Decade of the Toyota Prius Hybrid
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| Audience/Grade: | College Freshman-Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
Design Engineering Management Engineering Mechanics Entrepreneurship and Innovation General Engineering, Engineering Science Industrial Design Mechanical Engineering |
| Special Topic(s): | |
| Learning Resource Type: |
Community - Blog |
| Media Type: |
Unknown |
| Author(s): |
Todd Kaho |
| Description: | Blog on November 5, 2007 in Green Car. Excerpt: "Ten years after the introduction of the first mass produced gas-electric hybrid, the Toyota Prius is now the icon of the green vehicle movement. In late 1997, the Prius went on sale in Japan after overcoming considerable technological, engineering, and developmental challenges. It hasn't stopped to catch its breath since. This first generation production Prius was launched exclusively in the automaker's home market before going international. Clearly, so much was on the line. The gasoline-electric hybrid was a new concept to consumers. Getting it right the first time was essential. Toyota didn't want the hybrid experience to parallel that of quick-to-market passenger car diesels in America that occurred decades ago. As we know, diesel is still working to overcome that negative reputation in the States. This groundbreaking car's name was carefully considered, as is always the case with new car models. "Prius," which in Latin means "to go before" or "proceed," seems especially appropriate for Toyota's pioneering hybrid effort. In 1994, Takeshi Uchiyamada was assigned to lead a team to design an eco-friendly car of the 21st century. Toyota had been working various forms of hybrid technology on and off for some time. The company's G21 (Global 21st century) project led to the Prius concept car that debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1995. Despite ongoing technical challenges, the program was not only pushed forward, but accelerated toward production." |
| Rating: |
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| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | Toyota Toyota Prius sports cars hybrid authomobiles hybrids |
| Usage Tip | |
| Related ABET Criteria: |
(c) Design a system, component, or process |
| Use of Resource: |
Good history of the Prius with interesting photographs of the manufacturing facility. |
| Difficulty: |
Easy |
| Interactivity Level: |
Low |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | November 2007 |
| Platform/Format: |
WWW |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Download URL: | http://www.greencar.com/articles/decade-toyota-prius-hybrid.php |
| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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