I was wondering why this hadn’t been done already for this car. I thought Lexus (correct?) had done this on the LS to power a fan inide the car when it’s off, so the car wouldn’t be so hot when you get back to it.

Pretty simple idea anyways. Only thing I can’t stop but think is how goofy they’d look. Somebody had mentioned why their not body colored once before- they wouldn’t absorb as much sunlight.

gitcypher- Something like that

Oh man, there’s gonna be a record-breaking cloud of smug when digg gets hold of this.

Last i checked the A8 has this as well.

This is very smart. First gen Prius would turn off the A/C when sitting idle at traffic lights, since the gas motor would power off. Now, it can sit there all it wants while the sun is beating down, and blast the A/C away without wasting fuel. Sure, blasting A/C while idling in traffic jam is bad for the environment, but everybody does this during rush hours anyway. Except with Prius, there’s nothing coming out of the exhaust while idling. Sweet deal.

It was the Mazda 929 that had the soler panel sunroof….which ran a fan to suck out hot cabin air when the car was parked (engine off) in the sun.

I thought that was a great idea. The first car to combine that with cooled seats, I’m in.

Since most Prius owners are convinced the sun shines out their ass already this could only be viewed as a natural evolution.

This should be standard on ALL vehicles. Whether or not the AC is the beneficiary of the power, this should be a no-brainer.

You don’t live in Vancouver, Impulsive. There would be 8 months of the year where we’d be lucky to power the door chime.

lol

Bow down to the owners of the Pious

Here’s a real headline:

Next-generation Toyota Prius to be non-ugly, announced Toyota officials to a group of stunned journalists.

Two things

one) first good hail storm and you’re out $6000. but it is a cool idea.

two) wonderdallas (#6), It would be nice if MAZDA made a new 929, of course it would be called the MAZDA 9 but who cares. The 929 was one of the best cars in its class at the time. Not the best but the last one was the best looking and the car really was cool.

This will not be the first, nor the only vehicle by a major manufacturer using solar panels. I’m pretty sure an announcement will be made this fall.

Good move. They should try to utilize windpower too, and put some windmills to work. Someone from Toyota contact Owens Corning.

A4 is right.

Pretty much any car in the VW range (including Audis and Skodas) have solar panels in the sunroof. Toyota is hardly the first, if at all they are first in plastering the whole roof with it.

Anyway, it’s a good idea, but I’m sure Prius owners are gonna be the only ones to put up with this uglyness.

Their sentiments and intentions are noted, and even noble; however, this car is kind of a farce. It’s more of a status symbol and political statement than it is anything else. It would be cheaper to buy a T-shirt that reads “NOT A HUMMER DRIVER”, OR “TEAM PRIUS”. Let’s be honest: This car carries a stigma, and it’s not really a positive one. It’s efficiency is debatable, taking up to 5 years of subtle and milquetoast driving that has to be re-learned in order to have one iota of savings to the driver…but the addition of solar panels may have increased it’s “green-ness”.

Two of my watches run on light.

Citizen’s Eco-Drive is better than Casio’s Tough Solar.

The Eco-Drive watch hardly runs out of max juice even living in the UK, The Casio is not as lucky…

And the Eco-Drive is an analogue-digital chrono with world time and a receiver for radio controlled time.
The Casio has radio controlled time but no moving hands etc – just digits and it still has a harder time keeping charge.

Point being, a solar powered door chime would be quite alright, even in vancouver

Solar panels are not used on a massive scale even in homes, because they are still very costly to produce. Once they are used en masse, the costs should come down, but this is why they mention them only being available on the high-end Prius model. Why are people so stupid in the case of hybrids and fuel economy, they think paying a couple of thousand dollars on solar panels is worth saving about $100-200 dollars a year in gas, or they rush out and sell their SUV’s at a loss upwards of $10,000, just so they can save about $1000 a year in fuel. This country is full of shortsighted, illogical idiots, and that is why we are in the state we are in. And don’t get me started on why the Prius is the worst car ever made…

acoats: agreed, if solar panels were cost effective, even with tax incentives. They would be all over Phoenix and CA deserts. They are not, which tells you everything. Hot water systems for houses seem to work good in south of US. But electric panels never add up, unless the costs to connect to grid because of rural locale is really high. In which case you are comparing the cost of digging a 2 mile long ditch and laying gas pipe or power lines to, just buying lots of panels and storage devices.

Toyota is getting a lot of good press out of this, even though it will have a very small effect on fuel mileage. If there’s one thing they know how to do, it’s marketing…

And Al Gore invented the internet. Will Toyota’s spin doctors please stop already? You are lucky enough that the sheeple in the US buy into your snake oil, don’t push it by making false claims.

did you know people with priuses wave at each other like people on motorcylces do. what a bunch of douche-fags.

Shh, shh, shh… Quiet, Global_Lightning. You don’t want TripleOneFive to hear you say that Toyota knows marketing, or he might think you’re saying GM makes better cars!

I just find the need to point out that the Hollywood people don’t actually drive their Priuses. Instead, they park them in a spot in their driveway so that the StarMap people can see them from the gate. Then, the Hollywooders take their big ol’ SUVs out for a comfort ride. That way, they maintain the image of saving the environment while riding in comfort.

My point is that if you’re in the market for a Prius, go to a Toyota dealer in or near Hollywood shortly after these new Solar Priuses are released. You will be able to find a used Prius with very low miles for a good price. And who knows, maybe you’ll find one that Paris Hilton had sex in.

smart idea

They should make so a man can drive it, there’s nothing more for-women than a Prius.

The idea of the prius and what it represents it good, but why can’t the technology go in something good looking? I can barely stomach the photos.