Alphard Hybrid Boasts Functionality and Advanced Styling

Outstandingly low fuel consumption

The Alphard Hybrid realizes about twice the fuel efficiency specified by Japanese 2010 fuel efficiency standards while also qualifying as an ultra-low emission vehicle, consuming fuel at the rate of 1 liter every 17.2 kilometers (in the Japanese 10-15 test cycle).

To achieve this superior performance, the Alphard Hybrid's THS-C hybrid system efficiently combines the drive power of the engine and the front motor, and the E-Four electric 4WD system recovers energy from each wheel, while driving resistance has been reduced.

The insulated body and the newly developed two-way compressor incorporated in the motor optimize the use of the air conditioner, thus conserving fuel.

Reduced drive resistance

The highly aerodynamic body design along with reductions of the operating resistance in each part of the powertrain have reduced drive resistance and loss of drive energy, helping lower fuel consumption.

Insulated body

The specially developed windshield glass reduces the amount of solar radiation penetration and the roof and roof panels contain an insulating material to reduce cabin temperature, which helps conserve energy when the air conditioner is operating.

Intuitive air conditioning system

The Alphard Hybrid uses the world's first newly developed two-way compressor with a built-in motor. The engine powers the air conditioner when the engine is running, and the compressor's internal motor powers it when the engine is not running, helping to conserve energy and provide enhanced comfort.

Clean emissions

The Alphard Hybrid qualifies as an ultra-low emission vehicle achieving emission levels 75% lower than 2000 standards under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Approval System for Low-emission Vehicles.

Ultra-advanced driving performance

Hybrid system, E-Four

The THS-C hybrid system combines a 2.4-liter high-efficiency gasoline engine, front motor and Super CVT transmission. Its efficient use of drive power achieves low fuel consumption and enables a smooth ride. The E-Four electric 4WD system provides better driving performance by using power from the rear-wheel drive motor to optimize electric power distribution to all four wheels according to driving conditions. It provides additional drive power when needed, such as when accelerating from a standing start or on slippery surfaces.

Engine

Developed for hybrid vehicles, the 2.4-liter 2AZ-FXE engine has a high-expansion ratio cycle that enhances fuel economy by improving efficiency and reducing friction loss. Additionally, optimum control of the Super CVT and front motor create low emissions levels. Combined with the motor, the engine allows for powerful driving from low to high speeds.

The Super CVT's wide-range gear ratio allows the front transaxle to contribute to smooth driving from low to high speeds. The rear transaxle combines the rear motor and differential gear in a single unit, for a more lightweight and compact structure. This design eliminates the need for a propeller shaft, keeping overall weight increase to a minimum.

ECB (Electronically Controlled Brake) system

The ECB system adopts a by-wire system that uses electronic signals to detect the amount of pressure on the brake pedal and control the distribution of braking force. Independent as well as linear hydraulic controls for each wheel provide excellent environmental performance, outstanding handling and driving stability.

Environment-considerate brake system

Vehicle-mounted sensors provide information such as the amount of brake pedal operation, as well as vehicle speed. The system determines the most efficient distribution of labor between electric and hydraulic application of the brakes, in addition to using gathered information to calculate optimum hydraulic pressure. The ECB system is controlled together with the E-Four to maximize the collection and conversion of kinetic energy into electric power. The system also controls the brake pedal's rigidity in response to the amount of pressure applied, creating a natural braking feel.

Outstanding driving stability

The VSC and TRC systems, the ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, as well as the ECB system, the hybrid system and E-Four, integrate coordination, drive and control. Through these technologies, a groundbreaking level of driving stability has been achieved to make the car safer and easier to control before it breeches the limits of controllable movement.

Reaching new horizons in outdoor possibiliti es

Since the Alphard Hybrid's system can generate up to 1,500 watts of auxiliary power, it offers an expanded range of possibilities for outdoor activities.

Up to 1,500 watts of power

The hybrid system can generate up to 1,500 watts of power when the vehicle is stationary or moving, and has standard 100-volt household AC power outlets in its center cluster and luggage area. These outlets can be used to power home appliances such as hairdryers and microwave ovens and recharge items such as power-assisted bicycles and electric carts, adding a new dimension to leisure activities. Work equipment or equipment for the elderly or disabled can also be used with ease.

Advanced ITS features and optimized functions

Multi-information display

The 6.5-inch multi-information display in the center of the instrument panel, specially developed for hybrid vehicles, has an energy monitor showing the hybrid system's operational status. The fuel gauge can display the distance that can be traveled on the remaining fuel, as well as per-minute fuel consumption rates. It can also calculate such rates over driver-specified intervals and show the amount of regenerated energy.

Standard on the "G edition" and optional on standard grades are, with a G-BOOK-compatible DVD voice navigation system: 1) a Blind Corner Monitor, which indicates the approach of other vehicles or pedestrians from the left and right; 2) a Back Guide Monitor with a color CCD camera and voice-guidance function, which uses signals from a steering sensor to calculate the likely reverse path during reversing and display it on the monitor screen, and 3) a lane-monitoring system that uses images from the Back Guide Monitor camera to measure the lateral distance to white or yellow lines on major highways and triggers an alarm when the distance falls below a pre-set level.

Radar Cruise Control, which uses laser radar sensors and steering sensors to keep track of the vehicle's lane and any preceding vehicle and ensures that a safe distance is maintained in accordance with vehicle speed, has been made optional on the "G edition."

Optional on all grades is a built-in electronic toll collection unit that allows for quick tollgate pass-through (only available with a navigation system).

Exterior and interior design

Futuristic styling with a sense of presence

The exterior design portrays dynamic and distinctive styling that assumes a commanding presence. The impressive front introduces a robust body, while the distinct rear expresses a futuristic vision.

The styles of the hybrid-exclusive front grill, front bumper, headlights, LED rear combination lamp, rear garnish and emblem all work to mark a clear distinction from the Alphard G and Alphard V.

The front grill adopts the same paint color as the body. A chrome-plated latticework with two horizontal lines and a chrome-plated emblem create an elegant effect.

The Alphard Hybrid features solid bumpers that offer functionality and advanced styling. Square, dual-lens low-beam headlights enhance its hi-tech image.

The rear's combination lamps and high-mount brake light use LEDs to improve visibility and reduce electric power consumption. The rear garnish adopts the same color as the body, creating a sense of unity as a whole, and a gilded finish applied around the reversing lights accentuates the sense of sophistication.

The Alphard Hybrid comes in a total of five high-class colors, including the new hybrid-exclusive colors Pale Blue Mica Metallic and Light Purple Metallic, which are all appropriate for a distinctive vehicle body.

Interior design

A new interior layout that stores the hybrid batteries underneath the front seat allows for a large luggage space that can hold eight golf bags even with eight passengers in the vehicle.

The instrument panel achieves a futuristic and luxury feel through its center cluster panel with a black wood grain "inner maple" motif not available in the conventionally powered Alphard minivans and a Wide Multi-AV Station panel in a metallic tone. The Optitron Meter uses LEDs as the light source for enhanced visibility and a high-quality feel and includes a real-time fuel gauge.

The seat cover is made exclusively for hybrid vehicles. The jacquard moquette fabric, which provides a sense of volume and a nice feeling to the touch, is available on the G Edition, and a smooth printed knit fabric is offered on the standard grade.

Convenient and high-function fittings

The sliding doors on both sides have a power-slide function (standard on the G Edition and optional on standard grades). The G Edition can be equipped with the option of a rear door that is operated automatically using switches located by the driver's seat and on the bottom edge of the rear door itself and also with a remote control.

Dual automatic air conditioning with independent front and rear controls that regulates interior temperature and humidity with a personal vent for each seat is standard on all grades.

The Alphard Hybrid Live Sound System (with DVD voice navigation) created exclusively for the Alphard Hybrid is standard on the G Edition and optional on the standard grades.

A rear-seat entertainment system with DVD voice navigation and a 9-inch-wide rear-seat multi-display TV screen that allows different video and audio sources to be accessed in the rear and front seats is optional on the standard grades. There is also an optional 10-speaker, 5.1ch DVD theater sound system for the G Edition.

The seven-seat models come with a "Side Lift-up Seat" - a second-row seat on the left side - to enable ingress and egress by elderly and disabled persons.

Welcab - Specially equipped vehicles with factory-installed features for the disabled

The "Welcab Side Lift-up Seat" type enables removal of the left-side second-row seat for use as a wheelc

Toyota Upgrades Estima Hybrid-electric Minivan

[Jul 30, 2003]

The Estima Hybrid's THS-C (Toyota Hybrid System-CVT) hybrid system has been further evolved, leading to better acceleration and improved fuel efficiency. The Estima Hybrid now gets 18.6km to the liter in the 10-15 Japanese test cycle, compared to a previous 18.0km/liter, as certified by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Styling-wise, design changes to the minivan's front bumper, grill, rear combination lamps and exterior garnish, as well as the adoption of four new body colors, give the Estima Hybrid an advanced, refined look. On the inside, new seat fabrics and new interior colors add a sense of quality and luxury.

The Estima Hybrid now comes with a pedestrian-injury-lessening body designed to minimize pedestrian head and leg injury in the event of a collision. It also incorporates a dedicated ISO-FIX 1compliant anchor point that can accommodate child seats equipped with a top-end tether tie-down.

Other new features include a Wide Multi-AV Station with a DVD voice navigation system compatible with G-BOOK information network services and a theater system engineered just for the Estima Hybrid that includes a DVD player, nine speakers and a nine-inch rear seat LCD monitor. The improved Estima Hybrid also boasts a range of advanced features, including a blind-corner monitor that displays views to the front left and right of the vehicle as well as of the ground immediately in front of the vehicle.

1An ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standard for child seat attachments created to prevent improper installation of child seats, improve vehicle conformity and establish an internationally uniform attachment method.

Welcab vehicles (specially equipped vehicles with factory-installed features for the disabled) also incorporate all of the improvements to the base model and feature-enhanced functions such as automatic reclining seats. Sales of Welcab versions also begin today.

Sales Channels

Sales outlets: "Toyota" dealers in Japan nationwide ("Osaka Toyopet" dealers in the Osaka region) and "Toyota Corolla" dealers nationwide

Monthly sales target: 600 units

Estima Hybrid Improvements

Revolutionizing environmental performance

The improved Estima Hybrid realizes excellent fuel efficiency at 18.6km/liter in the 10-15 Japanese test cycle compared to a previous performance of 18.0km/liter, as certified by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Greater efficiency in the use of drive power from the THS-C electric motor and gasoline engine allows for more motor-only driving and other benefits.

The electric 4WD system E-Four (which employs a separate motor for the rear wheels) enhances recovery of braking energy from all four wheels. Efficient distribution of labor between electric and hydraulic application of the brakes expands the operational realm of the vehicle's regenerative brake system.

When the driver's foot is taken off the accelerator, the Estima Hybrid's engine now shuts down at higher speeds, allowing the motor to switch into energy-regeneration mode sooner, increasing the amount of energy recovered.

The internal resistance of the hybrid battery has been decreased and power consumption by the oil pump motor has been reduced to cut energy losses.

The improved Estima Hybrid also features the world's first marketed car air conditioner compressor with a built-in electric motor. The compressor is powered by the engine when the engine is running and by its internal motor when the engine is turned off. This realizes a 15-20% improvement (as measured by TMC) in fuel efficiency during air conditioner use and helps to maintain a comfortable environment even when the engine is off.

Improved driving performance

Acceleration performance is improved by a high-output hybrid battery that allows for greater motor-assist performance in the form of enhanced rear motor torque when accelerating from a standing start and an expanded scope and frequency of rear-motor-assist during acceleration.

In addition to VVT-i (Variable Valve Timing-intelligent), engine torque is controlled even at low acceleration speeds compared to the previous model, further improving acceleration performance.

Advanced, refined styling

Chrome-plated ornamentation emphasizes the sense of presence of the headlights, while the rear combination lamps have been redesigned using LED taillights and brake lights for increased visibility and energy conservation.

The front bumper has been modified to include cornering lamps that render a sense of width and poise in the design.

The front emblem, newly fitted on the chrome-plated front grill, conveys a sense of luxury.

Four new exterior colors are White Pearl Mica, Light Green Metallic, Dark Blue Mica and Pale Blue Mica Metallic.

The seat covers have been changed to tricot knit fabric in the standard grade and to jacquard moquette for the G Selection.

The interior colors have been changed to a soothing dark gray for the standard grade and a bright ivory with a luxury feel for the G Selection.

The instrument panel features a newly designed LED-illuminated blue gradation Optitron Meter and a real-time fuel-consumption gauge for reference in driving to save fuel.

More advanced safety equipment

A pedestrian-injury lessening body that incorporates impact-absorbing material into the hood and bumper is adopted to reduce injury to a pedestrian's head and legs in the event of a collision.

Standard on all models, the outer seating positions in the second row of seats feature a dedicated ISO-FIX* compliant anchor point that can accommodate child seats equipped with a top-end tether tie-down

New equipment with the latest functions

The Wide Multi-AV Station comes with a newly added MD player that has an MDLP (Mini Disk Long Play) mode and is standard on standard grades

The Estima Hybrid Live Sound System has been enhanced and is optional for standard grades (standard on the G Selection).

The Wide Multi-AV Station with DVD voice navigation also boasts compatibility with the new G-BOOK information network service that starts from August 2003.

The advanced Estima Hybrid theater system, featuring a DVD player, nine high-fidelity speakers and a nine-inch LCD monitor with remote control for the rear seats, can be used to enjoy dynamic sound and video (optional on the G Selection).

A blind corner monitor system is available in an option package that includes a Wide Multi-AV Station with DVD voice navigation and G-BOOK compatibility. The system's monitor displays views to the front left and right of the vehicle, as well as of the ground immediately in front at "T" and other intersections where the view is obstructed.

Radar cruise control (optional on G Selection models) uses laser-radar, yaw-rate and steering sensors to determine the vehicle's lane and the position of the vehicle ahead, maintaining a constant distance from that vehicle based on driving speed.

The windshield glass, in addition to reducing the amount of ultraviolet light that enters the cabin, also reduces the entry of infrared rays, decreasing the effect of sunlight on occupants' skin and curbing the heating of the steering wheel and other components.

New steering wheel switches allow the operation of audio controls without removing one's hands from the steering wheel.

A power sliding door, previously available only on the passenger's side, has been added to the driver's side.

A fully automatic driver's seat (sliding, reclining and vertical position) is standard on G Selection models.
http://www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205~12220~1545758,00.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/31/automobiles/31PICK.html

July 31, 2003
Big and Fancy, More Pickups Displace Cars

By DANNY HAKIM

Jason Lawson had a big pickup, but like a growing number of Americans he recently traded up to an even bigger one.

"It's an S.U.V. with an open back," Mr. Lawson, 33, said of his metallic gray Ford F-250 Crew Cab. The pickup weighs about three tons, empty, and has enough room in the cab for him, his wife, their two children in car seats and even the family's chocolate lab.

"You can use it for work, go home, put the family in it and take off," said Mr. Lawson, who lives in a Chicago suburb and owns a flooring company.

Sales of the largest pickups have been soaring for several years. But in coming months the competition for customers will grow sharply. Japanese automakers are rushing into the market, now one of the most profitable and always dominated by America's Big Three. Ford is introducing a lavishly redesigned version of its best-selling large pickup. Even Hyundai, the Korean company known for low-cost cars, may enter the large-pickup market.

The trend toward bigger-than-ever pickups has broad implications for the safety of American drivers, the environment, oil consumption and the financial health of the auto industry.

Big pickups, which can cost $40,000 and up, are the most dangerous vehicles on the road for people riding in other vehicles — much more dangerous than large sport utility vehicles, according to federal crash statistics. The average pickup uses more gasoline than the average S.U.V. and therefore produces more gases that contribute to global warming. Pickups, along with sport utilities, are also the industry's most profitable vehicles, and they get more profitable as they get larger and more luxurious.

Once utilitarian vehicles used exclusively for work, pickup trucks are getting bigger, roomier, more powerful and showier in almost every way. Passenger cabs with two rows of seats, once a minority, are the norm.

The biggest pickups, which were just 8.6 percent of the nation's new vehicles in 1990, now account for 13.2 percent — about one in every eight vehicles sold.

The allure of the pickup market for the auto industry is clear. The industry sold two to two and a half times as many full-size pickups as it did full-size S.U.V.'s last year.

Last year, the Ford F-Series, the best-selling vehicle of any kind in the nation, contributed $2.4 billion of net income to the Ford Motor Company, according to John Casesa, an analyst at Merrill Lynch . Without the truck, the company's $980 million net loss would have been much worse.

This fall, Ford will start selling redesigned versions of its F-Series including several that seem fancier than its Lincoln luxury sedans. "It could easily account for all of the company's earnings in 2004," Mr. Casesa said.

Toyota is the only foreign carmaker that sells a full-size pickup, the Tundra. When sales were booming in 2001, it sold more than 100,000 Tundras, compared with Ford's sales of more than 900,000 F-Series trucks. General Motors sold more than 700,000 Chevrolet Silverados, the second-best-selling vehicle in the country, and more than 200,000 GMC Sierras, while Dodge, a unit of Daimler-Chrysler, sold close to 350,000 Ram pickups.

G.M.'s offerings range from the very large, like its Silverado, to the very fancy, like its Cadillac Escalade EXP pickup. This year, the company will even start selling a luxury pickup with a convertible top, the Chevrolet SSR, that starts above $40,000.

With luxury pickups increasing in popularity and profitability, however, Japan wants a bigger slice. Nissan is introducing its first full-size pickup, the voluminous Titan, this year. Tellingly, the company will not even offer a regular cab version of the truck — the basic two-seater that dominated the market a decade ago.

Toyota will start selling a version of its Tundra in November that has a crew cab — the largest cab style, much like a big S.U.V. inside. Toyota also recently announced that it would build a new pickup plant in San Antonio, in the heart of pickup country.

Like their American rivals, Japanese companies are focusing on the many people who only get their hands dirty during the occasional visit to the gardening center — those who want a pickup with two rows of seats (leather, heated seats) as well as power windows and doors and wood-grained interiors. The biggest pickups are particularly popular in the Southwest and Rocky Mountain states.

Mike Cruz-Montes, 31, a supervisor at an electric utility who lives in Katy, Tex., about 30 miles west of downtown Houston, has a Ford F-150 extended-cab pickup with a second row of seats, but he is preparing to trade up to a roomier crew cab, which can better accommodate his wife and two daughters.

"Before, trucks were mainly thought of as for a working man or woman," he said. "I love the power it has when you need it. I do a lot of landscaping around the house and I love to be able to throw things in the back of the truck, mulch or dirt, bring it home, then wash it down and take the kids to dinner. It's very versatile."

To environmental and safety advocates, the extension of the auto arms race from sport utilities to pickup trucks is a worrisome development.

When the average large pickup truck collides with a second vehicle, people in the second vehicle die at a rate of 293 for every 100,000 crashes, according to federal crash statistics. By comparison, large sport utility vehicles kill people in the second vehicle at a rate of 205 per 100,000 crashes; minivans kill at a rate of 104 deaths; and large cars at a rate of 85 deaths.

"This is terrible for people on the highway," said Joan Claybrook, the former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the president of Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group. "The growth of these larger vehicles, in terms of market share, means the chances you're going to be hit by a big pickup truck goes up, and they are the most dangerous vehicles that can hit your car."

Because they roll over more easily than cars, pickup trucks also have fatality rates for their own occupants that are slightly higher than those of passenger cars, but below those of sport utility vehicles, according to the most recent data from the traffic safety agency.

"If you get super heavy and super large," said Brian O'Neill, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, "you won't gain many benefits for yourself and you'll inflict more damage on others."

Big pickups tend to be safer for their own occupants than small pickups, but when used as family vehicles they are less safe than minivans and station wagons.

Why are big pickups more dangerous to other drivers than big sport utilities?

No one really knows; a comprehensive analysis has not been conducted, Mr. O'Neill said. "Part of that is design and part is where and how they're operated," he guessed.

The higher ground clearance of pickups means that in a crash they can run over the bumper or floor of a car, making them deadlier to passengers in the other vehicle. Big pickups and sport utilities are both built on frame rails that run under the vehicle almost like giant fork tines. The stiff rails can puncture cars or small S.U.V.'s, which are constructed more like steel egg cartons. But pickups can also be carrying heavy loads in their beds, Mr. O'Neill said, and thus they are often heavier in collisions than are the S.U.V.'s that are based on the same frame.

Also, many pickups are driven in rural areas, where crash speeds tend to be higher.

Automakers, under pressure from the traffic safety agency, did agree this year to start working together to make S.U.V.'s and pickups less dangerous to other vehicles; consumer groups say the automakers have a poor history of self-regulation.

Pickup drivers as a group tend to be less careful than people behind the wheels of cars, according to insurance industry data. They tend to drink more and use their seat belts less often, figures show.

Pickups also weigh more than sport utilities. The average unloaded pickup now weighs about 4,700 pounds, up from about 3,500 pounds in the mid-1980's, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That's almost 200 pounds more than the average S.U.V. Many versions of the best-selling pickups weigh in at more than three tons, unloaded, putting them in Hummer territory.

Fuel efficiency of the average pickup has also declined from as high as 19.2 miles a gallon in the 1987 model year to 16.8 miles a gallon today. The average S.U.V. gets 17.8 miles a gallon now and the average car 24.8. And even those averages do not count the very biggest vehicles — those weighing more than 8,500 pounds fully loaded — which are exempt under federal law. Like the Hummer and other giant sport utilities, the biggest pickups average little more than 10 miles a gallon.

And more gas burned means more gases spit out the exhaust pipe. Over its projected life span, the average pickup truck under 8,500 pounds emits 97.9 tons of global warming gases, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, an environmental group. The average for S.U.V.'s is 93.4 tons and for cars 66.5 tons.

At the beginning of the 1990's, people bought full-size and compact pickups at about the same pace, and each kind of truck had roughly 8 percent of the total market for passenger vehicles. Today, full-size pickups have grown to 13 to 14 percent of total passenger vehicle sales, while sales of compact pickups have shrunk to less than 5 percent of the market. Large sport utilities account for 5.8 percent of all sales.

Full-size pickups themselves are also getting larger. Those with regular cabs, which are the basic work trucks with seating for two, now represent less than 17 percent of full-size truck sales. Extended-cab pickups — and roomier crew cabs, with seating for five — accounted for most of the market.

A decade ago, regular cabs effectively were the market, commanding roughly 80 percent of full-size sales, according to AutoPacific, a market research group.

"The whole cab mix, industrywide, has flip-flopped," said Doug Scott, Ford's marketing director.

Mark Hogan, G.M. group vice president for advanced vehicle development, said, "It tells us clearly people aren't using pickups the way they had in the past."

Ford has been changing its marketing accordingly. In a recent TV ad, a suburbanite ordering coffee at a truck stop is asked by a trucker if he has his "rig loaded down."

"We're loaded down all right," the suburbanite replies, before returning to his F-150, where he hands his wife a cup of coffee while his three daughters argue in the spacious back seat.

Attracting the suburbanite trucker, of course, means coupling the pickup's tough outside with a gentler inside. The new Lariat version of the Ford F-150, which has a base price of more than $35,000, has leather seats, chrome and brushed steel flourishes, and color schemes with names like "medium pebble." The gear shift is between the seats, like a car's.

Mr. Cruz-Montes said he had long been a truck guy. "My father had an 85 F-150. It was great for working and hauling things around," he said. "But using that foldout bench they used to have" — instead of a second row of seats — "for kids it was O.K., but even for a small adult, it was very uncomfortable. They have metamorphosed tremendously toward the family."