Toyota North America was touting it’s new entry for 2016, the Toyota Mirai, at the recent LA Auto Show in Los Angeles, Calif. And, according to a Nov. 23 NewsOne news report, if Toyota has its way it could revolutionize the automobile industry and save the environment.
Instead of an engine, the Mirai uses Toyota Fuel Cell Technology, has two hydrogen tanks and emits only water vapor. The car takes just three to five minutes to refuel and was designed to have a premium driving feel, similar to a Lexus. Long known for its focus on sustainability, Toyota hopes that the Mirai will reduce even more CO2 from the environment; hydrogen has the least amount of greenhouse gases and can be made from garbage, corn, and solar and wind power.
NewsOne asked some tough questions about the new model such as: How far will one charge get you on a road trip? (Answer: up to 300 miles.) Is the Mirai expensive? (The sticker price is $57,500, but there will be incentives for early buyers and affordable leasing options.) Will the Mirai hold up as well as Camrys and Corollas?
“The brand is built around durability, quality, reliability and safety, and those brand pillars can not be touched,” Nihar Patel,VP of North American business strategy for Toyota, told NewsOne at the L.A. Auto Show. “And it doesn’t happen simply by putting a Toyota badge on it. These folks have been slaving away on [Mirai] for well over a decade. I drove one of these cars for 15,000 miles, the Highlander version, and I would not have sat in it for even one mile if I thought it was unsafe, let alone put my family in it.”
Toyota has partnerships to build 19 fueling stations in California by 2016 and to roll out additional stations along the East Coast later.
