Is Toyota Hot on the Trail of a Solar Powered Car?
by Eric Leech, New York, NY 
on 01. 5.09
Photo Credit: Tochichi
Toyota, who is famous for its groundbreaking introduction of the Prius, is currently rumored to be hot on the trail of another first... a solar powered car. This headline was splattered all over the Web last Thursday. The vehicle will feature roof mounted solar cells that will have the ability to collect enough electricity to power a small portion of the vehicle. The future goal will be to have these vehicles completely powered through the solar energy they collect, but this was admitted to be a few years down the line.
Good News Travels Fast
Like the circulation of rumors flying around in a sorority, news of new technologies in the transportation front has the tendency to fly hot and heavy, especially when the pillow talk includes the key words, solar power. There are not much more of a sustainable resources in the world than the sun itself. It is there 365 days of the year and we can pretty much guarantee it will be there for centuries to come. So when other publications caught wind of Toyota's announcement for the new year, news traveled fast.
The Answer is... Yes and No!
While Toyota is indeed working with the idea of solar power on a number of fronts, the chance that this news is actually referring to a solar vehicle close to production is highly unlikely. The website, The Truth About Cars, did a thorough investigation of the rumors and found that there was absolutely no proof in Japanese headlines, other than news of new construction technique in Japan incorporating electric cars and home energy.
Well, maybe next time the news will be real... nothing like a good media prank to start the new year off with a nice solar-loaded bang. In the meantime, a retrofitted trailer home is about as green as solar transportation gets today!
More on solar powered transportation
Japan’s First (Barely) Solar Powered Cargo Ship Takes to the Waves
Solar-Powered Electric Cycle Rickshaw Debuts in Delhi
Solar Power International 2008 Opens: Here’s How You Can Participate
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i wouldnt be surprised if Toyota were the first to main stream solar powered cars first... they are the best.. theyre the Apple of the car industry
nice to finally see some serious interest in vehicles other than electric - Very few are even addressing the problem of emf 's (electro magnetic fields) caused by electric cars
The gas-guzzeling (and short lived) VW Pheaton had a solar panel in the moon-roof which could operate the air conditioning with the engine off (on a sunny day). Don't see why this could not be widely applied, especially on electric/hybrid cars. Anything to keep the batteries charged longer is going to make a more popular product. Think of driving to work, parking in the sun and then driving home and needed to charge less.
It seems like it makes more sense to put the solar panels on a house with a grid tie inverter, which to my understanding is NOT what toyota is proposing. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.
If the panels are on the car, they are of no value once the battery pack is full, but if they are on a grid tie inverter will always be useful as long as the sun in shining.
Helene:
The car being described here, as with any solar-powered car, is indeed an electric car. The solar power collected, is used to charge the electric car's battery, which then runs an electric motor that propels the car, complete with that motor's EMF.
"nice to finally see some serious interest in vehicles other than electric - Very few are even addressing the problem of emf 's (electro magnetic fields) caused by electric cars"
Since you obviously typed this on a computer, doesn't a computer have EMF as well? not to mention the other dozens of things in everyday life.