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Engadget: Toyota is definitely maybe developing solar-powered car
Gearlog: Toyota Developing Solar Car: Report
DVICE Atom Feed: Toyota car of the future to run solely on solar
KickingTires: Toyota Pursues Solar-Powered Car
Eco Geek Latest: Why Toyota's Solar Car is Impossible (and a Little Silly)
![Report: Toyota Possibly Developing Solar-Powered Car [Over The Back Fence]](http://images.dailyradar.com/media/uploads/tech/story_story/2009/01/02/report_toyota_possibly_developing_solar_powered_ca.jpg)
Toyota is definitely maybe developing solar-powered car
Engadget —
Around half a year ago, we heard that Toyota was engineering a Prius that would get part of its energy from the sun; now, we're seeing an eerily similar story from Japan suggesting that the plan is still on. In a rather odd report, it's noted that the automaker is "secretly (oh, is it now?) developing a vehicle that will be powered solely by solar energy," though it's also working on a partially solar-powered whip that'll come out long before the pure solar alternative. Regrettably, details beyond that are few and far between, though the premise here is completely ...
Toyota Developing Solar Car: Report
Gearlog —
... Toyota Motor Corp. is secretly developing a solar-powered vehicle as an alternative to its popular hybrid Prius and Camry models, the Associated Press is reporting. ...
Toyota car of the future to run solely on solar
DVICE Atom Feed —
... where solar panels on the car's roof would supplement electric power drawn from solar panels on a house's roof as the car charges in the garage, adding up to a mostly-solar-powered vehicle.
But for that all-solar car (will it be a Prius? Nah, it'll probably be more like the Toyota iQ) to become a reality, huge battery improvements and maybe even a couple of [insert miracle here] breakthroughs will be necessary. Years to get to market? Could be decades.
Associated Press, via Gearlog
Toyota Pursues Solar-Powered Car
KickingTires —
... you have to ask, what kind of range will it have? How much will it cost? Is anyone going to buy a $200,000 car that has to recharge after 35 miles?
In other words, can a solar-powered car be mass-produced and work for the lifestyles of the car-buying public?
We should also state that this report has nothing to do with the more-substantiated rumors that Toyota might integrate small solar panels into a future hybrid to help power some electronic systems.
Report: Toyota Developing Solar Powered Green Car (Associated Press) ...
Why Toyota's Solar Car is Impossible (and a Little Silly)
Eco Geek Latest —
... Solar powered cars, in general, I believe to be a poor use of solar panels. Because of the relatively small loss of power in transferring electrons from your roof to your car, it's always a better idea to put the panels on your roof. The car will invariably spend less time oriented toward the sun and more time in shadow.
Why not have the panels where they will always catch the maximum amount of sun? They'll cost less, be more versatile, and produce far more power.
Via the AP (and just about every environmental blog on the planet)
