common thread to the future, and all leading up towards the ultimate eco-car.
In fact, we even aspire to go further – as said our President Katsuaki Watanabe - “by producing a car that makes the air cleaner the more it is driven and improves people’s health the more they ride it”.
It’s a big ambition, but as we see how fast technology is advancing on so many fronts, we believe we do have a chance!
So here’s a question to get you thinking: What should the new car in year 2020 be able to do?
