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04-17-2007, 03:20 AM
Toyota Exec: Engineers Working on Efficient Large Cars. (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070416/toyota_future_cars.html?.v=1)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2007_Toyota_Avalon.jpgTom Krisher - AP - April 16, 2007
The largest car currently in Toyota’s fleet is the 2007 Toyota Avalon with an EPA rated 22/31 city/highway. Could a future advanced hybridization yield a Camry Hybrid like 40/38 city/highway?
DETROIT -- Automotive engineers will be under great pressure in the near future to come up with ways to make large cars more fuel efficient for the North American market, according to a top Toyota official.
David Baxter, senior executive administrator at the Toyota Technical Center in Ann Arbor, said Monday that North American consumers prefer larger vehicles, and it's up to engineers to figure out how to satisfy their wants with new technologies.
"Especially in North America, people like the size of their vehicles, and there's going to be a lot of pressure to maintain the size for safety and improve fuel economy," Baxter said in an interview at the Society of Automotive Engineers annual convention in downtown Detroit.
He predicted that consumers likely will switch buying habits in the next decade to vehicles that get better gas mileage and have more safety features.
"But that doesn't necessarily mean they're all going to be hybrids or all small cars, either," he said.
Toyota Motor Corp. has been experiencing double-digit monthly sales increases at a time when sales are flat or dropping for most U.S.-based automakers. The increases are due largely to its Corolla and Camry models, which are perceived by many as more fuel efficient than models made by the Detroit Three.
Baxter said the engineers attending the convention this week from car manufacturers and parts suppliers face a serious challenge to get more mileage with larger cars such as Toyota's Avalon, which was designed at Baxter's technical center in Michigan.
Toyota recently introduced a hybrid gasoline-electric powered mid-sized Camry that gets an estimated 40 miles per gallon in city driving, but Baxter would not say whether a hybrid Avalon is in the offing.
"It's likely there will be more hybrid vehicles or more hybrid powertrains available in our models in the future," he said … http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070416/toyota_future_cars.html?.v=1
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2007_Toyota_Avalon.jpgTom Krisher - AP - April 16, 2007
The largest car currently in Toyota’s fleet is the 2007 Toyota Avalon with an EPA rated 22/31 city/highway. Could a future advanced hybridization yield a Camry Hybrid like 40/38 city/highway?
DETROIT -- Automotive engineers will be under great pressure in the near future to come up with ways to make large cars more fuel efficient for the North American market, according to a top Toyota official.
David Baxter, senior executive administrator at the Toyota Technical Center in Ann Arbor, said Monday that North American consumers prefer larger vehicles, and it's up to engineers to figure out how to satisfy their wants with new technologies.
"Especially in North America, people like the size of their vehicles, and there's going to be a lot of pressure to maintain the size for safety and improve fuel economy," Baxter said in an interview at the Society of Automotive Engineers annual convention in downtown Detroit.
He predicted that consumers likely will switch buying habits in the next decade to vehicles that get better gas mileage and have more safety features.
"But that doesn't necessarily mean they're all going to be hybrids or all small cars, either," he said.
Toyota Motor Corp. has been experiencing double-digit monthly sales increases at a time when sales are flat or dropping for most U.S.-based automakers. The increases are due largely to its Corolla and Camry models, which are perceived by many as more fuel efficient than models made by the Detroit Three.
Baxter said the engineers attending the convention this week from car manufacturers and parts suppliers face a serious challenge to get more mileage with larger cars such as Toyota's Avalon, which was designed at Baxter's technical center in Michigan.
Toyota recently introduced a hybrid gasoline-electric powered mid-sized Camry that gets an estimated 40 miles per gallon in city driving, but Baxter would not say whether a hybrid Avalon is in the offing.
"It's likely there will be more hybrid vehicles or more hybrid powertrains available in our models in the future," he said … http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070416/toyota_future_cars.html?.v=1