Toyota's Solar Concept Might Not Be a Car At All

[jpak]

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/01/toyotas-solar-c.html

It seemed fitting that the first viable solar car would come from the Land of the Rising Sun, but a chorus of online skeptics have begun dismissing reports that Toyota's "top secret" solar concept would ever see the light of day.

Both Victor Godinez of the Dallas Morning News and Candace Lombardi of CNET expressed their doubts about a report in this week's Nikkei newspaper that claimed Toyota was working on an electric car that could be recharged by solar panels on its roof. The Associated Press says that the car "will get some of its power from solar cells equipped on the vehicle," and that it can also "be recharged with electricity generated from solar panels on the roofs of homes."

We're pretty sure that Toyota isn't about to unveil a 100% solar electric car, but that doesn't mean the Nikkei report is all hype. It could just be that Toyota's next concept might not be a car.

<snip>

Solar power seems to be a pet project for Toyota. In the near future, Toyota may offer a solar roof panel option that could either trickle-charge or run some accessories on the 2010 Prius. In the long term, it's feasible that Toyota may be researching ways to recharge electric cars "off the grid." Japan has already joined with Better Place to become an electric-vehicle testing ground, installing public recharging stations and offering instant battery swaps. A combination of solar and traditional coal or nuclear power might just be Toyota's next hybrid

<not much more>