Toyota Plays Their Latest Hand at the 2011 Auto Show

Since Toyota is one of the biggest Japanese automobile manufacturer's pushing for the development of electric vehicles and hybrids cars, it is no surprise that they have felt at home on the showroom floors of the various auto shows in recent months. The North American International Auto Show 2011 in Detroit is, of course, no exception to this as Toyota makes big headlines. With a series of announcements that reinforced earlier press releases and a few unveilings, Toyota has once again proven that they stand with the top dogs of green vehicle production.

One of the biggest announcements coming from Toyota at the Auto Show has been the unveiling of their latest green vehicle concept for the Prius-C Hybrid. The latest in the line of Prius based vehicles; this one is believed to feature some sort of plug-in electric system and to be one of the most fuel efficient cars yet. While exact specifications and details on just how the vehicle will achieve extreme fuel efficiency have yet to be released, Toyota has said that the car is being designed with urban transportation in mind.

The other Toyota green vehicle that received showroom floor time is the similar Prius-V MPV model. The Prius-V is similar in design to the Prius-C but marketed towards a different group of consumers and it meant to be more like a sports utility vehicle or minivan than simple sedan. While the Prius-C is expected to be marketed towards a younger, urban consumer base, the Prius-V is meant to be Toyota's hybrid contribution to the family vehicle market. Toyota has said that the Prius-V will share drive trains with the Prius-C, but will feature more space and it is expected be more family friendly overall. Toyota announced during the release that the Prius-V will have a fuel economy of roughly forty miles per gallon putting it towards the top in the family van style bracket in terms of fuel efficiency.

While the Prius models may have been the biggest announcements to come out of the North American International Auto Show 2011 for Toyota, it is apparent that there is a lot more to come. Their partnership with Tesla alone is supposed to be yielding some very interesting results soon. Undoubtedly, once the Tesla based Toyota models are ready, Toyota will once again place themselves firmly towards the top when it comes to the green vehicle and hybrid car market.

Photo Credit: Mytho88