With record high oil prices people across America are looking for ways to
save money on fuel costs and to help the environment at the same time. This has
led to an unprecedented level of interest in hybrid and electric-powered cars.
Toyota was the first major automaker to introduce a hybrid automobile that
used both electric and gasoline engines for power. The Toyota Prius was first
on sale in Japan in 1997 and made its way to America in 2000.
Since the American introduction of the Prius, Toyota has raced to meet the
demand for the hybrid car as environmentally conscious buyers look to get on
the hybrid bandwagon. Toyota announced this week that it would be offering
solar panels on the roof of some high-end Prius hybrids next year when it
refreshes the model.
According to Reuters, the catch is that the solar panels are not
efficient enough to help the hybrid increase its electric-driven distance. The
panels will only be able to provide enough power to offer some
of the electricity needed to run the car’s AC system. The goal with the
solar panels is to allow the Prius owner to run the AC system for longer
periods of time before the gasoline motor has to fire up.
Reuters quotes an anonymous source familiar with the solar options
saying, “It's more of a symbolic gesture. It's very difficult to power much
more than that (part of the AC system) with solar energy.”
Toyota will source the solar panels for the option from Kyocera Corporation.
Whether or not the solar panel option proves to be popular and cheap enough for
buyers to be interested in the option remains to be seen.
There is no doubt that Americans are moving away from big SUVs and trucks
to more fuel efficient vehicles like the Prius and Honda Civic. The Ford
F-series trucks were replaced
as the top selling vehicles in America by the more frugal sedans.