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Dutch Toyota dealer has plans for old Prius batteries as solar backup

A Toyota dealer in the Netherlands is looking to the sky for power. The Louwman Hague Toyota dealership has put almost 1,000 solar panels on the roof, and there might be some Prius hybrid batteries involved. Our Dutch isn't as good as it could be and our questions to Toyota in the US haven't turned up any definitive answers, but there is some mention that these solar panels are will someday be feeding power into a bank of Toyota hybrid batteries. The 1,000 panels make up 1,600 square meters, about the size of 4.5 IMAX movie screens, and is the largest in the area. They generate around a quarter of a megawatt of energy [as our readers point out, this is what the translation says, but it doesn't make sense, so we think it might mean a quarter MW of power a day], which is enough to power 80 homes. The excess electricity will go into the battery packs that have (possibly) already been used in a Prius or another of the company's hybrid. There are many examples of automotive batteries being tested as stationary back-up power sources, and maybe this Dutch solution can be used as a guide when Toyota sets up its new US headquarters in sunny Texas.

Oh Buoy! Toyota sinks to Spongebob depths with custom Highlander

The launch of the 2014 Toyota Highlander is being assisted by Bikini Bottom's number one resident, SpongeBob SquarePants. The new crossover has been wrapped with SpongeBob's square mug all over it as if he's saying "I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready," from every direction. Inside is a cabin that Toyota says "captures all of the beloved character's high-octane energy," but might make you question whether this is really the world you want to live in.
Revealed on SpongeBob Day at the San Diego Padres vs. San Francisco Giants baseball game in San Diego, CA on July 13, the Highlander will go from there to seven locations nationwide on a "Happy Driving Tour," ending at the LA Auto Show in November.
You can read all about it in the press release below, as well as ways to fill your life with more SpongeBob than is probably healthy.

2014 Toyota Corolla gets marginal IIHS small overlap crash test score [w/video]

Toyota may have performed some major surgery on the 2014 Corolla, but that hasn't helped the Japanese automaker overcome tough new crash test procedures. The Corolla, Toyota's bread-and-butter compact sedan, managed only a Marginal score on the new small overlap crash test, which was just added last year.
Despite the low score, the Corolla performed well in the moderate overlap front, side, rollover and rear testing, which was enough to score it a 2013 Top Safety Pick. In testing in August, six of the Corolla's competitors earned the Top Safety Pick + award, for good or acceptable scores across the board.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Corolla's "Marginal" score was down to an "intruding structure," that could cause injuries to the lower left leg. There was also concern that in a collision, the driver's head would move after hitting the air bag, and collide with the A-pillar or dash.