Posts Tagged Plug-In
Is Toyota’s Plug-In Prius worth it?
Posted by Jeffrey in Green Cars on July 9th, 2009
The word on the street is that Toyota is planning on producing 20,000 to 30,000 plug-in Prius vehicles and selling them in 2012. That’s the good news, but, as always, the devil is in the details. According to reports, the plug-in Prius from Toyota will only get 12-18 miles in electric mode. Worse, the plug-in model will have a price tag of about $48,000!!!
Many people seem to be quite unhappy with the specs because you can get something better, now, for much less money with A123 Systems Hymotion conversion kit. In fact, The Green Car Company is one of a handful of authorized installers for the plug-in conversion kit.
The conversion kit works with your current 2004 to 2009 Toyota Prius. If you don’t yet own a Prius, check out our inventory page. We sell the Prius, both new and used, that already have the conversion kit installed.
With the a current Prius and the Hymotion kit, you can get better EV performance at a much lower price! So, perhaps Toyota needs to go back to the drawing board.
McDonald’s: would you like a charging station with your order?
Posted by Jeffrey in General News, Green Cars on July 6th, 2009
McDonald's first "green" restaurant
It looks like McDonald’s is going to start cleaning up its image and install EV and Hybrid Plug-In charging stations at its restaurants. McDonald’s first charging station will be at a new restaurant that will be opening July 14 in Cary, NC.
The charging stations will be part of the ChargePoint Network. The stations can either be free, or require a subscription. The press release didn’t mention if charging would be free at McDonald’s, but it doesn’t really make sense to pay for a full charging session if you’re just stepping into have a Big Mac. (You can look up other ChargePoint station locations here.)
The new restaurant in Cary, NC is McDonald’s first “green” restaurant in North Carolina, and only their third such restaurant in the United States. The other two green restaurants are in Savannah, GA and Chicago. Aside from the new restaurant’s charging stations, it will also feature other environmentally-responsible aspects:
- Use of solatubes and LED lighting fixtures designed to use 97 percent natural light during the day
- Highly efficient, energy and water-saving restroom and kitchen fixtures
- Dedicated parking spaces for hybrid vehicles and plug-in charging stations for electric vehicles
- Table and decor walls incorporating rapidly renewable materials like sunflower seed board, wheat board, bamboo and kirei board
- Some recycled building materials
- Drought tolerant landscape plants
- Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard in dining area informing guests about the economic and environmental benefits of the building
Increasing Fuel Efficiency with a Plug-In Hybrid
Posted by admin in Green Cars on April 11th, 2009
NPR’s Morning Edition recently spoke with Green Car Company owner Susan Fahnestock about what kind of fuel efficiency you can get with a plug-in hybrid. A U.S. Department of Energy report found that plug-in hybrids were showing only a little more than 50 mpg. when the vehicles are actually capable of much more.
Susan explained that plug-in hybrid drivers need to know how to drive in a manner that maximizes fuel efficiency. While it’s hard to shrug at 50 mpg, 80, 90, or even 100 mpg can mean incredible savings on fuel.
First thing you need to do is get rid of your lead foot. Accelerating quickly will cause the gas engine to engage. At 20 mph the electric motor is sufficient. Susan says to pretend like there is an egg under your foot, and if you hit it too hard, the egg will break.
Secondly, resist peer pressure. While you may feel pressured to keep up with other drivers, don’t feel obligated. It’s a balance between driving safely and operating the car so that it uses the battery to the greatest advantage.
If you’d like to tryout a plug-in Prius, we’d love to show you how! Visit our company site to see what’s available and how to contact us.
Add to Google
Twitter