Ford to license Toyota hybrid tech

LordThing

Golden Member
Jun 8, 2001
1,970
0
0
they have been talking about this for years. They were to have a Hybrid Ford Escape out as early as 2004 for fleet vehicles and consumer by 05, but last time I heard they pushed it back again.

Edit: RTFA, eh? :p
 

thomsbrain

Lifer
Dec 4, 2001
18,148
1
0
haha. dodge is now the only Big3 company that hasn't had to run to toyota with its tail between its legs to get a decent car.
 

pcmodem

Golden Member
Feb 6, 2001
1,190
0
0
Hrm... am curious why GM isn't interested in hybrid.

That Toyota Highlander hybrid supposely will get 28 MPG.
-PCM
 

Falloutboy

Diamond Member
Jan 2, 2003
5,916
0
76
I think hybrids are only a short term solution. I think the best long term solution will be fuel cells but that is about 10 years from being feasable
 

DanTMWTMP

Lifer
Oct 7, 2001
15,908
19
81
Originally posted by: pcmodem
Hrm... am curious why GM isn't interested in hybrid.

That Toyota Highlander hybrid supposely will get 28 MPG.
-PCM

so will the RX400h..lexus small SUV which i think has the same engine and chassis as the highlander...(i think..i donno..i'm car n00b)


i hear it has 270hp w/ about 30mpg.....wow...suv w/ a mileage of a civic
 

SuperTool

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
14,000
2
0
Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Originally posted by: pcmodem
Hrm... am curious why GM isn't interested in hybrid.

That Toyota Highlander hybrid supposely will get 28 MPG.
-PCM

so will the RX400h..lexus small SUV which i think has the same engine and chassis as the highlander...(i think..i donno..i'm car n00b)


i hear it has 270hp w/ about 30mpg.....wow...suv w/ a mileage of a civic

highlander V6 already gets 25 mpg on highway. So a whole bunch of hoopla over marginal gains. Maybe if you drive in the city a lot a hybrid would help with regenerative braking, but on the highway, I doubt it'll do much. Gotta go with GM on that one.
 

PowerMac4Ever

Banned
Dec 9, 2000
5,246
0
0
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Originally posted by: pcmodem
Hrm... am curious why GM isn't interested in hybrid.

That Toyota Highlander hybrid supposely will get 28 MPG.
-PCM

so will the RX400h..lexus small SUV which i think has the same engine and chassis as the highlander...(i think..i donno..i'm car n00b)


i hear it has 270hp w/ about 30mpg.....wow...suv w/ a mileage of a civic

highlander V6 already gets 25 mpg on highway. So a whole bunch of hoopla over marginal gains. Maybe if you drive in the city a lot a hybrid would help with regenerative braking, but on the highway, I doubt it'll do much. Gotta go with GM on that one.
18mpg to 30mpg is an excellent gain...
 

SuperTool

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
14,000
2
0
Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Originally posted by: pcmodem
Hrm... am curious why GM isn't interested in hybrid.

That Toyota Highlander hybrid supposely will get 28 MPG.
-PCM

so will the RX400h..lexus small SUV which i think has the same engine and chassis as the highlander...(i think..i donno..i'm car n00b)


i hear it has 270hp w/ about 30mpg.....wow...suv w/ a mileage of a civic

highlander V6 already gets 25 mpg on highway. So a whole bunch of hoopla over marginal gains. Maybe if you drive in the city a lot a hybrid would help with regenerative braking, but on the highway, I doubt it'll do much. Gotta go with GM on that one.
18mpg to 30mpg is an excellent gain...

If you live in the city. How many people in cities drive SUV's? Some, but not so many in SF. If you live and suburbs and commute to work on highway, you won't notice much difference.
 

loup garou

Lifer
Feb 17, 2000
35,132
1
81
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Originally posted by: pcmodem
Hrm... am curious why GM isn't interested in hybrid.

That Toyota Highlander hybrid supposely will get 28 MPG.
-PCM

so will the RX400h..lexus small SUV which i think has the same engine and chassis as the highlander...(i think..i donno..i'm car n00b)


i hear it has 270hp w/ about 30mpg.....wow...suv w/ a mileage of a civic

highlander V6 already gets 25 mpg on highway. So a whole bunch of hoopla over marginal gains. Maybe if you drive in the city a lot a hybrid would help with regenerative braking, but on the highway, I doubt it'll do much. Gotta go with GM on that one.
18mpg to 30mpg is an excellent gain...

If you live in the city. How many people in cities drive SUV's? Some, but not so many in SF. If you live and suburbs and commute to work on highway, you won't notice much difference.
The 40HP gain in addition to the fuel efficiency gain is nice as well, though. And tons of people drive SUVs in cities.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,589
986
126
Originally posted by: thomsbrain
haha. dodge is now the only Big3 company that hasn't had to run to toyota with its tail between its legs to get a decent car.

Oh wait...Dodge doesn't have a decent car. Never mind. :eek:
 

Ryan

Lifer
Oct 31, 2000
27,519
2
81
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Originally posted by: pcmodem
Hrm... am curious why GM isn't interested in hybrid.

That Toyota Highlander hybrid supposely will get 28 MPG.
-PCM

so will the RX400h..lexus small SUV which i think has the same engine and chassis as the highlander...(i think..i donno..i'm car n00b)


i hear it has 270hp w/ about 30mpg.....wow...suv w/ a mileage of a civic

highlander V6 already gets 25 mpg on highway. So a whole bunch of hoopla over marginal gains. Maybe if you drive in the city a lot a hybrid would help with regenerative braking, but on the highway, I doubt it'll do much. Gotta go with GM on that one.
18mpg to 30mpg is an excellent gain...

If you live in the city. How many people in cities drive SUV's? Some, but not so many in SF. If you live and suburbs and commute to work on highway, you won't notice much difference.

But see, you're referring to metropolises - it's virtually impossible to drive your own car to work in places like new york, san francisco, etc. Overall, most people don't commute (the vast majority in the US).
 

Ryan

Lifer
Oct 31, 2000
27,519
2
81
Ford has been in talks with Toyota for years about using their hybrid technology in the Escape Hybrid.
 

MikeMike

Lifer
Feb 6, 2000
45,885
66
91
yea, GM is after hydrogen. it is a MUCH better source imo. it requires very little change in the engine design, just some internals. however the liquid hydrogen is very bad for skin (just lil burn ;)) but you can still have your V8's pushing tons of HP, your v16's with even more.

MIKE
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,589
986
126
Originally posted by: rbloedow
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Originally posted by: pcmodem
Hrm... am curious why GM isn't interested in hybrid.

That Toyota Highlander hybrid supposely will get 28 MPG.
-PCM

so will the RX400h..lexus small SUV which i think has the same engine and chassis as the highlander...(i think..i donno..i'm car n00b)


i hear it has 270hp w/ about 30mpg.....wow...suv w/ a mileage of a civic

highlander V6 already gets 25 mpg on highway. So a whole bunch of hoopla over marginal gains. Maybe if you drive in the city a lot a hybrid would help with regenerative braking, but on the highway, I doubt it'll do much. Gotta go with GM on that one.
18mpg to 30mpg is an excellent gain...

If you live in the city. How many people in cities drive SUV's? Some, but not so many in SF. If you live and suburbs and commute to work on highway, you won't notice much difference.

But see, you're referring to metropolises - it's virtually impossible to drive your own car to work in places like new york, san francisco, etc. Overall, most people don't commute (the vast majority in the US).

This is from Edmunds.com:

Not only that, it's also projected to get over 28 miles to the gallon in combined city and highway driving and have a range of over 600 miles.

The current Highlander is rated at 19mpg city and 25mpg highway. So, 28 combined is an excellent gain.

Both my car and my wife's car average in the lower range of the manufacturer's stated fuel economy combined city/highway driving. Going from 18 to 28 would save you over $500/year if you average 15k miles/year and figure gas at $2.00/gallon (it is much higher than this here right now).

I would buy one in a second over its non-hybrid counterpart.
 

Pocatello

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
9,754
2
76
If there is a full-size hybrid truck that can pull and get close to 30MPG, I'll buy it.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,589
986
126
Originally posted by: Pocatello
If there is a full-size hybrid truck that can pull and get close to 30MPG, I'll buy it.

I keep hoping for this also.

C'mon Toyota, build a hybrid Tundra!!!
 

SuperTool

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
14,000
2
0
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Originally posted by: rbloedow
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Originally posted by: pcmodem
Hrm... am curious why GM isn't interested in hybrid.

That Toyota Highlander hybrid supposely will get 28 MPG.
-PCM

so will the RX400h..lexus small SUV which i think has the same engine and chassis as the highlander...(i think..i donno..i'm car n00b)


i hear it has 270hp w/ about 30mpg.....wow...suv w/ a mileage of a civic

highlander V6 already gets 25 mpg on highway. So a whole bunch of hoopla over marginal gains. Maybe if you drive in the city a lot a hybrid would help with regenerative braking, but on the highway, I doubt it'll do much. Gotta go with GM on that one.
18mpg to 30mpg is an excellent gain...

If you live in the city. How many people in cities drive SUV's? Some, but not so many in SF. If you live and suburbs and commute to work on highway, you won't notice much difference.

But see, you're referring to metropolises - it's virtually impossible to drive your own car to work in places like new york, san francisco, etc. Overall, most people don't commute (the vast majority in the US).

This is from Edmunds.com:

Not only that, it's also projected to get over 28 miles to the gallon in combined city and highway driving and have a range of over 600 miles.

The current Highlander is rated at 19mpg city and 25mpg highway. So, 28 combined is an excellent gain.

Both my car and my wife's car average in the lower range of the manufacturer's stated fuel economy combined city/highway driving. Going from 18 to 28 would save you over $500/year if you average 15k miles/year and figure gas at $2.00/gallon (it is much higher than this here right now).

I would buy one in a second over its non-hybrid counterpart.

Yes, combined fuel economy might be higher, But that's because city improves a lot while highway stays flat. If you are driving 50% city 50% highway, you may see these improvements. If you get on the highway for 50 miles, and then go 2 miles in the city, the improvements will be very marginal. Also, hybrids usually cost a couple grand more than their non-hybrid counterparts, so you have to make a calculation will you save enough to pay for the initial cost differential, and possible higher future repair and maintainance costs on hybrid system and batteries. Depending on your particular driving style or situation it may or may not make sense.
Ford made a calculation that the market was not large enough to justify developing own hybrid system at this time, so they licensed it. Good decision in my opinion.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,589
986
126
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Originally posted by: rbloedow
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Originally posted by: pcmodem
Hrm... am curious why GM isn't interested in hybrid.

That Toyota Highlander hybrid supposely will get 28 MPG.
-PCM

so will the RX400h..lexus small SUV which i think has the same engine and chassis as the highlander...(i think..i donno..i'm car n00b)


i hear it has 270hp w/ about 30mpg.....wow...suv w/ a mileage of a civic

highlander V6 already gets 25 mpg on highway. So a whole bunch of hoopla over marginal gains. Maybe if you drive in the city a lot a hybrid would help with regenerative braking, but on the highway, I doubt it'll do much. Gotta go with GM on that one.
18mpg to 30mpg is an excellent gain...

If you live in the city. How many people in cities drive SUV's? Some, but not so many in SF. If you live and suburbs and commute to work on highway, you won't notice much difference.

But see, you're referring to metropolises - it's virtually impossible to drive your own car to work in places like new york, san francisco, etc. Overall, most people don't commute (the vast majority in the US).

This is from Edmunds.com:

Not only that, it's also projected to get over 28 miles to the gallon in combined city and highway driving and have a range of over 600 miles.

The current Highlander is rated at 19mpg city and 25mpg highway. So, 28 combined is an excellent gain.

Both my car and my wife's car average in the lower range of the manufacturer's stated fuel economy combined city/highway driving. Going from 18 to 28 would save you over $500/year if you average 15k miles/year and figure gas at $2.00/gallon (it is much higher than this here right now).

I would buy one in a second over its non-hybrid counterpart.

Yes, combined fuel economy might be higher, But that's because city improves a lot while highway stays flat. If you are driving 50% city 50% highway, you may see these improvements. If you get on the highway for 50 miles, and then go 2 miles in the city, the improvements will be very marginal. Also, hybrids usually cost a couple grand more than their non-hybrid counterparts, so you have to make a calculation will you save enough to pay for the initial cost differential, and possible higher future repair and maintainance costs on hybrid system and batteries. Depending on your particular driving style or situation it may or may not make sense.
Ford made a calculation that the market was not large enough to justify developing own hybrid system at this time, so they licensed it. Good decision in my opinion.

I don't agree, I would say that most driving is stop and go highway or city driving. Definitely around large cities and especially where I live in Southern California. Most people don't hop on the highway for 50 miles and then off for 2 on their commute in to work or going grocery shopping or dropping the kids off at school.

Toyota also warranties the batteries on their hybrids for lifetime. I applaud Toyota for developing these vehicles. They seem to have no real disadvantages other than slightly higher cost and the fact that they are in high demand while supply remains fairly low.
 

SuperTool

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
14,000
2
0
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Originally posted by: rbloedow
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
Originally posted by: pcmodem
Hrm... am curious why GM isn't interested in hybrid.

That Toyota Highlander hybrid supposely will get 28 MPG.
-PCM

so will the RX400h..lexus small SUV which i think has the same engine and chassis as the highlander...(i think..i donno..i'm car n00b)


i hear it has 270hp w/ about 30mpg.....wow...suv w/ a mileage of a civic

highlander V6 already gets 25 mpg on highway. So a whole bunch of hoopla over marginal gains. Maybe if you drive in the city a lot a hybrid would help with regenerative braking, but on the highway, I doubt it'll do much. Gotta go with GM on that one.
18mpg to 30mpg is an excellent gain...

If you live in the city. How many people in cities drive SUV's? Some, but not so many in SF. If you live and suburbs and commute to work on highway, you won't notice much difference.

But see, you're referring to metropolises - it's virtually impossible to drive your own car to work in places like new york, san francisco, etc. Overall, most people don't commute (the vast majority in the US).

This is from Edmunds.com:

Not only that, it's also projected to get over 28 miles to the gallon in combined city and highway driving and have a range of over 600 miles.

The current Highlander is rated at 19mpg city and 25mpg highway. So, 28 combined is an excellent gain.

Both my car and my wife's car average in the lower range of the manufacturer's stated fuel economy combined city/highway driving. Going from 18 to 28 would save you over $500/year if you average 15k miles/year and figure gas at $2.00/gallon (it is much higher than this here right now).

I would buy one in a second over its non-hybrid counterpart.

Yes, combined fuel economy might be higher, But that's because city improves a lot while highway stays flat. If you are driving 50% city 50% highway, you may see these improvements. If you get on the highway for 50 miles, and then go 2 miles in the city, the improvements will be very marginal. Also, hybrids usually cost a couple grand more than their non-hybrid counterparts, so you have to make a calculation will you save enough to pay for the initial cost differential, and possible higher future repair and maintainance costs on hybrid system and batteries. Depending on your particular driving style or situation it may or may not make sense.
Ford made a calculation that the market was not large enough to justify developing own hybrid system at this time, so they licensed it. Good decision in my opinion.

I don't agree, I would say that most driving is stop and go highway or city driving. Definitely around large cities and especially where I live in Southern California. Most people don't hop on the highway for 50 miles and then off for 2 on their commute in to work or going grocery shopping or dropping the kids off at school.

Toyota also warranties the batteries on their hybrids for lifetime. I applaud Toyota for developing these vehicles. They seem to have no real disadvantages other than a slight cost increase and the fact that they are in high demand while supply remains fairly low.

Good for you. I bike to work, and mostly take the car on highway trips. Cost of a hybrid is not justified for me. If you are right and there is sufficient market to support multiple independent hybrid systems, manufacturers will develop their own instead of licensing.