New 125 Miles per Gallon Toyota Prius

Article from: The Future of Things (TFOT)

The Pennsylvania based Lithium Technology Corporation recently demonstrated a new type of "plug-in" Toyota Prius hybrid car. The new model is based on advanced lithium iron phosphate battery which allows the hybrid car to travel up to a distance of 125 miles per gallon of fuel – making it possibly the most efficient mass-produced car in the world.

Lithium Technology Corporation (LTC) announced that its' new lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) technology might be incoporated in hybrid cars expected to arrive in the market in 2008-2009. The Toyota Prius demonstrated by LTC was also equipped with a "plug-in" capability which allows it to recharge using conventional power sources (such as a power outlet in the owner's garage). Currently there are no "plug-in" capable cars on the market but special conversion kits are available and a small number of people are already using them to recharge their hybrid vehicles.

Although the new long range "plug-in" Toyota Prius might prove to be even more popular than its current version (which since the launch of its second version in 2004 has sold over 200,000 units worldwide), 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 (3,039 km per liter).

More information on the new lithium iron phosphate battery technology can be found on the LTC website.

Image: Current model Toyota Prius powered by 168-cell nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery (Credit: Toyota Motor).
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Passive Income Strategies

A stream of passive income is only as good as your strategy to nurture it. You have to discipline your money, just as you have to discipline yourself in order to reach your goal.As I wrote about in See Money Differently to Attract More, the wealthy look at money from a different paradigm […]



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Hybrid Cars Still Not Worth It?

Hybrid cars break-even point has recently been as much as 15 years, according to Auto-Research firms. But it may drop to only six or seven years if the vehicle price drops, and gasoline rises to over $4.00 a gallon.

As gasoline prices get higher, and dealer incentives get better, the hybrids are becoming more attractive.

Of course the premium you pay for a hybrid may also include other unrelated features, such as an enhanced sound system, leather seats, etc., which have nothing to do with saving gas, but just make the price of the vehicle higher.

This article discusses tax breaks, incentives, gas prices, and other factors:
http://online.wsj.com/...

Let's hope it becomes more economically feasible to use less gas. Although some would prefer to use no gas at all, and buy an all electric car -- if they were available with a reasonable price and performance.

Currently we seem to have two options for an all-electric car -- 1.) underpowered (top speeed of 40 mph), or 2.) overpriced

Zap! is working on a new model with Lotus Engineering called the Zap-X, which looks promising, if the price is reasonable: http://www.zapworld.com

Let's see what the new models bring us.

For now, it seems there is not much savings:

Hybrid Cars No Better than 'Intelligent' Cars -- Slashdot

Debt Free in Three Steps

From Debt Free to Financial Freedom in Three Steps

Did you know that if you pay the minimum payment on a high-interest credit card it could take 33 years to pay it off?!!!

Three Steps to Financial Freedom

1. Find an extra $100 or $200 a month, and add that to your payment.


2. If you have multiple cards, pay the first one (highest interest and lowest balance), then pay off the next one with the $200 plus the minimum payment from the first one.


3. Once all the cards are paid off, use the extra money to invest.

Here is an article from Yahoo Finance:

Yes, You CAN Get Out of Debt
http://finance.yahoo.com/how-to-guide/banking-budgeting/18442

If you can automate the process, it will be much easier. Remember, it takes time to get into debt, and it takes time to get out. Control your spending now! If you are in a hole, stop digging.

An interesting note: Many financial planners will recommend eliminating all credit card debt before investing. That advice causes people to miss out on the power of compounding for all the years that they are not saving or investing, and are just getting deeper and deeper into debt. Remember, even with the above plan, to pay yourself first.