A plug-in Camry??

[ledebuhr1]

How long do you think before we see a plug-in Camry? With gas prices what they are, I would think Toyota would be working overtime on it. I suspect the Prius,Corolla and Camry would be first to offer plug in capability.
Maybe by 2010?

[gdanaher]

There are a number of new energy technologies in the pipeline including hydrogen fuel cell and improved lithium ion, but that said, it is likely harder to attempt to retrofit an existing model's architecture around the varied energy sources than it would be to build a new car around the propulsion system, so an educated guess is that you will not see this from Toyota. (Plugging in a car for an overnight recharge is really old school at this point in time.) From GM, sure. Those guys have a long history of stupidity. And I don't think you will be seeing the Prius much longer either in its present configuration. The technology is changing rapidly and the battery system it uses will likely be replaced by something which lasts longer, works better, and costs less.

[ohhey]

Originally Posted by ledebuhr1

How long do you think before we see a plug-in Camry? With gas prices what they are, I would think Toyota would be working overtime on it. I suspect the Prius,Corolla and Camry would be first to offer plug in capability.
Maybe by 2010?

I think we will see that by 2010, plus we will see ALL Toyota models available in Hybrid.

[workerant]

The prius is said to go 20-30 miles without gas right? With Camry, probably 15 miles. LOL Can U imagine have to plug in and wait for 8hrs for a full charge to go another 15 miles?

[ohhey]

Originally Posted by TTM77

The prius is said to go 20-30 miles without gas right? With Camry, probably 15 miles. LOL Can U imagine have to plug in and wait for 8hrs for a full charge to go another 15 miles?

We are talking about plug in Hyrids here not electric only cars. You don't have to stop and rechange, it just gives you the option of pre filling the batteries at home. That way if you do just need to run to the store you are good to go and it keeps the gas engine from being used as much overall.

[ledebuhr1]

I think any plug-in will have to be supplimented by a small gas engine that will recharge the battteries while driving. dont think they would produce a car that only goe 15-20miles before it needs to be charged.

If you put in a li-on battery and ability to plug in to recharge in the Hybrid camry, that might get you a good start.

[workerant]

Originally Posted by ohhey

We are talking about plug in Hyrids here not electric only cars. You don't have to stop and rechange, it just gives you the option of pre filling the batteries at home. That way if you do just need to run to the store you are good to go and it keeps the gas engine from being used as much overall.

I thought this already covered when Hybrid first start out. I think the reason was that the house 110V wasn't powerful enough and it require 220V and all the special stuff so they just go away with the idea and just use the gas+breaks to charge.

So the only thing left is a full electric without gas or anything without gas so we can get away from gas all together.

There is some research into improving solar cells. So when that arrive, our electric car will be perfect. Most of the road surface will be covered in solar cells and electricity will be very cheap.

[GT-R]

I think they'll have it for the Gen 7. Either plug-in or hydrogen fuel, Honda already came up with a hydrogen car, it looks similar to Civic.

[ohhey]

Here is my prediction. Electric cars will dominate this century. They may be fuel cell or just some advanced battery but how ever it's done it will get done. It will also happen faster then the oil companies ever imagined and once the conversion to non gas cars starts it will be impossible to stop. Even if gas goes down to 50 cents a gallon people will still want electric cars as a social imperative or even fashion statement and operational costs will no longer be a major factor. In fact if electric cars are more expensive to own that will mean you will look "rich" driving one. The next big conspicuous display of wealth item.

There were many folks who bought SUVs, not because they needed or even wanted one, they bought them because it was the in thing or even a display of wealth. Many people hated their SUVs because it was difficult to park and they were denied access to some parking garages, even the owners thought they were ugly but it was the must have fashion accessory of the day.

My other prediction is that gas will not drop in price very much or for very long. The law of supply and demand does not apply to gas for some reason. And because we have let that happen it is no longer directly related to the price or availability of oil. Think about it.. when oil was $40 a barrel, gas was $2 and some change. Oil is now over $140 but gas is only $4. They are no longer linked by any fixed ratio, they can both freely float. In fact I predict that gas will continue to go up even after demand drops and even if oil drops back below $40 a barrel. They will make up some other excuse like potential conflict in the mideast, refining costs, storms, lower demand (yes.. you heard me right), or some new market force they haven't even thought of yet. All of this will make drivers even more angry and accelerate the adoption of electric cars. So on top of fashion, patriotism, and display of wealth, you can add spite to the long list of reasons why people will want electric cars.

My next prediction is that we will see a repeat of the failure to keep up with technology that western car brands suffered from in the 70s and 80s. Once again, we will get pimped out of the lion share of the electric car business by Asian countries to delivering too little, too late and because perception lags reality by 10 years American cars will be seen as inferior long after we catch up.

[buno]

Originally Posted by ohhey

There were many folks who bought SUVs, not because they needed or even wanted one, they bought them because it was the in thing or even a display of wealth. Many people hated their SUVs because it was difficult to park and they were denied access to some parking garages, even the owners thought they were ugly but it was the must have fashion accessory of the day.

You are an idiot if you believe that. You are a prime example of why the public school system fails.

[slick07LE]

Originally Posted by ohhey

My other prediction is that gas will not drop in price very much or for very long. The law of supply and demand does not apply to gas for some reason. And because we have let that happen it is no longer directly related to the price or availability of oil. Think about it.. when oil was $40 a barrel, gas was $2 and some change. Oil is now over $140 but gas is only $4. They are no longer linked by any fixed ratio, they can both freely float. In fact I predict that gas will continue to go up even after demand drops and even if oil drops back below $40 a barrel. They will make up some other excuse like potential conflict in the mideast, refining costs, storms, lower demand (yes.. you heard me right), or some new market force they haven't even thought of yet. All of this will make drivers even more angry and accelerate the adoption of electric cars. So on top of fashion, patriotism, and display of wealth, you can add spite to the long list of reasons why people will want electric cars.

Tell that to the private investers and oil speculators who will be sleeping in cardboard boxes a couple years from now.

[warpedrotor]

These will be interesting times, lots of ideas out there, for starters, check this out:
http://www.checkthemarkets.com/index...=700&Itemid=96

Then...http://www.worldcarfans.com/2060724....-electric-mini