Peruzzi Toyota Product Blog

If you already drive a Toyota hybrid, it’s obvious that you’re concerned about fuel economy. The fact of the matter is, however, that even just driving a hybrid won’t necessarily get you the best possible gas mileage. There are certain things you can do when you’re driving your Toyota to improve your gas mileage, above and beyond the fact that you’re driving a hybrid car.

One of the best things you can do to improve mileage on your Toyota is to drive a constant speed. The largest amount of horsepower is spent when you’re accelerating, so keeping a steady pace makes it so your engine doesn’t have to work nearly as hard.

Braking slowly is another way that you can squeeze a few more hundred feet out of every gallon of gas. On a hybrid like the Prius, the brakes are actually used to recharge the batteries that power the electric motor. By braking slowly, you help your battery to charge and give that electric motor more power than it already has.

Keeping your speed under 60 miles per hour is another way to save gas mileage. As you increase speed, your aerodynamics reduce significantly. The amount of resistance on your vehicle is nearly twice at 70 miles per hour what it is at 50.

By doing just these few little things when you’re driving, you may find you’re getting an extra mile or so per gallon when you drive your hybrid.

I don’t know if you missed it or not, but Toyota Motor Corporation announced back in January that it will be building a plug-in hybrid car beginning in 2010. This is a bold step, and at least a little bit of a gamble for Toyota.

A plug-in hybrid is useful because it can run on lithium-ion batteries. These batteries can be charged from an external source, rather than from power generated by the wheels as is the case with a traditional hybrid.

There is some contention as to whether a plug-in hybrid cuts on pollution, however. The argument made by environmentalists is that, if the electricity that charges the vehicle comes from a coal-fired power plant, there really isn’t an environmental savings.

Of course, the fact that the plug-in hybrid is still a hybrid and will save greatly on emissions and increase fuel economy is still an important factor.

At any rate, whether or not people will be willing to plug in their Toyota Hybrid remains to be seen. If they do, however, Toyota is likely to see great success with this vehicle.

Driving a Prius says something about you. It says that you’re concerned about the environment, or at least about the high price of gas. The better your Toyota Hybrid looks, though, the more credibility you add to your environmental arguments.

I told you the other day about why I’ve started waxing my Prius. Today, I want to tell you how you can wax yours, step-by-step. Here’s what you need to do:

• First, you need to wash your car well and be certain it’s completely dry before you start to wax it.
• When picking a car wax, pick one that’s nonabrasive. An abrasive car wax will damage your car’s finish and paint job.
• If possible, wax your car in the shade, if possible. This keeps the wax from baking onto the car while you’re waxing it.
• Apply the wax to the car using small circular motions. If wax gets into the seams use an old toothbrush to get it out.
• Wax the car one section at a time.
• As you wipe off the wax, shake out the cloth to avoid streaking or buildup.
• Inspect the surface of the car closely when you’re done. Look for residual wax that should be wiped up.
• Finally, use a cheesecloth to polish the surface of the car.

So, I was having a discussion with an engineer friend the other day, and we were talking about gas mileage. He pointed out something to me I really hadn’t thought about before.

See, just because you’re driving a Prius doesn’t mean you’re getting the best possible gas mileage. The fact of the matter is that there are things, on top of your car’s engineering, that can impact exactly how much mileage you get. Here are some things you can do in order to increase your gas mileage and get the most from your Toyota Hybrid:

Stop more slowly. When you’re stopping your Prius, its electric motor works as a generator, using energy while it’s slowing down and helping the brakes to do their job all at the same time. If you slow down too fast, you make the brakes do all the work and you waste that extra power.

Don’t drive too fast. The faster you drive, the more drag you create for the car. This means your engine has to work that much harder. I didn’t really give this idea much creedence until I read this little tidbit: at 70 miles per hour, you create twice as much drag as at 50 miles an hour.

Try to drive at a consistent speed. Most of the energy your engine uses it uses to adjust your speed. By going at a constant speed, you use less horsepower, less energy and less fuel.

I read an article the other day that claimed that a hybrid vehicle such as the Toyota Prius, can pay for the extra cost of the hybrid engine in just a matter of years. I was glad to hear it; I know there’s been some debate on that question for some time now.

One of the big areas, though, that helped pay for the extra cost was tax incentives and rebates. Some states don’t charge sales tax on hybrid vehicles. In those states, that fact alone is often enough to make up the difference in cost. Not all states do it, unfortunately.

As far as the federal hybrid tax rebates go, the full rebates are gone for Toyota – only the first 60,000 vehicles qualify for the full rebate. Still, there are smaller tax advantages.

The thing that most strikes me, though, is this: at $4 a gallon, the Toyota hybrid is going to pay for itself twice as fast as it would have at $2 a gallon. Now, I’m not saying $4 a gallon gas is a good thing; I’d rather pay $2. But from the perspective of the hybrid owner, at the very least that hybrid engine is paying for itself that much sooner.

Well, summer is upon us again and if you are like a lot of parents, you’re probably wondering what to do with the kids. As the owner of a new Toyota hybrid, you are probably more environmentally aware than many. Why not pass that on to your children? The Pennsylvania Resource Council offers a number of week long camps that introduce children to the environment, their place in it, and what they can do to help protect it. Here are a couple of the upcoming camps in Eastern Pennsylvania.

July 14 to 18, Wildlife Detectives

Designed for children aged 7-9, this camp will teach your kids to uncover clues and discover the wildlife in the Ridley Creek State Park. They will learn to identify the various animals, amphibians, and birds while at the same time understanding what each of them needs for survival.

August 4 to 8, Earth Action Squad

For ages 10 to 12, your kids will become environmental scientists for the week, learning how to protect our planet and taking part in various activities. Some of these activities include organic gardening, water testing to determine the health of an ecosystem, and how to use alternative energy sources. On the last day of camp parents are invited to the Earth Action Squad’s Environmental Fair.

Spots will fill up quickly, so if you think your children are interested make sure to contact the PRC early. If your kids aren’t interested in summer camp, why not gas up your Toyota Hybrid and head out to the state parks to look at the wildlife? After all, it won’t cost much and your children are sure to learn a thing or two. Just remember to bring the binoculars and camera!

Check out your Ardmore area Toyota dealer for great deals on a new Toyota hybrid.

I mentioned last week a conversation I had with a friend that owns a Prius recently, and about how he was surprised about how much he truly saves on gas money. His reasoning for buying the Prius three years ago wasn’t to save on gas; it was to help the environment. Once gas got to $4 a gallon, though, he started to really realize how great his fuel economy was in his Toyota hybrid.

This weekend, I had the opportunity to talk to another Prius owner. John is an organic farmer who owns a greenhouse not too far from where the kids go to school. Anyways, John explained another aspect to owning a Prius that I’d never thought about. “It’s like we’re all in one big Prius club,” he told me. “Every time you see another Prius, you wave. If you’re in the mall parking lot and you see someone else getting in a Prius, you stop and chat for a few minutes. It’s like we’re Corvette or Lamborghini owners, but greener.”

Sure enough, I happened to be at the grocery store yesterday. On the way out, I saw John from a distance. There he was, talking to a woman who was loading groceries into her Prius. I couldn’t help but giggle a little to myself.

I talked recently with a friend who’s been driving a Prius for just over three years now. One thing that’s always impressed me about this friend is that he bought the Toyota hybrid for environmental reasons. He really wants to make a difference. Yet, he’s never really been boisterous or bragged about his Prius. I’ve met some self-righteous hybrid owners, he’s definitely not one of that type.

Anyways, We got talking about the high cost of gas, and he pointed out that he never really realized how little gas his Prius used until prices rose to $4 a gallon. “Honestly, I fill up my car once a week,” he said. “I always have. It never really occurred to me just how little gas I’ve been putting in until I saw a big Suburban pull away from the gas pump I pulled into. The pump read $125. When I was done, it read $30.”

As for me, the thing that’s always impressed me is how quiet the Prius is. Any time I’ve been in one, it strikes me that I don’t need to raise my voice, even when we’re speeding down the highway, to be heard by people in the back seat.

If you want a quiet and comfortable ride that gets awesome gas mileage, you should consider the Prius.

If attending a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) event, one may have been surprised to see anthropologist Tom Turrentine, director of the UC-Davis Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Research Center, step up to the podium. But rest assured everyone paid attention when he delivered his address covering the results of 2600 surveys designed to answer one question: who buys a hybrid car?

Despite the novelty of hybrid vehicles and the limited availability of some models, sales of hybrid vehicles make up roughly 2% of the US market. Not bad for vehicles that have been around for such a relatively short time.

Turrentine set out to examine the purchase decision process in an attempt to explain the popularity behind these vehicles, and the reasons people are buying may come as a bit of a surprise. It is commonly assumed that people who buy a new Toyota hybrid vehicle are “green” car buyers, and do so simply because they are concerned about the environment. While engineers are happy to admit that this was certainly true of the early adopters, there may be more subtle decision making processes involved. Another common conception is that people are purchasing Toyota hybrids as a method to save on fuel costs. But is that really true?

Turrentine gathered up the survey results, and discovered that only about 10% of consumers accurately track their fuel costs. “Car buyers don’t calculate paybacks,” Turrentine reports. While many people feel they do, once the surveyor digs a little deeper “tracking my fuel costs” may consist of simply asking for a receipt at the pump and stuffing it into the glove box to be dealt with at some undetermined point in time. Instead, the study focused on defining what a hybrid car “means” to buyers. Three clear motivations popped out. While some of these motivations may tend to blend together, decisions to purchase a hybrid car were consistently driven by at least one of the factors: an embrace of new technology , a drive to preserve the environment, and a desire for independence and control.

A desire to protect the environment probably came as a surprise to no one, and everyone knows that person who makes a purchase simply because it is the newest technology available. However, the desire for independence and control may have been less predictable. In his study Turrentine pointed out that an Oklahoma farmer, also a gun enthusiast, was a hybrid owner. When questioned about his decision to purchase a hybrid, the gentleman in question gave this anecdote. His friends, looking at his hybrid parked amongst all of their pickups, made fun of him for “buying a Democrat car”. He told them “I’m the one sticking it to the Saudis, not you guys!” implying that energy independence was a definite concern for him.

Turrentine has now begun a new study to analyze the consumer acceptance of plug-in hybrid vehicles. Will people accept the need to plug in their car, or will they consider it a hassle? Will places people park their cars like office buildings and shopping malls consider providing power outlets? The answers to these questions will decide whether Toyota hybrid cars will be seeing more competition.

To check out the newest Toyota hybrids, stop by your Toyota dealer - Allentown.

The Toyota Prius Hybrid has, for a long time, been the standard by which all other hybrid vehicles are measured. The amazing fuel economy, small emission footprint, large amount of interior space and stylish interior make the 2008 Toyota Prius Hybrid a force to contend with.

The 2008 Toyota Prius Hybrid is able to run either alone on electricity or alongside the four-cylinder engine. The Prius is especially useful for drivers who rarely take long trips, as the battery does eventually run down on the freeway, forcing the gas engine to do the work.

Aside from the electric engine components, one of the technologies that makes the Toyota Prius Hybrid so amazingly fuel efficient is the Continuously Variable Transmission, or CVT. CVT isn’t a new technology, but it has just become more and more popular in the last few years due to advances in microprocessors and high-density rubber belts.

Forgetting for a moment the hybrid power source, the Prius is still a fully functional midsize sedan. When you add in the savings on gasoline costs, especially as we approach $5 per gallon in the United States, the Prius becomes a viable and attractive option for anyone in the midsize sedan market.