Toyota just released pricing for most of its 2008 lineup, and along with a brief summary of model changes was information about a new, lower-cost Prius. That's right, a cheaper Prius. We had talked about the fact that consumer clamor for hybrids was waning, but we never expected to see the Prius price reduced. Reading the fine print shows what's really happening is that Toyota has introduced a new "standard" model with slightly less content to get to a lower price point. The base MSRP for the new Standard Prius starts at $20,950, while the Limited goes up about $150 to $23,220.

The recent JD Power finding that hybrid popularity is giving way to more interest in diesel powertrains seemed to have some merit as Toyota had said it would be trimming the entry price of its 2008 Camry Hybrid by about $1,000, as well. Although the Camry isn't included in this release, the cheaper Prius seems to bear out that fact. The cheaper '08 Standard Prius should be in dealerships in August. New pricing for the other '08 Toyota models was also announced, and not surprisingly, all went up, even if just a bit.

autoblog.com

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Hydrogen, Hybrid and Electric Cars

Filed under: GM, Saturn, Toyota

Two days ago, we wrote about the drop in price of the Prius base model for 2008. It was interesting but not worth much more than a little mention. The Touring edition price was raised so the average pricing actually went up a little. So why did they do this? I was just watching CNET's video review of the Aura Hybrid for 2007. It says GM promoted it as the lowest cost hybrid at just over $22,000. That's no longer true with the drop in price of the base model Prius.

Starting to smell a price war? Maybe not. The MSRP for the normal 2008 Aura is already out. It's almost exactly the same price as the new base model Prius. So GM has two choices right now. Either lose the moniker of lowest-priced hybrid to Toyota or price the Aura 2008 hybrid lower than the normal hybrid. What do you think they will do? The pricing for the Aura hybrid 2008 is expected this fall. So place your bets now.

[Source: Cars.com]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from AutoblogGreen

Filed under: Hybrid, Toyota

Toyota has cut the price of the Camry Hybrid by $1,000 for the 2008 model year. The new price starts at $25,860 but to achieve that new price point they had to cut some previously standard equipment. The previously standard aluminum wheels have been replaced by steel units and the JBL stereo and leather trim on the steering wheel and shifter are no longer included out of the box. Those who don't want to pay extra will now be saddled with plastic grips and a single disc CD player.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd.]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from AutoblogGreen

AAA, the US’s largest organization for motorists, has begun publishing the nationwide average price of E85 fuel on its AAA Fuel Gauge Report Web site.

To help motorists understand the cost differential between E-85 and conventional gasoline, AAA also is posting a nationwide, average “BTU-adjusted E-85 price” that accounts for the fact that E-85 delivers approximately 25% less energy content per gallon than gasoline.

According to AAA, today’s nationwide average price of self-serve regular gasoline is $2.811 per gallon compared to $2.334 for a gallon of E-85. Today’s BTU-adjusted price of E-85 is $3.071 per gallon, or 26 cents more expensive per gallon to get mileage equivalent to that contained in a gallon of self-serve regular, according to AAA.

There are approximately 4.5 million motor vehicles now on American roads capable of operating on E-85 or conventional gasoline through the use of flexible fuel technology, and more than 1,200 gasoline stations nationwide are now dispensing E-85 on a regular basis. Most of these stations are concentrated in the upper Midwest near the nation’s ethanol processing plants, but E-85 pumps are beginning to appear in other regions as well.

The data collection and calculations used to derive the prices of gasoline, E-85 and the “BTU-adjusted” price of E-85 is performed for AAA by Oil Price Information Service.

The AAA Fuel Gauge Report Web site lists average daily prices for the nation, all 50 states and more than 250 localities for all grades of gasoline, making the site the most current and comprehensive public source of fuel price information.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Green Car Congress

Filed under: Etc.

The latest news from Turkey is that the country might go to war with Kurdish separatist guerrillas in Northern Iraq. That makes you nervous? Well, it certainly made the market nervous and so we just saw the market's blood pressure jump up to $88.20 for the price of crude oil today, a new all-time high (not adjusted for inflation). What does this mean for gas prices at the pump? Dust off your bike!

[Source: CNBC, MarketWatch]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from AutoblogGreen

Filed under: Ethanol

The FTC released a report with the reasons behind the gas price increase in 2006. Live in a cave and don't recall the increase in gas price in 2006? As shown in the above graph, the weekly average gas price started the year at $2.28 in February. It quickly rose to an average May to September of $2.90, an increase of .62, peaking at $3.02 in August. 42 percent of Americans thought Bush did it.

The FTC report gives 6 reasons for the increase in oil prices. 1. Summer demand. 2. Price of crude. 3. Price of ethanol. The FTC says the first 3 account for .47 of the .62 increase and were easy to calculate. The last 3, .15 of the .62 increase, are more complicated and exact impact on price harder to calculate. 4. Transition from MTBE to ethanol 5. Refinery problems and finally 6. Demand that's not seasonal. Go below the fold to read more.

[Source: Bloomberg, FTC]1. Summer demand. The average increase in seasonal demand 2001 to 2005 was .14. The increase 2004 to 2005 was .21. Therefore, the so called gasoline spread for 2006 is .14-.21 of the .62 increase. Seems an odd way to calculate demand to me but whatever.

2. Price of crude. The price of crude went from $61.63 in February, to an average May to September of $72.34, up $10.71. The production cost increase and expected cost to the consumer is therefore .26.

3. The price of ethanol. The price of ethanol increased .62 May to August. Ethanol only makes up 3.7 percent of gas by volume. Therefore the cost increase due to ethanol is 0.023. Yes, the report actually included the the third decimal place.

Summer demand .14-.21 + .26, price of crude + .023, price of ethanol = about .47 or 75 percent of the increase. The remaining .13-.20 or 25 percent is not so simple because of things like foreign refiners. By itself, the reduction in refinery capacity of 2.5-4.1 percent would mean an increase of $1.35-$2.21. BUT Imports increased keeping the impact to just .13-.20.

Of the 2.5-4.1 percent in decreased capacity, .6-.8 were due to 4. Transition to ethanol from MTBE. 5. The remaining reductions were due to outages, transition low sulfur and other refinery problems. Finally, 6. Demands other than seasonal. There were increases in population and the number of average miles driven. Even with price increases, non-seasonal demand was also higher.

So, that's it. That's why gas was $3 last year. Turns out it was not Bush. This is AutoblogGreen, so I feel I have to say 85 mentions of ethanol in the 27 page report seemed a bit excessive. Oil was mentioned just 43 times. Assuming refinery problems accounts for the entire .13-.20, which it probably could not, worst case is the total impact of ethanol much less than a nickel. Why mention it so prominently FTC?

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from AutoblogGreen

Filed under: Hybrid, Toyota

If $1,225 is all that's been holding you back from buying a new Prius, August could be your month. Toyota announced today a new expanded line-up for the 2008 Prius, and the new standard model has a low MSRP. Toyota suggests that the 2008 Prius versions sell for between $20,950 (the standard model) to $23,220 for the Touring model.

While Toyota says the total Prius average MSRP increases by $150 (0.7 percent), the low-end 2008 Prius is quite a bit cheaper ($1,225, to be exact) than the lowest-priced 2007 version.The MSRP for the 2007 Prius is $22,175 - $23,070.

You can find the 2008 Prius in dealerships in August. Toyota also announced prices for the 2008 Avalon, Yaris, RAV4, FJ Cruiser, 4Runner, Tacoma and Sienna.

[Source: Toyota, h/t Linton/Hugg]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from AutoblogGreen

Filed under: Hybrid, Toyota, HCCI

Toyota announced the new price for the 2008 Prius hybrid yesterday, and the long and short of it is that it's slightly more expensive than before. $150 more, to be exact. This is a change of 0.7 percent. Other Toyota models also got a "mid-year price adjustments," including the Yaris and the 2009 Camry Hybrid. The Yaris models cost $50 more (up 0.4 percent) and the Camry Hybrid will be $150 more (up 0.6 percent). The Prius and Yaris price increases kick in December 17th; the Camry won't be available until January 21st.

Price increases for the RAV4 and 2009 Camry are in the press release after the break.

[Source: Toyota Motor Sales]

Toyota Announces Prices for Four Vehicles in Model Lineup

TORRANCE, Calif., Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ — Toyota announced mid-year price adjustments to manufacturer's suggested retail prices (MSRP) today for the 2008 model year Toyota Yaris, Prius, RAV4, and 2009 Camry and Camry Hybrid.

The 2008 Yaris Liftback and Sedan receive an average price increase of $50, or 0.4 percent. The new base MSRP for the Yaris Liftback ranges from $11,350 for the base grade with five-speed manual transmission to $13,925 for the Yaris Liftback S model with four-speed automatic transmission. The base MSRP for Yaris Sedan ranges from $12,225 for the base grade with five-speed manual transmission to $14,450 for the S model with four-speed automatic transmission.

The 2008 Prius receives an average price increase of $150, or 0.7 percent. The base MSRP for the Prius ranges from $21,100 for the Standard model to $23,370 for the Touring model.

RAV4 4×2 models carry a base MSRP that ranges from $21,250 for the base grade four-cylinder to $25,420 for the Limited V6. The base MSRP for the RAV4 4×4 ranges from $22,650 for the base grade with a four-cylinder to $26,820 for the Limited V6. Total RAV4 average MSRP increases $150 or 0.6 percent.

The new pricing for 2008 Toyota Yaris, Prius and RAV4 will be effective on December 17, 2007.

Camry, the best-selling passenger car in America, redefines global standards for comfort and performance. The new base MSRP for the 2009 Camry sedan ranges from $18,720 for the base grade with a four-cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission to $28,270 for the premium XLE grade with a V6 engine and six-speed automatic transmission.

The 2009 Camry sedan combined base MSRP increases by $150, or 0.7 percent. 2009 Camry Hybrid will have a new base MSRP of $25,350. The Camry Hybrid combined base MSRP increases by $150, or 0.6 percent.

The 2009 Camry arrives in dealerships on January 21, 2008.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from AutoblogGreen

Filed under: Car Buying, Government/Legal, Green

Ten months ago, Bob Lutz said GM cars would be $5,000 more expensive if the Bush administration got its way with fuel standards by raising fuel economy 4% every year through 2017. Bush didn't get his way, but Congress did with its newly-signed-into-law energy bill that requires automakers have a fleet average of 35 MPG by 2020. According to Lutz, that's going to be even more expensive: "This is going to be a net average cost of $6,000 per vehicle, which will have to be passed onto the consumer."

Lutz said that the premium would actually range from $4,000 to $10,000, and that "it won't come all at once, because 35 mpg doesn't kick in all at once." No one said that saving the world was going to be cheap — but $6,000 per vehicle? We look forward to figuring out which vehicles will bear the brunt of the plan. Add $10,000 to the price of a ZR-1 and no one's really going to notice. Add $6,000 to the price of a CTS and, depending on how much more expensive its competition gets, things could get interesting. Add $4,000 to the price of an Aveo and you've probably sent a fair number of buyers elsewhere.

[Source: Detroit News]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from AutoblogGreen

Filed under: Biodiesel, Diesel, Etc., Ethanol, EV/Plug-in, Hydrogen, Natural Gas, Green Daily

Mapquest launched a new interactive map service today called Mapquest Gas Prices. It feels much more like a fresh website than, say, the government's site designed to do a similar job.

The idea is to find the lowest-priced fuel in your area. As a resource of great potential, Mapquest Gas Prices has built in a filter to find all sorts of alternative fuels: biodiesel, E85, hydrogen, EV charging stations, CNG and more. If you don't have an alternative-fueled car, you can also find the lowest price for standard gas in your area. You need to at least select a fuel type and a city and state (or zip code) to get results. You'll have to do the math yourself using your car's mpg to find out if it's cheaper to drive there vs. paying a few more cents per gallon around the corner (the environment would appreciate it if you visit the local store instead of driving somewhere else to fill up, but if the cheapo gas is on your way somewhere you're already going, then by all means…). You can do this using the pop-up gas price calculator, which is actually kind of fun to play with. Here's one example: an 80-mile-trip in a gas guzzling SUV (at 15 mpg) with gas that costs $3.08 will run you $16.43 total. That same drive in a 40-mpg hybrid will be just $6.16. You can input trips up to 9,999 miles, so some people will be able to use this to calculate average annual fuel costs for your car if you don't want to do it by hand.

The page just launched today, and there might be a bug or two. I can't get it to load correctly in Firefox, but it looks just fine in Safari. Also, as a disclaimer, both Mapquest and AutoblogGreen are AOL properties.

[Source: Mapquest]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from AutoblogGreen