Green Tomato Taxi - London's First Plug-in Hybrid Prius
Submitted by greentomato on 21 July, 2010 - 00:00
What if your taxi was a plug-in hybrid
Green Tomato Cars were the first to introduce a plug-in hybrid Prius to its London fleet, meaning their cars travel longer in fully-electric mode, producing no tailpipe emissions whatsoever. In congested city centres such as London motorists travel no faster than they did using a horse & cart in the 19th century. Hybrids are congestion charge exempt, but unlike the average battery-powered quadricycle, they are full-sized saloons and their electric motors are charged by the engine, making them good for long distance trips too.
Some safety campaigners have raised concerns that a hybrid or fully-electric vehicle could pose a danger to other road-users, especally visually-impaired pedestrians and several artificial sounders are being developed. However, a specially-comissioned study suggests if the world was full of electric vehicles, crossing the road would be no more dangerous than it is today.
Hybrid video
Sir Stirling Moss and others discuss technology and driving experience, plus how to get all the benefits of a hybrid without actually having to buy one.
