Hybrid cars

I don't own a car, but if I had to buy one, I'd like a hybrid car. Toyota and Honda make them, and they are getting really common here in Japan. Recently, there was news from the US about the terrible state of Ford and General Motors. These companies have fought hard against environmentally friendly cars, like hybrids. Instead their focus has been on SUVs that use a lot of gasolin. But, consumers want the hybrid cars, as gas prices have sky-rocketed, partly because of the US war in Iraq!

The pioneer at Toyota who developed the hybrid engine is Dr Takehisa Yaegashi. He has been getting a lot of recognition recently. Last year, he won a prestigious award for "Best engine of the year" at the Engine Expo 2004, Stuttgart.

Toyota introduced hybrid engines in 1997. I like the quote from their annual report that year:

We welcome healthy disagreements in research and development. Spirited debate and competition are the essence of fertile R&D. In the words of the poet Walt Whitman, "Do I contradict myself? Very well then....I contradict myself; I am large....I contain multitudes."

Click here to read more about hybrid cars in Toyota's annual report from 1997

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