At today’s Los Angeles Auto Show, Toyota unveiled a compressed natural gas version of the Camry Hybrid. Toyota says that it is looking into the production viability of a CNG-powered production vehicle as a way to ween automakers off of foreign oil as more than 99 percent of the natural gas consumed in the United States comes from North America.
Toyota installed a pair of CNG tanks in the trunk of a standard Camry Hybrid and replaced the gasoline fuel system with a CNG system. Unlike a CNG-fueled Camry that was sold in limited volume to fleet customers in the early 1990s, the Camry Hybrid CNG unveiled today utilizes a 2.4 liter four-cylinder CNG-fueled engine and a hybrid powertrain (electric motor and generator).
Toyota says that the two tanks on the concept are Lincoln composite Type 4 tanks wrapped in carbon fiber and featuring plastic liners. They have a maximum psi of 3,600, the equivalent of eight gallons of regular gasoline.
The Camry Hybrid CNG, which also features a more aerodynamic exterior, has a range around 250 miles.
11/19, 2:55 PM
posted by:
DrFill
Getting 250 miles from 8 gallons of anything sounds good
DrFill
11/19, 2:56 PM
posted by:
mbgg099
If toyotas were not ugly enough…
11/19, 3:17 PM
posted by:
Borat
Can you fill it form kitchen stove? Are there any CNG stations within every 200 mi. radius?
11/19, 3:41 PM
posted by:
macabre
…that Pickens is right.
11/19, 3:51 PM
posted by:
sudo95
Fill -
31.25 MPG equivalent isn’t that good for a hybrid.
11/19, 3:52 PM
posted by:
t-ak-box
That’s pretty cool, but the front grill re-designs just ruins it.
The CNG tanks don’t take up as much room in the trunk as I thought it would.
11/19, 3:58 PM
posted by:
DrFill
Sudo
I’ve seen a lot worse (Malibu Hybrid)
DrFill
11/19, 4:09 PM
posted by:
sudo95
Way to compare apples to oranges:
A full hybrid model burning 130 octane fuel vs a mild hybrid burning 87 octane.
Nice work, you’re really flexing that brain muscle again.
11/19, 4:41 PM
posted by:
DrFill
Where is GM’s CNG vehicle?
They traded it for a roll of quarters?
Hey at least they didn’t offer 0%
DrFill
11/19, 5:00 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
My goodness the front of this is ugly. It would have looked better if they’d gone NASCAR and just put some tape over the grill.
11/19, 5:15 PM
posted by:
Borat
Comm’n Johnny, the Camry isn’t looker to begin with. Criticizing this grill is like peeking under fugly girl dress.
11/19, 5:22 PM
posted by:
DrFill
Camry SE is better looking than any domestic midsize, except for the Malibu LTZ (Maybe)
And that very popular girl can buy and sell any domestic maker, pimp them right out.
But beating the domestics bores Toyota
I know it does me.
DrFill
11/19, 5:23 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
Does that mean even a Camry starts to look good around closing time?
11/19, 5:34 PM
posted by:
jayjc08
Good one, Johnny.
DriFill, the anti-NMOFGM. Which ones more biased?
11/19, 5:37 PM
posted by:
DrFill
I am
But I have the facts on my side, so my job is pretty easy
DrFill
11/19, 6:04 PM
posted by:
t-ak-box
That CNG fillup station is on the Westside in LA I believe. I think that station is the only one in the area that has fuel for all type of vehicles. E85, CNG, Diesel, Bio-Diesel and regular fuel.
11/19, 6:13 PM
posted by:
FlyingB
It looks like a regular Camry being gagged.
11/19, 7:21 PM
posted by:
Lau
At DrFill:
I continue to read your comments only to find it more and more biased. And did I hear you say facts? I think you’re mistaking them with opinions. Theories. Not facts. Please learn to proofread.
11/19, 7:43 PM
posted by:
DrFill
Site an example for me
DrFill
11/19, 7:45 PM
posted by:
DrFill
Any opinion I have I can back up with a fact
Call them educated opinions
DrFill
11/19, 8:15 PM
posted by:
Commodore
Toyota just won a lot of my respect. CNG is something I support a lot, and wish that it would be mentioned in the same breath as ethanol and hydrogen and others. We need all of them
11/19, 11:11 PM
posted by:
marketplace
Wow DrFill… still honoring us with your ignorance… Oh and by the way. you’re right, GM doesn’t have a Natural gas hybrid that we know of but they do have a fleet of over 100 Fuel cell (hydrogen) vehicles on the road.
11/19, 11:26 PM
posted by:
DrFill
So they won’t really be out of business next year
They’ll still have test fleet vehicles
I stand corrected
I smell a comeback!
DrFill
11/20, 12:24 AM
posted by:
Lau
Camry SE is better looking than any domestic midsize, except for the Malibu LTZ (Maybe)
And that very popular girl can buy and sell any domestic maker, pimp them right out.
But beating the domestics bores Toyota
I know it does me.
DrFill
First and foremost, I want to say I respect your opinion, nothing more. The Camry is getting old, fast. To me, I don’t like it, but it definetly isn’t the best looking. Who is to say which is the best, really. The Pontiac G6 is good, and like you said, the Malibu aswell.
However, those are my opinions. I could care less about what others think of it, and I bet you have the same feeling towards my posts which ridicule your bias.
11/20, 3:06 AM
posted by:
cereal
Good. A big step forward with Toyota in CNG.
But, they just killed the front fascia. And can’t they do a nice refresher on the exterior?
-eat your cereal
11/21, 10:27 PM
posted by:
qpt_dude
Why do you people care only for the looks?
If you wanna see something beautiful, go look up the new LP560-4 Spyder.
These exterior refreshes are for the purpose of the car, which isn’t looks.
They solidified the grill to make it more aerodynamic.
Because it is CNG, it doesn’t need a bigger air supply, so they removed the grill to make it more aero and more efficient.
This is just forward thinking (no I’m not advertising for Toyota). The technology is what’s important here, teenagers.
And I sorta like the new look too.
11/24, 12:36 PM
posted by:
susanlorelei
Just like GM, it seems like the American public has also not learned their lesson. When gas goes back up to over $4.00 a gallon, trust me no one will care what the car looks like if it can run on natural gas.
Great Job Toyota!