4wd,white,aftermarket on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Toyota, Morgan Spurlock say hydrogen can be bullsh*t

Toyota wants the world to know that it's not full of crap about hydrogen as the future of fuel. Months before the Mirai arrives at dealers on the West Coast, the automaker is trying to get the word out through documentary series called Fueled by Everything. In the first episode, director Morgan Spurlock (best known for Super Size Me) shows how to make the futuristic fuel cell sedan run on a load of dung. After some processing, anyway. The whole point of the series is to show viewers the myriad sources available to generate hydrogen, and Toyota starts at an attention-grabbing extreme. A pickup truck takes a bed full of cow manure and demonstrates the steps needed to make it into hydrogen for the Mirai. Of course, the new model gets lots of screen time, too. For those in the audience curious to learn more, Toyota also digs a little deeper into the generation process on the series' website. Fueled by Bullsh*t Toyota Taps Morgan Spurlock to Direct First Video in "Fueled by Everything" Series TORRANCE, Calif. (April 22, 2015) – Sometimes reality stinks. Toyota has tapped award-winning documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock to show how calling hydrogen fuel cell vehicles "bullsh*t" isn't far from the truth. "Fueled by Bullsh*t" is the first online video in a multi-part "Fueled by Everything" series aimed to educate a broad audience about the innovative ways hydrogen fuel can be made from renewable sources. Spurlock directed the 3-minute piece which features a dairy farmer and mechanical engineer as they follow cow manure from a mooing supply source to its ultimate use in powering the hydrogen fuel cell electric Toyota Mirai. "This project gave us the opportunity to dive into a world that most people don't understand but has the potential to change our world," said Spurlock. "Witnessing manure, something most of us view as being pretty disposable, being transformed into hydrogen fuel to power a car was pretty remarkable. I think this short film is pretty compelling evidence of what could be possible in the years ahead." Beyond high quality dung, hydrogen can be manufactured from other renewable energy sources like solar, wind and biogas from landfills. These production methods can result in a domestic and locally sourced fuel that powers the Mirai while emitting only water vapor from the tailpipe. The multi-series video campaign is launching through the Toyota Mirai website (www.toyota.com/mirai) and additional digital properties with paid online media support.

Toyota gives up more information on Frankfurt-bound Yaris Hybrid-R concept

Toyota has undeniably carved out a niche for itself as the industry's leader in hybrid propulsion. What started out with the original Prius in 1997 has, over the past sixteen years, ballooned to what Toyota reports as a global hybrid portfolio of 23 models. But few (if any of them) are particularly exciting.
That's where the Yaris Hybrid-R concept comes in. Set to be showcased along with the rest of Toyota's hybrid and fuel-cell lineup at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show next month, the concept starts with one of the Japanese auto giant's least exciting models and upgrades it to more enticing territory. Toyota Motorsport GmbH - the same Cologne, Germany-based division that operated the company's F1 team, currently runs its Le Mans program and gave us that bonkers 650-horsepower Lexus LS - has slotted in a version of Toyota's new 1.6-liter Global Race Engine and paired it with a couple of electric motors for hybrid propulsion and through-the-road all-wheel drive.
Like the TS030 Hybrid LMP1, the Yaris Hybrid-R concept uses a super capacitor (instead of a conventional battery) to store the regenerated brake energy and give it upwards of 400 horsepower. That's about all Toyota is revealing at this point, but this is the first time it has confirmed the project is based on a Yaris, of all things, and the confirmation comes with the solitary teaser rendering you see above. Check out the press release after the jump and watch this space for more as Frankfurt fast approaches.

Toyota engineer warns automous cars could increase fuel use, urban sprawl

An increasing number of people are starting to consider the potential downsides of a transition to autonomous cars. The FBI is already looking at them for the potential ill effects on law enforcement, and a scientist for Toyota is raising the possibility that driverless vehicles could actually be detrimental to the environment over the long term.
Ken Laberteaux, who studies future transportation for Toyota, thinks that autonomous cars could lead to more pollution, not less, says Bloomberg. However, Laberteaux's theory isn't so much based purely on science as it is considering behavioral and historical trends. "US history shows that anytime you make driving easier, there seems to be this inexhaustible desire to live further from things," said Laberteaux during a presentation at the Automated Vehicles Symposium in San Francisco, CA, cited by Bloomberg.
Laberteaux's belief is that if commuters can make their drives easier, then they will be more willing to live farther away from the cities where they work. The end result would be more urban sprawl and increased pollution from the longer travel times.