Toyota plug-in hybrid

In a full-throttle commitment to go green and go big, Toyota has announced plans to release a plugin hybrid car by 2010. We feel that this move will reinforce Toyota as the true market leader in green technology and actually lead to a fundamental shift in the industry.

At RideLust, our view is that plug-in hybrids are the most likely green technology to quick, pervasive adoption. Why? Because they allow you to depend on electric 100% electric power for your daily commute, but provide long-distance range for the occasional family vacation.

Unlike pure electric vehicles like the Tesla Roadster, plug-in hybrids, such as the one coming from Toyota, don’t limit the distance you drive to 200 miles per charge and require a 3 hour downtime while you charge the vehicle up.

Rather, plug-in vehicles use the batteries in the vehicle for the first X number of miles and then convert over to a liquid fuel, drastically increasing your range and always enabling you to simply fuel up, rather than requiring a charge up in the middle of a trip.

The Toyota plugin hybrid will feature lithium-ion batteries produced by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.

Our road infrastructure continues to deteriorate, and the growing cost of oil will ensure that things get a lot worse before they get better. After all, the millions of miles of roads in this country are largely made out of oil. Yes, even when you’re driving that electric car, you’re still dependent on a lot of foreign oil.

As oil prices skyrocket, and the demand for oil continues to grow at unprecedented levels, many people are pointing to alternative energy sources for our vehicles as the key to both global warming and energy independence. But the story is a lot more complicated, and even our most energy efficient vehicles still need roads to drive on.

The fact of the matter is that our solutions for energy independence need to be a lot more comprehensive and groundbreaking than current proposals. Making better engines for our vehicles is a good start. But what about the roads we drive on?

Hopefully the next president of the United States takes this issue seriously enough and creates a mandate for radical change at all levels of our transportation infrastructure.

Reviews and impressions of the actual production US version of the 2009 Nissan GT-R are starting to come in. This is the real deal people. The GT-R that you and I can actually buy. Up until now the media has had access to prototypes and Japanese versions.

Before we jump into the various Nissan GT-R reviews that have appeared online, let’s try to arrive at a bullet point consensus.

• Amazing track performance
• Superior handling
• Top notch acceleration and speed
• About 17-18 mpg fuel efficiency (13-16 city and 20-23 highway)
• Best bang for your super car buck.
• Lacks some of the “soul” of other super cars like the Porsche 911
• A bit on the heavy side
• Exterior lacks “look at me” ooomph
• Interior lacks feel of luxury
• Distinctively Japanese
• Easiest performance car to drive
• Targeting the video game generation
• Drives “hard” for your typical daily drive

Now let’s move onto some of the reviews.

Here’s an interesting article on the 6 most expensive cars in the world (I think we have to assume that they are either still in production or at least not rare antiques).

However, at RideLust, our tastebuds were fully satisfied with a list of the top 6. Since this is a topic we’re interested in, our plan is to pull together a list of the 50 most expensive cars in the world sometime.

For now, this is what CCPundit lists as the top 6:

1. Bugatti Veyron
2. Enzo Ferrari
3. Pagani Zonda C12 F
4. Koenigsegg CCX
5. Porsche Carrera GT
6. Mercedes SLR McLaren

Thoughts? Is this the right ordering? Are there others that should be on this list? Let us know in the comment section.

Celebrities don’t just get chauffeured from party to party, many of them actually own, take pride in, and drive their own vehicles. Some of the cars celebrities drive are exactly what you’d figure, others are rather surprising. Check out this list of celebrities and their cars (we offer this list as a sampling, not an exhaustive list).

1. Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony drive an Aston Martin DB7 & Lotus Elise
2. Ryan Gosling – Drives a black Toyota Prius.
3. Pierce Brosnan – Owns an Aston Martin Vanquish.

4. Verne Troyer – Drives a custom Mercedes CLK.
5. Janet Jackson – Drives an Aston Martin Vanquish.
6. Simon Cowell drives a million dollar Bugatti Veyron.

7. 50 Cent – Drives a Rolls Royce Phantom.
8. Charlize Theron – Tools around town in a Range Rover.
9. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie drive a BMW Hydrogen 7.

According to this story from a local TV station, John Weber from Boise, Idaho gets around in a custom built, solar powered Geo Metro.

As to why he built the solar powered car, Weber says:

I don’t like to be dependent on big global corporations to get my needs met, I like to get my needs met locally.

Fellow rideluster Jay Leno recently got a chance to indulge in some Tesla Roadster. The video tells the story.

The Smart Car, a tiny European import, has received the highest crash test ratings possible from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Currently, the Smart Car is not widely available in the US, as they are only available at one dealership.

Up until this point the single biggest hurdle for mainstreaming the use of biofuels has been the complicated process required for producing them. However, E-Fuel Corporation is going to be releasing a new Micro Fueler product designed to make it easy to make ethanol to power your vehicle in your own garage.

The cost of the unit is not cheap. It’s $9,000. But with tax credits and other incentives, along with cheaper overall fuel, it might just be worth the cost, especially if the cost of gas keeps skyrocketing.

TV Crunch discovered that the Nissan Xterra which Dwight Shrute bought from Andy Bernard was on auction at e-Bay. However, it looks like the reserve for the auction was not met so no one wins.