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Japan's Prime Minister likes Toyota FCV's pickup, zero emissions

Japan's prime minister has a lead foot, apparently. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently had a photo op with Toyota's first production hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, even getting behind the wheel for a spin (no chauffeur for him, so much respect on our part). His primary impression was that the car had great pickup, before settling on the more politically correct view of noting the vehicle's lack of emissions. In the 87-second video below, we can see the prime minister's appreciation of the car's performance as Toyota Motor Corp. Managing Officer Satoshi Ogiso dutifully rides shotgun. Abe also noted that he was "cheering" for the car's success. And he will apparently do his part there. The Japanese government will provide incentives worth about $20,000 per vehicle, bringing down its out-of-pocket price to less than $50,000 from about $69,000. Toyota in June announced pricing on the sedan, which will start sales next spring. The car can go 435 miles on a full tank from a hydrogen refueling station, wherever those can be found. Recent reports claim Toyota will name the model Mirai, which means "future" in Japanese, though the company hasn't made any official announcement. In the present, at least, it is making Japan's leader happy. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Related Gallery Toyota FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle) Hydrogen Concept View 24 Photos News Source: Toyota Green Toyota Hydrogen Cars prime minister shinzo abe

Toyota working on cars that hover above the roadway

Toyota is one of the largest automakers in the world, but it's not content simply building and selling conventional cars - it's been at the forefront of numerous advancements in ground transportation. It is widely credited with advancing the cause of hybrid propulsion, and alongside Audi and Google, is among the first automakers seriously testing self-driving cars. We could go on, but the news here is that Toyota is reportedly developing vehicles that hover above the road surface instead of rolling along it.
The news comes from Hiroyoshi Yoshiki, one of Toyota's tech gurus, who revealed at Bloomberg's Next Big Thing summer in San Francisco that the company is working on hovering cars - ones that travel just above the road surface, but don't actually fly in three-dimension space.
According to The Verge, a spin-off of our own sister-site Engadget, Yoshiki refused to elaborate on what the project entails and how far along it is. He was speaking along acting NHTSA chief David Friedman, who lauded such advancements as a "great taste of innovations to come," but stressed the significance of more concrete improvements to conventional automobiles - like inter-car communications to keep vehicles from colliding on the highway - as more relevant to today's industry.

2014 Toyota Aygo marks the spot [w/video]

Following the leaked pictures we showed you yesterday, we have the full battery of images and info of the all-new Toyota Aygo, in addition to our gallery of live photos from the floor of the Geneva Motor Show.
Like its cousins from Peugeot and Citroën, the Aygo foregoes a diesel engine in favor of a highly efficient gas powerplant. The 1.0-liter naturally aspirated 4-cylinder turns out 68 horsepower and 70 pound-feet of torque. When it hits the market, it'll be with either a five-speed manual transmission or a five-speed, X-Shift automated manual. The former will help the Aygo return 57.3 miles per gallon and hit 62 miles per hour in 14.2 seconds. Opting for the X-Shift variant will net drivers 56 mpg, with 62 arriving in a leisurely 15.5 seconds.
We'll admit, aside from the fuel efficiency, there's nothing terribly great about those numbers. Still, with its compact dimensions - it's only 136 inches long - and a curb weight of no more than 2,000 pounds, it should prove tossable in the bends.