Towards the ultimate eco-car

Posted by Colin Hensley on January 16, 2009 in Eco-driving tips

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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?

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