At a time when most car makers are struggling to survive, having the demand for your car exceed the supply probably feels reassuring…or at least until you release you can’t keep up with demand at all. That seems to be the situation at Toyota, where sales of the incredibly popular 2010 Prius have been so good that they can’t get their hands on enough batteries to manufacture the hybrid cars.

The senior managing director of Toyota has already spoken out saying that the factories are “working overtime at full capacity” but that production of the batteries need to go up for waiting lists for the Prius to go down. The batteries are currently manufactured by Panasonic EV Energy and the company send more than 90% of the more than 500,000 batteries it manufactured last year to Toyota for use in the Prius, but that amount won’t do if Prius sales continue to rise as they have been. Panasonic EV Energy has already announced that in response to the demand they plan to open a new plant in northern Japan  next year (and will be much needed if Toyota meets their sales estimate of 1 million hybrids by 2011) and Toyota has announced that they will also be purchasing batteries from Sanyo to keep up with sales. Click here to read more

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Okay, so it’s not really going into competition with the Tata Nano (more likely it’ll be a competitor for mainstream petite vehicles like the Smart Fortwo) because it’s aimed at a different audience with different demands—heated door mirrors on the iQ3 versus no passenger door mirror whatsoever on the Nano—and a vastly different car budget, but the Toyota iQ3 that is now for sale in the U.K. could one day be headed across the pond as a premium small car for U.S. buyers and it’s already garnered plenty of excitement.

The Toyota Stop and Start system in the iQ3 offers increased fuel efficiency and lowered carbon emissions, which could help put the cute (or should we say QT?) car in competition with hybrid auto choices, but the hefty price tag it’s being sold at in the U.K. (about $19,000 USD) would likely be problematic if it were to come to America and be pitted against the Smart Fortwo, which starts at $11,990—even with the iQ3’s extra seats (one regular, one jumpseat). Click here to read more

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Hearing about Ferrari’s recent turn toward greener autos isn’t likely to have many of us heading to the dealership. The price tags on standard Ferraris—not to mention the possible price tags of eco-friendly Ferraris—are enough to rule them out. But then again, that’s true of the Tesla Roadster and it hasn’t stopped everyone from getting excited.

The latest news on the Ferrari front is that the company is throwing its hat into the ring of environmentally-conscious automobiles and has drafted a green plan that will get them moving toward almost halving their emissions by 2012 and put fuel efficiency at the forefront. To achieve the goal the company is hard at work on plans that involve turbocharging, biofuel and hybrid engines. Perhaps the most exciting part of that news, however, is the hybrid engine part, because it could be closer to reality than previously thought. The buzz is that a concept Ferrari hybrid will likely be debuting later this year at a car show right here in the States (the specific rumor is that it will be the L.A. Auto Show in December, but only time will tell). Click here to read more

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If you own a car and drive it daily, could you give it up for a month? That’s what Zipcar is proposing for their Low-Car Diet program. Last year, 300 drivers turned in their keys for a month and lived without a primary car. Instead, Zipcar gave them a membership so they could try carsharing. Instead of 300 cars on the road, those 300 drivers could share cars with others, using them for a few hours here and there as needed.

This summer, Zipcar is at it again. A new group of Low-Car Dieters will give up their wheels on July 15. Want to get in on the fun? Fill out a questionnaire and fingers crossed you’ll get picked to participate.

According to Zipcar last year’s experiment did more than cut congestion on the roads. Click here to read more

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It’s the next logical step in the world of eco-friendly cars: A car powered by the wind with zero emissions.. Before you envision an automobile that sucks in the wind that’s created as it flies down the road, however, we should clarify that what’s being worked on in Britain is a car that will be powered by electricity that is produced through wind power. The “Wind Car” as it’s being called is a project started by Dale Vince, the founder of the wind power company Ecotricity, and is being built by a carefully assembled team of experts.

Vince loves sports cars, but wanted something that didn’t require him to sacrifice his green lifestyle. What he decided to do was create a car that used the wind power he promotes and provides through his work, but that still retained what he loved about sports cars. As you can see from the picture above, the concept wind powered car (if it ends up matching the imagery) will definitely deliver the sports car feel. The secondhand Lotus Exige that serves as the frame for the wind-powered car will help it go from zero to 60 in four seconds and reach speeds of more than 140 mph. Click here to read more

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