Prius gets optional underhood, zombie-deterring noisemaker, sounds appropriately futuristic (video)

Electric vehicles and hybrids are here to save the environment (or at least kill your fuel bill), but if you listen to some people they’re also here to mow down our pedestrians thanks to their ninja-like ways. Nissan’s Leaf has already gone the way of sci-fi by offering a Blade Runner-inspired exterior soundtrack to make sidewalk replicants take notice, and now the Prius is joining in on the fun with its own under-hood speaker system. Curiously, this one will be optional, Toyota apparently expecting that purchasers are so philanthropically minded that they’ll pay an extra 12,600 yen (about $150) to protect poor pedestrians

Hyundai-Kia looking to beat Toyota in the automotive fuel cell price wars

When Toyota made clear its aim to release a hydrogen-powered fuel cell auto to the public in 2015 for $50,000, we asked the simple question of whether you’d buy that car for that much. The overwhelming answer was “heck no!” Hyundai-Kia is glad to hear it, and is taking this time to trump up its cheaper fuel cell technology

Tesla deal with Toyota is ‘not formal,’ $50m investment dependent on IPO

Tesla Motors seemed to have scored quite the coup earlier this month when it landed a deal with Toyota , but it now looks like things might be a tad more complicated than first suggested. According to Tesla, there is no formal deal with Toyota on electric car development, only an ” intention to cooperate,” and Toyota’s proposed $50 million investment in the company isn’t a done deal either.

Tesla lands sudden deal with Toyota, will build Model S sedan in Fremont NUMMI plant

Tesla’s still got a ways to go before it overtakes those conventional automakers, but darn if it’s not on the right track now. The company today announced a deal with Toyota — yeah, Toyota — in order to collaborate on the “development of electric vehicles, parts, and production system and engineering support.” Reportedly, the tandem will form a specialist team to further these efforts, with Toyota agreeing to purchase $50 million of Tesla ’s common stock issued in a private placement

Toyota’s plug-in hybrids getting companion charging stations next year in Japan

What’s the best complement to a trial run of plug-in hybrids ? Why, matching solar stations, of course! Toyota Industries Corp has announced that it’s been developing solar charging stations for its new Prius models. The first place to test out the chargers is unsurprisingly Toyota City in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, where 21 stations will be built across 11 locales including government offices and train depots.

Toyota’s plug-in Prius hybrid goes into testing across the globe, on sale in 2011

Good news, everyone! The target date for Toyota’s Prius plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is slightly less out of reach than the 2012 window we heard prior: according to Autoblog , it’s now set for late 2011 and the price is deemed “affordable.” Back to the present, as a tease to the world at large, the company’s planning to produce and ship just under 600 of the models over the next six months. That breaks down to around 230 for Japan, 200 for Europe, and just 150 for the ‘States.

Toyota’s FT-EV II concept sports steampunk interior, joystick controls

Toyota’s FT-EV concept was tiny, quirky, electric powered — and honestly a bit predictable. Its successor, the FT-EV II, takes that staid design and sends it way out there, leaving the exterior unchanged (some gold detailing adds a touch of flash) but dialing up the intrigue on the inside. The traditional wheel and pedal controls have been replaced by a gilded mechanical joystick contraption that would look appropriate on a Victorian-era rocket ship (had any such thing actually existed) leaving more legroom and what looks to be a more ergonomic driving experience

Toyota develops breathalyzer ignition-interlock, BJ McKay promises to hack it

Shoving breathalyzers into MIDs and PNDs has been all the rage overseas for quite a while, and now it looks like Toyota itself is getting in on the act.

Toyota’s mind-controlled wheelchair boast fastest brainwave analysis yet, most stylish EEG cap

Mind-controlled wheelchairs are becoming all the rage these days, but before you start letting your thoughts wander elsewhere, this latest from researchers at the Brain Science Institute (BSI) — Toyta Collaboration Center have what they claim is a system that’ll control the ride using brain waves analyzed every 125 milliseconds, which it boasts bests the competition by several seconds. Testers using the wheels and EEG cap system have achieved accuracy up to 95 percent which, as you can see in the video after the break, will make cubicle obstacle courses a challenge of the past.

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