Sept. 8, 2006
ON THE ROAD: Camry Carries Hybrid Power into Mainstream
By Richard Williamson
Scripps Howard News Service
Five months after sales began, the 2007 Toyota Camry hybrid has found
12,409
buyers.
While that's a small percentage of overall Camry sales, which totaled
42,227
for August alone, the new version boosts support for tandem
gasoline-electric engine technology. With the inclusion of its luxury
Lexus
brand, Toyota Motor Sales has delivered 126,249 hybrid vehicles in the
first
eight months of the year, including 25,994 in August alone.
The pioneering Toyota Prius has found more than half-a-million owners
since
its 1997 Japanese introduction, which was followed by an American debut
in
2000. In 2005, sales of Prius in the U.S. reached more than 107,000,
making
it Toyota's third-best selling car after the Camry and Corolla.
The hybrid fleet will continue to grow with the April 2007 launch of
the
Lexus LS 600h L hybrid sedan, the first vehicle powered by a
full-hybrid V8.
Beyond that, Toyota is working to develop a "plug-in" hybrid that can
travel
greater distances on its electric motor, requiring less use of the
gasoline
engine, according to Jim Press, president of Toyota North America.
"We estimate that all the hybrids we have sold in America have saved
more
than 155 million gallons of gas, enough to fill five tanker ships,"
Press
said. "And we're not alone in our confidence about hybrids. Honda has
three
and plans to add a fourth. Ford has two and plans to add three more,
and
nearly every other automaker, from Hyundai to Porsche, plans to
introduce
hybrids in the very near future."
Indeed, hybrids are just one segment of a group known as alternative
fuel
vehicles. The group includes cars and trucks running on clean diesel,
ethanol and natural gas.
With 9 million alternative fuel vehicles on the road, automakers have
set a
goal of selling a million hybrids, diesel and ethanol vehicles in 2006
and 2
million by 2008, according to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.
While Press says that Toyota is working assiduously to bring down the
cost
of hybrid components, the dual-powered vehicles still command higher
prices
than their traditional siblings. For the $25,900 Camry hybrid, buyers
will
pay nearly $1,600 more than they would for a V6-powered Camry in SE
trim
with automatic transmission. The base 4-cylinder model with automatic
is
priced at $19,320.
Unlike those traditional models, however, hybrids enjoy tax breaks and
HOV-lane privileges in some states because of their fuel economy. The
combined gas-electric engines carry the Camry 40 miles per gallon in
the
city and 38 on the highway, inverting the typical fuel economy ratings
for
most cars.
By comparison, the best fuel economy you can expect from the Camry with
158-horsepower, 4-cylinder engine with five-speed stick is 24 city and
34
highway mpg. Combined city/highway ratings are 39 mpg for the hybrid
and 28
for the most fuel-efficient 4-cylinder version. Both carry 17.1 gallons
on
full fuel tanks.
The hybrid will certainly enjoy a strong tail wind from the Camry
redesign
for the 2007 model year. As the best-selling car in the United States
for
the past four years, Camry looks like a sure thing for 2006, as well.
Calling its gas-electric motor combo Hybrid Synergy Drive, Toyota pulls
147
horses from the 2.4-liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine and 45 horses from
the
electric motor. Where the electric motor really produces results is in
its
torque rating of 199 foot-pounds. Engineers equipped the package with a
small inverter and compact battery and transaxle for seamless
performance.
The hybrid power requires no sacrifices in standard equipment, which
includes tire-pressure monitoring system, halogen headlamps with
automatic
on/off, a premium JBL audio system with an auxiliary audio jack and
Bluetooth technology, cruise control, a tilt and telescopic steering
wheel,
dual-zone automatic climate control heating and air conditioning, an
eight-way-adjustable power driver's seat, a 60/40 split fold-down rear
seat,
16-inch aluminum wheels, heated outside rear-view mirrors and other
features. Because there are situations in daily driving in which the
gas
engine in a Toyota hybrid is completely shut down, air-conditioning and
power-steering run on the electric power, rather than the gas engine to
prevent loss of service.
"Increasingly Americans realize hybrids are a simple way to make an
important difference in curtailing foreign-oil dependence air pollution
and
greenhouse gases all at once," Press says. "Plus, they're a heck of a
lot of
fun to drive. Being able to thumb your nose at gas stations on a
regular
basis is icing on the cake."
WHAT'S NEW: Hybrid version of redesigned model.
PLUSES: Fuel economy, comfort, performance.
MINUSES: Batteries must eventually be replaced, unknowns of relatively
new technology.
BOTTOM LINE: Hybrid power is now mainstream.
Richard Williamson writes about automobiles for Scripps Howard News
Service.
