Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Toyota has announced that its worldwide cumulative sales of the Prius have passed the one million mark, with the hybrid car being sold in more than 40 countries and regions.
It was the first hybrid car to be built in the world back in 1997. Searching for a cleaner power source that is cheaper than gasoline and twice as powerful, Toyota invested in hybrid technology at a time when gas cost just over $1 a gallon. When gas hit $4, Toyota was already prepared with a fleet of attractive and functional small cars.
Now Lexus hybrids are also on the way. Ebrahim K Kanoo, the sole distributer of Toyota and Lexus cars in Bahrain, will be receiving hybrid Lexus models in 2009.
The first hybrid model will be the outstanding Lexus LS600h. In addition to the well known LS 460 features and specifications, LS600h will come with even greater luxury, power and fuel efficiency.
The LS600h will combine an all-new five-litre V8 gas engine with combined massive, high-output electric motors and a newly designed large-capacity battery pack. It will deliver a peak, combined output of more than 430 horsepower.
So, what exactly is a hybrid car? A hybrid car is a car that uses two or more distinct power sources. Combining internal combustion engines and electric motors is the most common approach.
While there are several ways in which electric motors and a gas/petrol engine can be combined, Toyota hybrid cars uses the Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) system. This is an ideal combination of the 'Series Hybrid System' that Toyota has been developing and the 'Parallel Hybrid System', which has a different approach. HSD takes the best of what each system has to offer and integrates them into a single system.
Environmentally aware people, who are growing in number around the world, perceive hybrid cars as one of the viable natural choices. Why? We can sum this up in four important factors: fuel efficiency; low emissions; no noise pollution and the joy of driving.
As a SULEV-rated (Super Low Emissions) vehicle, LS600h is estimated to produce just 20 per cent of the smog-forming emissions of a conventional five-litre V8. Power is delivered to the wheels via a 2-stange ECVT transmission.
It also has the first LED front headlights of any production vehicle. Other Lexus hybrid models will follow afterwards.
