New Type of Prius Gets 125 MPG

It was bound to happen. With gas prices reaching their all time high (up to 4 bucks a gallon in some cities), someone needed a way to save some money for at least the insurance on the car. While stubborn individuals are still purchasing gas guzzling SUV and sports cars, the hybrid car is for those on the opposite side of the spectrum.

A hybrid car is a vehicle that uses a regular combustion engine and electric batteries together to power it's motor. By doing this it helps drastically reduce the amount of gas it takes to get to the gas station. One of the currently well known hybrid cars is the Toyota Prius. The Prius was introduced worldwide in 2001 and since then has won numerous awards including "Car of the Year" in Europe, Japan, and North America. This car currently gets a reported 55 MPG highway using a 168-cell nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery.

Now the company Lithium Technology Corporation has unveiled their version of the Prius hybrid and it's a "plug-in." The new model uses an advanced lithium iron phosphate battery that allows the hybrid car to travel up to a distance of 125 miles per gallon of fuel. If Toyota were to adopt the new battery system, it could lead to the most efficient mass-produced car in the world. Currently you have to purchase special hook-ups to recharge your Prius at home in your garage. But the new version is reported to have a plug that will go into any conventional outlet.

Lithium Technology Corporation (LTC) announced that its' new lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄) technology might be incorporated in hybrid cars expected to arrive in the market in 2008-2009. Before you know it we will be filling up our "Mr. Fusion Flux Capacitors".

On a side note, 125 MPG may seem very impressive, but it is still very far from breaking the world record for the longest drive per gallon of fuel. This record was recently broken by a prototype car built by a team from St. Joseph La Joliverie University in France, which set an astonishing record of 7,148 miles per gallon of fuel.