Toyota To Add Solar Panels On Prius

From Reuters: Toyota to add solar panels to Prius hybrid: Nikkei

Toyota Motor Corp (TM) plans to install solar panels on its next-generation Prius hybrid cars, becoming the first major automaker to use solar power for a vehicle, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday

With this latest addition, Prius as the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle out there, certainly will gain even more popularity. It seems that car’s entire roof-panel will be equipped with Kyocera-built roof-mounted solar panels. The sun’s rays will not be used to power the car itself, but instead - to run the AC. However, Prius with equipped roof-solar-panels won’t be available until early next year.

Worldwide cumulative sales of the Toyota Prius have already crossed 1 million.

Comments

[Midas1:]

The National Renewal Energy Labs in Colorado placed a solar panel on top of a Prius with a resounding 100 MPG!!!!! Toyota is simply a phenomenal company. Toyota will most assuredly be at the forefront of turning the global economy around via its huge impact in the automotive industry. Who would have thought business ingenuity would help to impact such major political issues? 150 MPG, known reliability, long-range planning...I'll certainly be looking at the Prius as my next car, though it will be hard to give up my creampuff Camry. Can we get the president of Toyota to run for office?

2008 Jul 07 11:05 AM

[User 109855:]

And GM considers laying off another 10,000 workers.. Maybe they think they can get profitable without any employees. Great way to cut medical expenses if you have no employees and you also avoid product recalls if you sell no cars.

2008 Jul 07 12:07 PM

[Buphagus:]

Didn't that test in Colorado entail using an enlarged battery whose cost was $40,000 US Dollars and an added $2500 for the solar panels?

My intial thought was if the panel helped provide AC would that mean the AC could run during the day when the car was parked and it would be comfortably cool getting into it.

2008 Jul 07 12:34 PM

[Stockaccumu...:]

On SOL (Renesola), solar, and the silly "report" that appeared today on Thestreet.com: In companies like SOL, we here at SA buy "SOL' type opportunities and hold... we plan to hold until summer 09'.

Then we will take a second look, and perhaps continue to hold. (SOL may be owned by another solar company by then, thus making its stock price higher).

We make a lot of money doing this. Others like the "reporter" on Thestreet.com video (not sure who or what he is) apparently hold companies for a few days, weeks or a month or two. Then get scared and sell, even outstanding companies that will have great success. We would do this buy/hold early in the creation of DELL, NOKIA, GOOGLE, and on and on. We have made a lot doing this. There have been many companies like SOL in the past, early on, but they are perhaps 50 in a thousand. IBD helps us find them first, then we look at a hundred other sources, and read the news carefully.

Unlike the little reporter on Thestreet.com, real experts, like Piper Jaffray send people to China, practically audit the company, and report as truthfully and accurately as possible, ethically, and responsibly let the public know what is going on.

Furthermore, Zacks reports on what a multitude of analysts carefully have found out about a company. In SOL they found out it is a great investment.

Investors Business Daily has a computer program that has no reason to lie about a company. It is a computer. IBD simply reports the profit exponential growth and compares it to 25,000 or so other companies in the world. IBD's computer report of course tells us other additional information, accurately about the company. IBD is another great source, in June proving SOL the 4th best company in the world to invest in.

All three, Zacks, IBD, Piper Jaffray, and all the many other analysts have repeatedly reported accurately that SOL is a must own, must buy stock, in their own reporting language.

Thus all of Wallstreet and all the investing

2008 Jul 07 10:32 PM

[slocro:]

I don't know why the American car makers are so short sided. Living in the SF Bay Area, companies are always trying to improve. Detroit killed itself and its communities with their short sided strange outmoded business models. No risk,creativity, or enginuity. Maybe the Bay area will be the next automobile center of USA with Tesla setting up shop. Soon all a candidate will have to do is win CA to become president because the rest of the country will live here if they want to work. R.I.P. - GM, F. Henry, we are sorry for not making you proud. So so so sad. Isn't it funny how the US executives in the automotive and banking make ten times what the Japanese executives do. We need CEOs with engineering degrees.

2008 Jul 08 05:51 AM

[Stockguy456:]

This is a joke, just jump to the fuel cell vehicles already!

2008 Jul 08 05:29 PM