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Toyota could give its best-selling Prius hybrid a significant design revamp for the next-gen car expected to arrive in early 2014, the company says, with a new look that would “really evolve” the distinctive wedge of today. Designers and engineers are still working with clay mock-ups for the final car, strategic planning VP for Toyota US, Chris Hostetter, told Bloomberg, but the possibility of a more sweeping change has been prompted by “an undercurrent among most people that they’re ready for a new Prius look” the exec admits. However, changing the Prius isn’t as straightforward as you might expect.

“Maybe our architecture has been a little bit similar for the last two generations [of Prius]” Hostetter concedes, going on to say that “one of the avenues we’re exploring right now is to evolve it, and the other is to really evolve it.” Adding to the significance of the decision is that the wedge shape is both distinctive and well associated with the Prius brand, and Toyota is loathe to dilute that appeal among existing fans in the hope of attracting new drivers.

However, there’s also the matter of aerodynamics, with the Prius being developed as much in a wind tunnel as it was on an artist’s drawing board. The fared-in windshield and other elements help cut wind resistance, with the slippery Prius boosting efficiency by cutting drag.

New research into aerodynamics could give Toyota some extra flexibility, however. According to Toyota US sales chief Jim Lentz, a car similar to the current design is “still the best aerodynamic shape” but, “based on new aerodynamic trends” it’s possible that the updated car could see “some morphing” in a new direction. The company has already previewed one such possibility with the NS4 hybrid concept (shown above and in the video below).

Toyota NS4 Concept demo video:

Under the shell there’ll be a new hybrid system, part of Toyota’s plan to refresh its Earth-friendly range considerably by 2015, with better driving dynamics promised. The new Prius – which Hostetter says won’t arrive in showrooms for “a little more than a year” – will debut a modular platform with a “whole new architecture” that will go on to form the basis of future Toyota models.

The company has also been working on improving battery technology, in partnership with BMW, to increase range, reduce bulk and weight, and generally make EVs more user-friendly.

Toyota planning Prius evolution with big redesign for 2014 is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Fujitsy announced last week two new interesting windows 8 powered devices with the ARROWS Tab Wi-Fi QH55/J and STYLISTIC QH77/J
The ARROWS Tab Wi-Fi QH55/J is the world’s slimmest water-resistant tablet running Windows 8. It offers high performance, enabling it to be comfortably used for either personal or business applications, in a slim 9.9 mm body. Weighing approximately 574 g, it enables approximately 10.5 hours of video playback. In addition, it is IPX5/7/8 water-resistant, so it …

It’s taken nearly half a year for Lenovo’s transforming IdeaTab S2110 to go from CES reveal to retail shelves and it’s arrived barely unchanged. But despite the initial fanfare, the company chose to slip this slate into the marketplace quietly, ahead even of its official launch at IFA. In that time, ASUS managed to announce and ship a new hybrid tablet of its own, the Transformer Pad TF300 — a keyboard-optional rival offering the same 10-inch, 1,280 x 800 IPS display and Android 4.0 experience, along with a quad-core Tegra 3.

While Lenovo’s offering may not come with four cores or an unskinned version of Ice Cream Sandwich, there is a very contemporary dual-core S4 inside, clocked at 1.5GHz and buffered by 1GB of RAM. Alongside that, the tab’s also outfitted with a 1.3-megapixel front-facing shooter and 5-megapixel rear camera capable of 1080p video capture. Other specs include radios for WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0, a battery rated for up to 10 hours of browsing (augmented to 20 hours when connected to the dock) and either 16GB or 32GB of built-in storage. At $430 for the base model alone, it’s already positioned as a higher-priced alternative to the TF300. Add the dock and full storage, and you’re looking at a cool $580. So, will this be a case of “too little, too late” for Lenovo? Can the S2110 lure undecided customers away from cheaper similarly specced offerings? Read on as we attempt to answer all that and more.

Continue reading Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 review: a competent Transformer competitor running Android 4.0

Filed under: Tablets, Lenovo

Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 review: a competent Transformer competitor running Android 4.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honda’s hybrid cars just haven’t achieved the same cachet as Toyota’s without a poster child like the Prius to drive demand. Nonetheless, the automaker has something to crow about with word that it has sold over a million hybrids worldwide as of the end of September. The milestone comes almost 13 years after the first Japan-bound Insight changed hands in November 1999, and after a significant expansion that includes more specialized cars like the CR-Z coupe you see here. Americans represent almost a third of the total at 318,000 vehicles that are split mostly between the Insight and the Civic Hybrid. Hitting seven digits gives Honda some eco-friendly credibility in a crowded field, although the firm might not want to brag too loudly: Toyota has sold four times as many to date and expects to sell one million hybrids just in 2012.

Continue reading Honda sells its millionth hybrid, sits in Toyota’s rear-view mirror for now

Filed under: Transportation

Honda sells its millionth hybrid, sits in Toyota’s rear-view mirror for now originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 01:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honda has announced an important milestone has been reached in the world of its hybrid vehicles. The company has announced that cumulative global sales for its hybrid vehicles have passed the 1 million unit mark. That goal was reached at the end of September 2012 and took Honda 12 years and 11 months from the date it first started selling a hybrid vehicle, the Honda Insight, in Japan.

The Insight went on sale in Japan in November of 1999. Honda started to sell hybrid vehicles in the United States in 1999 as well with the 2000 model year Insight being the first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle sold in America. Honda says that it sold 318,000 hybrid vehicles in the US since it launched, primarily made up of Insight and the Civic Hybrid.

The hybrid sales numbers also include some Acura models, including the ILX Hybrid. Honda also sells a version of the Fit called the Jazz Hybrid around the world. The automaker will be introducing new hybrid systems for mid-sized car models using a two-motor hybrid system. Honda is also talking up a new highly efficient high-output three-motor hybrid system called the Sport Hybrid SH-AWD standing for Super Handling All Wheel Drive.

That hybrid system will be used in the new Acura NSX and RLX Sport Hybrid. Honda is well behind rival Toyota in the hybrid market. Toyota reached 1 million global cumulative hybrid sales on May 31st, 2007. In August of 2009, Toyota reached the 2 million sold mark. In May of 2012, Toyota announced that it sold 4 million hybrid vehicles cumulatively around the world with the Prius family making up 72% of that number.

Honda announces global hybrid vehicle sales reach 1 million units is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.