2000 Toyota Celica Gts Hatchback 2-door 1.8l on 2040-cars

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eBay find of the day: Ed Begley's Toyota RAV4 EV

You might know Ed Begley, Jr. from his Emmy-nominated role on St. Elsewhere or as one of the dead drummers in This Is Spinal Tap, his appearances on Arrested Development, Six Feet Under, and Battlestar Galactica, his reality show Living With Ed or from his years as an environmental activist (or, better yet, from previous coverage of him on AutoblogGreen). Ed Begley, Jr. has been advocating on behalf of our planet for several decades now, and the man walks the walk, too. He has done loads of work with environmental organizations. He's got his own line of environmentally friendly cleaning products. Begley is even in a long-standing rivalry with his friend Bill Nye (yes, The Science Guy) to have the lowest carbon footprint. Since 2002, he's been driving the drive as well. That's when he purchased a Toyota RAV4 EV, which is now up for auction on eBay. This car has 119,000 miles on it, but it had its battery replaced in early 2011, and it should have another seven years or so left in it. It's white with a charcoal interior, and has a little bit of cosmetic wear and tear, the normal sort of stuff for a vehicle with over 100,000 miles on it. It was in one accident back in 2003, but doesn't show any other issues. All service history is available from the dealer that sold it in the first place and maintained it since. Additionally, this RAV4 EV comes with a White Clean Air Decal, which allows the driver use of the HOV lane in California. Mr. Begley will even autograph the inside of the hood if you want him to, but it's doubtful the car comes with a Cinco-Fone. The buyer will also get to meet Begley is person and get some photos. Back in 2002, the car sold for $42,000. The current bid is $4,650 with six days to go, and the reserve has not yet been met. Check out the auction for more details.

Is 120 miles just about perfect for EV range?

When it comes to battery-electric vehicles, our friend Brad Berman over at Plug In Cars says 40 miles makes all the difference in the world. That's the approximate difference in single-charge range between the battery-electric version of the Toyota RAV4 and the Nissan Leaf. It's also the difference between the appearance or disappearance of range anxiety. The 50-percent battery increase has zapped any lingering range anxiety, Berman writes. The RAV4 EV possesses a 40-kilowatt-hour pack, compared to the 24-kWh pack in the Leaf. After factoring in differences in size, weight and other issues, that means the compact SUV gets about 120 miles on a single charge in realistic driving conditions, compared to about 80 miles in the Leaf. "The 50 percent increase in battery size from Leaf to RAV has zapped any lingering range anxiety," Berman writes. His observations further feed the notion that drivers need substantial backup juice in order to feel comfortable driving EVs. Late last year, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), along with the Consumers Union estimated that about 42 percent of US households could drive plug-in vehicles with "little or no change" in their driving habits, and that almost 70 percent of US commuters drive fewer than 60 miles per weekday. That would imply that a substantial swath of the country should be comfortable using a car like the Leaf as their daily driver - with first-quarter Leaf sales jumping 46 percent from a year before, more Americans certainly are. Still, the implication here is that EV sales will continue to be on the margins until an automaker steps up battery capabilities to 120 or so miles while keeping the price in the $30,000 range. Think that's a reasonable goal to shoot for?

2014 Toyota Prius crash test rating drops to four stars

If nothing has changed, then how come something changed? That's the question behind the recent drop from five to four stars in the crash test rating for the Toyota Prius. As you can see on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website, the 2014 Prius gets four stars overall while the 2013 got five. The two cars are basically identical, so what gives? Toyota says it is not sure why NHTSA rated the Prius a four this time. Starting with the 2011 model year, NHTSA updated its rating system and says in a FAQ that vehicles that had four- or five-star ratings could get lower ratings "even if no changes have been made to the vehicle." Green Car Reports says that the issue is a new set of frontal barrier tests that were conducted on the 2014 Prius last month and that resulted in the first new bits of crash test data for the car in years. The 2012 and 2013 Prius models were rated based on tests done in February 2011 on a 2011 Prius. All of these are variants of the third-generation model. The next-gen Prius is expected in 2015. Jana Hartline, environmental communication manager at Toyota Motor Sales, USA, told AutoblogGreen that the company doesn't quite know what's going on with the drop in crash test scores: There have been no changes in the test standards and no changes in the car, other than minor reinforcement for small overlap crash test which we believe did not compromise integrity. We are not sure why it rated a 4 this time. We are looking at the test results and we are confident the new generation will move back to 5 stars. 2014 Prius still has a five-star rating for the side crash test and four in the rollover test. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.