Ben Tong Automotive

Toyota Introduces Solar Power To Electric Vehicles

Toyota is developing electric cars which can utilize solar panels for power. This is the first time that Toyota is using solar energy, a great renewable source of energy to charge electric batteries in hybrid cars.

Solar panels are being mounted on each end of new Toyota electric cars to draw renewable energy from the sun. This is not the first time solar energy has been introduced as a source of energy to power automobiles. It is possible to create a solar powered vehicle but there are trade-offs when it comes to speed. As far as using it for powering electric batteries found in hybrid vehicles there is considerable concern as to whether or not the sun will be able to provide enough power to charge the battery.

Solar powered methods have been used for powering outdoor lamps. These lamps collect energy from the sun during the day and then can be used at night. That type of simple and efficient energy transfer for hybrid type vehicles still needs more development and improvement.

It would seem, however, that Toyota may have found a means to effectively recharge hybrid batteries. Though Toyota has made no comment regarding this prototype, it is conceivable that solar energy could be harvested through panels and may possess enough energy to power dashboards systems, headlights, windshield wipers and even the vehicles radio. Other more energy utilizing systems may require much more power than panels can provide. If Toyota has found a way around this we’ll know soon enough. Read the rest of this entry »

It seems the effects of these trying economic times know no bounds. People are resorting to even more illegal activities and theft is on the rise. In particular, car theft seems to be the most attractive for the desperate because of its street value.

Most car thieves used the old fashion techniques like jimmying the lock or using a crowbar. Lately, many car dealerships are dealing with car theft right under their own noses. It seems many of these thefts are inside jobs. Vast majorities of other car dealerships with less than adequate security are becoming more hip to the times and have beefed up security measures to protect against theft form the outside.

It was reported that a western Nebraska, Scottsbluff to be exact, the Legacy Ford Lincoln Mercury Toyota car dealership lost dozens of new cars in early March of this year. The cars were later found at auto auctions in Utah and Arizona. The culprits? Well it wasn’t the usual suspects. It was the executives working inside the car dealership – the dealership owner Allen Patch, the general manager Rick Covello and the controller Rachel Fait. They cleared out their offices and left town with 81 Ford and Toyota vehicles!

This was not your ordinary heist. These vehicles were vanishing by the truckload! It rather reminds you of the Fast and the Furious movie with Vin Diesel and his crew high jacking fast cars while driving in even faster cars on the highway at high speed. Of course, that’s Hollywood and the guilty here were more low – keyed and under the radar and arranged it from behind an office desk. This was a true insider operation and a car theft story with TV or movie potential. How about that ol’ Nicholas Cage auto theft film – Gone in Sixty Seconds? The total cost of the merchandise stolen was over $2 million! It’s no wonder the car dealer executives disappeared all of a sudden after the heist occurred. Read the rest of this entry »