Recently, I wrote the Prius had a "second phase" goal of 37 miles in electric-only mode. In the video above, Hans-Peter Wandt of Toyota says the "step one" Prius in testing can go 60 to 100 kph (100 kph is 62 mph) and that future models will go "beyond" that. The current Prius' top speed in electric-only mode is 35 mph. If Hans means step one is the Prius being tested in France, then that means Toyota has developed an electric engine that breaks the speed limit.

The stage one Prius, currently in testing, does not use lithium-ion and only has a 6-mile range. Does it matter if the plug-in Prius can go 67 MPH if it has a 6-mile range? A powerful electric engine in the first phase Toyota could mean a smaller gas engine, which means lower weight and maybe higher mileage. Even if the phase one gas motor is the same size as the current Prius, the second phase Prius will be able to get 37 miles per charge and go 67 mph.

A Prius with that sort of electric-only range coupled with an electric-only speed of 67 mph is on par with the Volt. It's very possible that we'll hear Toyota start to make the same claims as GM has with the Volt, i.e, the car gets very high mileage, you may never have to use gas, etc. And the "second phase" Prius may even have higher mileage. How is that possible? Remember, the series hybrid model may be less efficient than parallel hybrid model. Also, Hans mentions they are open to other power trains and he even mentions co-generation. Does that mean there is a natural gas Prius or natural gas charger in the works?

[Source: YouTube]

Better late than never, right? It's totally my fault that AutoblogGreen Podcast #12 is so late in coming, but here it is! Episode 12 is a Frankfurt recap show, and John Neff from Autoblog.com joins Sebastian and Sam to talk about some of the highlights of the dual-personality (green and not so green) Frankfurt Motor Show. There's lots of discussion about the coming E-Flex versus Hybrid Synergy Drive smackdown, the 17 new models coming from Mercedes by 2010, many of them diesels, the Volvo C30 Efficiency kicks off discussion about plucking the low-hanging efficiency fruit, and the 'cast wraps up with further punditry about Diesel regs in the US versus the EU. It's a wide-ranging discussion clocking in at 41 minutes, enjoy!

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There were lots of flashy cars at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. Citroën C-Cactus concept was not the prettiest but it was well thought out with ideas that may soon go into production. The designer of the C-Cactus, Gilles Vidal, says "we wanted to look at the whole environmental question from dust to dust. We quickly realised we wanted a lighter car. There's a virtuous [sic] circle where you add some new technology, and before you know it you need bigger brakes to stop the heavier car, and weight just balloons. The C-Cactus is an attempt to get away from that."

Hypermilers will love the efforts to reduce weight in the C-Cactus like getting rid of the dashboard. We think the lack of a dashboard is a little too radical but the lack of a paint job on the side doors has potential. Conceivably, there are silver, gray, metallic, etc. paint jobs Citroën offers. What's the point if the car is already that color? We have never seen a car have the option of no paint job and think it might catch on like hard wood floors for homes. A Citroën spokesperson says it's possible that feature will be used on future production cars.

[Source: Auto Express News, Car Magazine]

Michelin has a new low resistance tire called Energy Saver and they brought it to the Frankfurt Motor Show. The Michelin demonstration of the tire at the show has two cars on a slope rolling back and fourth. The car with the Energy Saver tires continues to roll 18 seconds longer than the car without. Below the fold is a Michelin advertising commercial with the phrase "a better way forward" that includes tires that get better fuel economy. Other tires companies are not left out of the green revolution, either. Yokohama Tire is also highlighting green efforts in their new ads.

[Source: YouTube]

Above is a video all about the Fiat ecoDrive. It's a USB device that logs how you are driving and with the help of Microsoft, takes over the world. Actually, that was Plan A. Plan B is to log how you are driving, transfer the data to your via USB and PC software will give you tips on how to lower CO2. It will be in most Fiat cars soon. Below the fold is another video with great highlights from the Frankfurt Motor Show including a concept hydrogen roadster by Peugeot called Flux. The video also mentions the contest Chevy is having where you vote for one of three small cars and they will make it. I added a video of the Trax because it's clearly going to win.

[Source: YouTube]

The video above is an interview about the BMW Hydrogen 7. There are some BOLD claims in this video. The "shell" can keep "soup" hot for months and an "ice man" cold for "17 years." You also get a look at the "H2 button" in the test drive of the Hydrogen 7. Two more videos are below the flow. The first includes a look at a special light and exhaust cover on the back of the hybrid BMW X6 that will tell the public when you are in EV mode. The third video is all about the F 700 hybrid BMW Mercedes Benz.

[Source: YouTube]

Click the photo for a high-res gallery of the Opel Flextreme concept

The inclusion of a pair on-board Segway scooters may have been a questionable design decision for the Opel Flextreme concept, but the packaging was certainly well integrated. The back end of Flextreme has a compartment behind the bumper that holds the scooters and provides charging ports that ensure they are charged when you need them.

While no one from the ABG team was on site in Frankfurt this week, our partners over on the Autoblog side of the house were there and they got photos of the Flextreme reveal. Those photos have now been added to the Flextreme gallery where the ramp that drops down can be clearly seen. If the Segways are discarded, this would make a nice concealed storage area for the stuff you want to keep out of sight.

Lexus says that in Europe the Lexus RX 400h now makes up 83 percent of the overall RX sales. That means the hybrid version of the RX is outselling the regular gas version by a ratio of 4 to 1. I always assumed hybrids were always out sold if a gas version of the same car was available. Is the Camry hybrid outselling the regular Camry? Probably not. The RX is a luxury car line. The regular version costs just under $40,000 while the hybrid is a few thousand more.

The amount of improvement in mileage you get with the Lexus hybrid, when compared with other hybrids, is negligible. The higher sales of these Lexus hybrids are probably due to the fact the person buying a luxury car can pay for improved mileage and Lexus has the only luxury hybrids on the market right now. More luxury carmakers are releasing hybrids versions soon. Numbers like 83 percent of sales proved they really missed the boat on that one.

[Source: YouTube]

As part of Ford's environmental emphasis at this week's Frankfurt Motor Show, the company is heavily promoting their Flexifuel models. Along with the Focus, which has been available with a flex-fuel engine since 2001, and the more recent C-Max, Ford announced that early in 2008 they will expand Flexifuel availability to the Mondeo, Galaxy and S-Max.

Sweden has been at the forefront of promoting ethanol for several years now with an assortment of tax breaks on both the fuel and the vehicles. Over eighty percent of all the Focus and C-Max models sold in Sweden now are the flex-fuel versions. Ford is promoting sales of the flex-fuel cars by selling them for the same price or at only a slight premium in most markets. They are currently offering the flex-fuel models in sixteen countries, mostly western Europe and Scandanavia. There are more details from Ford after the jump.

[Source: Ford]

In our reports on the Mercedes-Benz S400 and S300 Bluetech hybrids we mentioned that the cars use a lithium ion battery. Both of these cars, as well as the C-Class hybrid that Mercedes is displaying at the Frankfurt Motor Show, use a new mild hybrid system. The mild hybrid system was co-developed with BMW although the Munich brand has yet to show any of their applications. A mild hybrid system can't drive the vehicle on electricity alone so it doesn't need as much battery capacity as a strong hybrid like the Two-Mode system in the ML450.

In order to optimize the packaging of the system to allow it to be easily installed in many vehicles, Mercedes is placing the battery pack under-hood by the engine. Limited under-hood space means a nickel metal hydride battery was out of the question. The lithium pack is being supplied by Johnson Controls-Saft which is also one of the development suppliers to the Saturn Vue PHEV program at GM. Since GM has indicated that they have no interest in pursuing lithium metal oxide chemistries (those are the kind used in laptops that have nasty thermal problems), it's likely the JCS unit for Mercedes doesn't use this type either. The first of the Mercedes S400 hybrids is due to launch in 2009 at about the same time as the PHEV Saturn Vue. It remains to be seen which one makes it to market first.

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

Click the i-Blue for a high-res gallery

Hyundai is showing off their first dedicated fuel cell design concept this week at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The i-Blue features Hyundai's latest in-house developed fuel cell stack, sending electricity to a 100kW motor driving the front wheels. The fuel cell stack is mounted under the floor of this new cross-over platform that is likely to form the basis of a future Hyundai production model.

The 115L fuel tank is filled with hydrogen gas compressed at 10,000 psi which seems to be the standard most car-makers are converging on. Hyundai is claiming an operating range of 372 miles and a top speed of 100mph. The Hyundai press release is after the jump.

[Source: Hyundai, Autoblog]

Welcome to the third AutoblogGreen video round up! Like all the video round ups so far, this one is all about the Frankfurt Auto Show. The video above is Bob Lutz introducing the Opel Flextreme concept. Someone in the Opel video says the emissions from the engine will be constant, which seems to fix complaints of the series hybrid model. Has GM solved the problem of engines warming up?

Below the fold is a video tour of the Frankfurt show floor with a look at most of the new green cars. Included in that video is the VW Up! which the tour guide says could be VW's next iconic car like the VW Bug. Also below the fold is another video tour from the show with a quick shot of Rick Wagoner talking green. This year's IAA was all about green cars, and we've got the video to prove it.

[Source: YouTube]

Click the IQ for a high-res gallery including live shots from the show floor

Toyota's new mini-car concept, the IQ, was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show and we have some more details about it. The IQ is only 2.98 m long which makes it about a foot longer than the Smart ForTwo. While the Smart is strictly a two seater, the Japanese mini is advertised as a 3+1 seater. That means there are two seats that can be inhabited by adults in the front.

The asymmetrical dashboard design allows the front passenger seat to be pulled forward, allowing another adult and potentially a child to sit in the back hence the + 1. No information is available about what kind of drivetrain the car might include other than it's location at the front of the car. The IQ may go on sale in Europe as early as 2009 and would likely have an engine in the 1.0L range. The press release with the minimal information it provides is after the jump.

[Source: Toyota]

No, it's not up! Say hello to iQ, Toyota's new minicar concept. Autoblog has pictures of the car at the Frankfurt Auto Show. Toyota won't say if it's gas or electric but it is small. Well, "small yet spacious" is what Toyota is going for here. To save space, they have a removable seat, lots of controls are on the steering wheel, etc. Toyota plans to release a small car in 2009 and it may look just like the iQ.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Click the up! for a high-res gallery

The Volkswagen mini-car that until had been referred to as the City Expert has now been unveiled with a new name and a look distinctly different from the renderings we had seen previously. The VW up! is seen as a the true successor to the Type 1 Beetle. The styling is neither retro nor an evolution of current Volkswagens.

Like the original Volkswagen and the much newer Smart ForTwo, the up! has it's engine mounted in the back driving the rear wheels. Unlike the Smart, the VW gets four seats into its 11.3 foot length. As a somewhat more practical challenger to the Smart, it may be interesting to look back at the history of Smart. The Smart was conceived by Swatch founder Nicholas Hayek and was originally a partnership with VW. After some initial prototypes were built, VW pulled out of the project and Mercedes-Benz stepped in. Now VW has built this new car as a low cost urban transportation module with low CO2 emissions.

[Source: Volkswagen]