Hybrids, along with Flexible Fuel Vehicles, are nothing new. Each one has been plying our world’s roads for more than a few years now. But what if you could combine the two and have a car that can help clean up the air?
Toyota has actually turned science fiction into near reality as it unveiled a prototype of the world’s first Hybrid Flexible Fuel Vehicle in Sao Paulo, Brazil recently. The said vehicle, a Toyota Prius, can be powered by both a gasoline engine that runs on pure ethanol, along with the Japanese carmaker’s cutting-edge Hybrid drive system—a gas/electric motor combo.
As we all know, the hybrid drive on its own can be very friendly to our planet. It can run on pure electricity for a number of kilometers—useful in congested cities where stop-and-go traffic is a staple fare. Then there is the E100-capable gasoline motor that uses plant-based fuel (or ethanol) made from sugarcane—a fully renewable energy source.
Toyota has found a way to combine the two energy sources into one neat package and make it a truly earth-friendly vehicle. It’s all in keeping with the company’s goal of Environmental Challenge 2050 that hopes to reduce vehicle emissions by as much as 90% by the year 2050 vis-à-vis 2010 C02 levels.
While this goal sounds a bit lofty, keep in mind that it unveiled the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle some 20 years ago. Since then, the world has come to embrace this technology with these types of vehicles numbering in the millions to date. So we wouldn’t be surprised if Toyota actually met its goal and made earth-friendly clean vehicles mainstay on our roads.
