New projected 2009 US fuel economy figures out from the EPA show that we have now reversed a long-term trend of gradually worsening fuel efficiency since 1987—that bottomed out in 2004 at 19.3 mpg.

While our international readers may find an industry average of 21.1 mpg and 422 grams CO2 per mile a laughable “achievement”—this does represent a real improvement over 2004 levels.

Industry wide, average model year 2009 light vehicles overall are projected to achieve the mileage they got back almost 20 years ago in 1991.

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Just how popular is the Prius? If you ask Jim Lentz, President of Toyota’s U.S. arm, it is so popular that it could soon sell even more units than Toyota’s perennial best seller, the Camry. Are hybrid cars really that popular?

To date, Toyota has sold two Camrys for every one Prius, but with over a million of the peppy little hybrids sold, and sales growing stronger every year, the Prius may soon join the Camry on the podium of top sellers.

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I’ve always found most body kits to be silly. Side skirts, fender flares, and front splitters usually do little more than add weight and make a slow car look like it’s trying too hard to go fast. But every now and then a good, clean body kit can improve the appearance of a car, and if done right, even improve its aerodynamic properties.

Hybrids seem to be especially popular to make body kits for recently, with both the Toyota Prius and Ford Fusion Hybrid receiving different takes on body enhancements. Toyota is taking the game a step further with its Aerius body kit which offers subtle improvements to the exterior without negatively affecting the drag coefficient.

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A lot can be said about Toyota’s hybrid flagship, the Prius. Heck, a lot already has been said about the odd, egg-shaped, fuel sipping little car. Love it or hate it, the Prius has been a sales success story, selling more units than all other hybrids combined while creating a cult of hypermilers and green geeks.

Looking to cash in on the success of the Prius, Toyota is reportedly planning to launch an entire line of Prius automobiles, perhaps even as its own sub-brand. The first contender for a new Prius badge is likely to be either a wagon or SUV, directly addressing the whole lack of cargo room on past Prius models.

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According to CEO Carlos Ghosn, unlike its other Japanese rivals, Nissan has made a strategic decision to cede the standalone hybrid wars to them and will not make hybrid-only models such as Toyota’s Prius or Honda’s Insight.

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With the perceptible movement of a slow landslide, Ford hybrid sales have been dramatically increasing over the last year—sales in September were up 73% from last September. According to Automotive News (subs. req’d), this brings Ford within a few thousand units of overtaking Honda to become the second largest seller of hybrids in America.

These numbers are significant because, according to Ford hybrid marketing manager David Finnegan, “More than 60 percent of Fusion Hybrid sales have been from non-Ford owners, and more than half of those are customers coming from import brands, mostly from Toyota and Honda.”

Confirming Finnegan’s assessment, the established hybrid juggernaut, Toyota, has seen sales of its hybrids plummet 28% in the same time period. Toyota still blows all the hybrid competition out of the water—capturing nearly 66% of all US hybrid sales—but the speed with which the changes are taking place certainly bodes well for a healthy and competitive hybrid marketplace in the future.

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“Premium … (adjective): finest, exceptional; premium quality.” So says Chambers Dictionary anyway. For me it usually translates to “bloody expensive”.

Come to think of it, that’s also a good description of the Lexus range: priced between $32,000 and $106,000, “cheap” is not the first word which springs to mind.

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To many Americans, India is just another one of those countries with LOTS of people in the general vicinity of China where they sometimes get routed when they call customer support with questions about why the new HP they just bought won’t turn on.

And that’s a shame, really, because India has so much to offer. From excellent food to the funky movie scene, India has some pretty great stuff. And now we can add another bean to India’s basket — the country has been stealthily gaining a reputation with auto manufacturers as the place to build fuel-efficient, small cars for export to the rest of the world.

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Where is the mainstream media when you need them? Probably off chasing another Micheal Jackson’s baby’s daddy. But they could do a lot more use into investigating the court case of Paice LLC vs. Toyota. In the lawsuit filed by Paice against Toyota, Paice claims that several of Toyota’s popular hybrid models infringe on patents held by Paice. Having won a similar case back in 2005, Paice is now seeking an exclusion that would keep Toyota hybrid imports from entering the U.S.

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We Americans did the right patriotic thing with our clunker money last month, it turns out. We bought more American. And we bought more hybrid cars.  Ford was the big winner, making a big dent in Toyota’s hybrid sales.

Consumer reports tells us that 80% would rather buy US cars and 46% of us now prefer fuel efficient cars.

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In an effort to drum up attention and support for their algae-based biofuel, Sapphire Energy has announced they will conduct a coast-to-coast journey in their “Algaeus” plug-in hybrid. Part electric hybrid, part biofuel vehicle, Sapphire claimes the Algaeus will get 150 miles per gallon from its hybrid/biofuel drivetrain.

The Algaeus will visit 10 cities, starting in San Francisco on September 8th and ending in New York City on the 18th.

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Scanning the week’s news of the leading fleet magazine, more than half the headlines are focused on automotive manufacturers including Toyota, Ford, Nissan and their commitment to greening of their fleets by moving to electric vehicle technologies.

For example, Nissan plans to use a $1.6 billion U.S. loan to rework a Tennessee factory so that battery-powered cars can be manufactured there. Ford Motor Company said it has developed an intelligent vehicle-to-grid communications and control system for its plug-in hybrid electric vehicles that “talks” with the nation’s electric grid.

Indeed it is exciting to read on a daily basis how much closer we are to the reality of EV’s for consumers and fleets.  Fleets will be the first mass adopters of EVs and PHEVs. We are already seeing businesses, government agencies, cities and countries across the world that are making significant and meaningful steps to reducing their fuel costs, our nation’s dependence on imported fuel, and our carbon footprint by converting their gas guzzling and polluting fleets to eco friendly EV’s…but what about the infrastructure needed to support such vehicles?  Is there different technology needed to support EV fleets vs. consumer EVs?  Just what are the needs of fleet managers when it comes to EV fleets?

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No doubt many of you have read or heard about David Nichol’s woodgas F-150. I came across it during a media hailstorm a few months ago (which has since petered out). But while I was doing research on the One-Gallon Challenge, I saw that David’s truck was going to be participating. I gathered up my camera and notepad and my best friend (who I sort of tricked into coming) and took the drive to Greenfield Mass. last Wednesday night to get a look at this truck, and other fuel-sippers in person.

I learned a whole lot more than I bargained for.

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The Toyota Prius is among the most popular cars under the Cash For Clunkers program right now. But many people who want one will have to wait, as production of the popular hybrid has slowed because of a battery shortage. The supplier of Prius batteries, Panasonic EV Energy, can not keep up with Toyota’s 500,000  annual Prius capacity. While Panasonic EV says it should have its production capacity ramped up to a million units annually by mid-2010, this begs the bigger question;

Will battery packs hold back hybrid production and development?

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Toyota has revealed that its eagerly anticipated iQ-based all-electric car will receive its own individual body-style makeover, to create a stand-alone model set to become Toyota’s first all-electric car.

It appears that the electric iQ, due for launch in 2010, will not be pushed in the same market sectors as the original. Speaking about the strategy Hiroki Nakajima, chief engineer for the iQ said, “We wanted to position the iQ as premium, but not so the BEV (battery electric vehicle).” Perhaps they think that your average EV user is a little more low-rent than other drivers?

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Rumors are gathering pace that Toyota is working on a two-door coupe version of its ultra-popular Prius hybrid, possibly scheduled to hit the market sometime in 2012.

The latest reports suggest that the Japanese outfit is currently developing a compact 2+2 Prius-based hybrid sports coupe featuring a beefed-up version of its 1.8-liter 2ZR-FXE four-cylinder engine, capable of achieving around 134 hp – 36 hp more than the sedan counterpart.

Although the higher power levels are likely to affect the Prius’s impressive fuel mileage, insiders are speculating that the company’s Hybrid Synergy Drive system will keep this to a minimum.

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Solar-powered “flower stations” are appearing across major U.S. cities providing free Wi-Fi and electricity for charging laptops, cell phones and other devices.

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Flash forward to today, and a new study finds that since the early ’80’s the Honda Accord has packed on over 1,000 lbs, doubled its standard horsepower, and fuel economy has steadily dipped. The study seems to suggest that if vehicle weight, horsepower, and torque were held at their 1980’s levels, then fuel efficiency could have increased by at least 50%, rather than the 15% increase that actually occured. But is it really that simple?

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More: Toyota to Launch Overpriced Plug-in Prius in 2012: $48,000 for a Minor Upgrade

Cartoon by Jerry King.

August sales compared with last August:

Ford. Ford’s hybrid vehicles—Fusion, Milan, Escape and Mariner—posted combined sales of 4,695, an August sales record and up 251% versus a year ago.

Sales of the hybrid Escape and Mariner were up 57.1% to 2,102 units. Total Ford Escape sales totaled 20,933, a sales record for August, and up 49% versus a year ago. Mercury Mariner sales were 3,921 (also a record for August), up 50%.

The new Fusion and Milan hybrids posted 2,593 units. Total Fusion sales totaled 21,010 units, a sales record for any month and up 132% versus a year ago. Mercury Milan sales were 3,844, up 112%.

Ford’s total sales increased 17%.

GM. GM reported a total of 1,708 hybrids delivered in August, an increase of 4.8% year-on-year. Individual sales were down 17% while fleet sales to companies declined 29%, so overall GM light-duty vehicle sales were down 20.1% to 245,550 units in August.

GM’s total sales decreased 17%.

Honda. Honda posted a total of 4,943 hybrids in August, the bulk of them—4,226 units, or 85.5%—the new Insight. The Civic Hybrid posted 717 units, down 77% from August 2008. Sales of all Civic model rose 44% by volume in August; the Civic was one of the top 10 new vehicles purchased under the CARS program, along with the Honda Fit and Accord. Honda sold 161,439 units.

Honda’s total sales were up 10%.

Toyota.  The Prius posted 18,886 units, up 40.3% by volume from August 2008. Sales of the Camry hybrid dropped 38.8% to 2,114 units; sales of all Camry models increased 23.4% to 54,396 units. Sales of the Highlander Hybrid were down 31.9% by volume to 836 units; sales of all Highlander models were up 32% to 10,656 units.

Sales of the Rx hybrid jumped 37.4% to 1,754 units; sales of all Rx models increased 3.9% to 9,317 units. The GS hybrid posted an increase of 37.1% to 48 units; sales of all GS models were down 60.3% to 669 units. Sales of the LS 600h were down 86% to 10 units in August; sales of all LS models were down 50.3% to 880 units. Total units sold 225,088.

Toyota’s total sales increased 6.4%.

Nissan. Nissan’s hybrid share of its total sales increased as overall sales dropped 2.9% to 105,312 units. Nissan sold 3,164 Altima hybrids, despite limited availability. That represented a 615.8% increase year-on-year from 442 units in August 2008. Total sales of the Altima increased 6.1% to 26,833 units, so Nissan hybrid sales jumped from 1.7% in August 2008 to 8.2% in August 2009.

Nissan’s total sales dropped 2.9%

Overall hybrid share: Hybrids as a percentage of sales went from 1% to just over 3%. Toyota dropped from 75% in August 2008 to 62.5% in August 2009, but it remained the hybrid sales leader, with 24,191 units sold, including 543 units of the new Lexus HS250. GM saw its share drop from 6.3% in August 2008 to 4.4% in August 2009. Honda picked up less than a percentage point 12.8% in August 2009, compared to 11.9% in August 2008. Nissan hybrid sales jumped from 1.7% in August 2008 to 8.2% in August 2009. Ford’s share jumped from 5.1% to 12.1%.

Via Green Car Congress