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Does the Toyota Prius still matter?

Toyota remains incredibly proud of its green halo car, the Prius. On the company website, it calls the gas-electric car, "The hybrid that started it all." Chances are, if someone tells you to think of a hybrid car today, your first thought is going to be the Prius. Now a cultural icon, the Prius changed a lot of attitudes about what an efficient car is able to achieve. But the car is aging, despite numerous refreshes and model tweaks over the years, and sales dropped 11.5 percent last year. It's taken Toyota 25 years of ups and downs to get the Prius to where it is today, and we started wondering if that's too long for the car to remain viable in an era of 40+ mile-per-gallon non-hybrid cars and a plethora of plug-in competitors for the green car crown (we're not the only ones). Plus, Toyota is rapidly shifting its green focus away from the Prius and towards the hydrogen-powered Mirai fuel cell car. But if you ask Toyota representatives if the Prius is still a vital car in 2015 – and we did – you'll find that there's still a lot of love for the car that went before. For example, Geri Yoza is a Toyota national manager who spent years traveling all across the US teaching people about the Prius. The veteran of countless customer education sessions told AutoblogGreen that it took a long time for the Prius to "cross the technology chasm," and that it wasn't until about a decade after launch that the car became a common sight outside of the initial popularity hotspots. "It takes a while for people to become confident in the technology, to understand that it's been proven," she said. Now that the hybrid is ensconced in the public mind, it's time for the next step. "I think the Prius, the whole idea 'to go before,' was to go before the Mirai." Part of that precursor status is due to the fact that a lot of the Prius' powertrain technology has made the jump to the Mirai. When we asked Bob Carter, Toyota's senior vice president of automotive operations, if the Prius still matters, he had a clear answer: "My goodness, yes." "We've been selling hybrids for 25 years," he said, "but when you go back, we had said that the Prius and hybrid technology were a bridge to the future and we were very clear that it's going to be a very long bridge. Essentially, and I'm not an engineer, the Mirai takes the technology from the Prius and takes the ICE engine out and puts a fuel cell stack in.

The 2021 F-150 elevates Ford's bed game

The new 2021 Ford F-150 is ushering in a new era of pickup capability, but there's more to it than the introduction of the PowerBoost hybrid. While that new powertrain is certainly the truck's headlining element, the supporting electrical architecture enables a level of utility that hasn't been offered in past consumer half-tons. The true party trick is Ford's new "Pro Power Onboard" feature, which is essentially a built-in generator that provides juice for the 2021 F-150's rather robust in-bed power station. This system is available even on gasoline-engine models, but its utility is maximized with the electrified powertrain. ICE models equipped with the option max out at 2.0 kilowatts, while the PowerBoost hybrid can be had with either a 2.4- or a whopping 7.2-kilowatt inverter.  The idea here is that the F-150 can essentially stand in for a high-output portable generator. In a worksite example provided by Ford, a PowerBoost model with the 7.2-kW upgrade and a single tank of fuel could provide 32 hours of power for an 1,800-watt compound miter saw, a 1,000W circular saw, a 1,200W battery charger, a 1,200W hammer drill, and a 1,000W air compressor with hundreds of watts to spare for lighting and other accessories. But even without the Pro Power Onboard option, Ford's new bed setup enables more versatility than in previous models. The new Tailgate Work Surface option adds a flat work area with integrated rulers, recesses for pencils or small tools, and even a stand for a personal device.  Ford is neither the first to offer an auxiliary power outlet in a half-ton pickup bed, nor was Ford the first to introduce a more feature-rich tailgate. GMC's MultiPro tailgate was a major innovation on that front, and while it is geared mostly toward improving the cargo utility of the bed, it can also be customized with 12-volt power and even an accessory speaker system. The Ram 1500 is also offered with both a multi-function tailgate and AC power in the bed, though the latter option is limited to models with the RamBox cargo package.  As half-ton pickups approach levels of towing and hauling capability that begin to blur lines with heavy-duty offerings, it's clear that automakers are looking for ways to differentiate themselves without stepping on their own bigger trucks' toes. These new bed and tailgate innovations may yet be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to full-size pickup versatility. Related Video:    

Toyota FV2 Concept is a single-seat mood ring for the road

Of all the vehicles Toyota brought to the Tokyo Motor Show, the FV2 might be the most creative. The minimalist single-seat concept is a glimpse at Toyota's idea of a "fun to drive" vehicle in the future.
The FV2 is essentially a pod with a diamond-shaped wheel array (what powers said wheels has not been disclosed), and Toyota says that the technology of the vehicle allows it to gauge the driver's mood and suggest possible destinations. The interaction between driver and vehicle is also displayed in an augmented reality screen on the windshield, and the car can also act as a mood ring of sorts with exterior colors and patterns that can change based on the driver's mood. We can just see it now: "Don't mess with Jim today, his car is red."
Scroll down for a brief press release on the FV2.