Toyota is apparently up to it again, and is now developing a car that will be powered only by solar energy. According to an unnamed source at Toyota, the vehicle is "years" away from production. Because Toyota is now the only and first major automaker working on a solar car, Toyota says that they will first create a small batch of vehicles that will get some of it's power from on-board solar cells and the rest from solar cells placed on the roofs of homes.

After Toyota's first loss since WWII, they are looking to solar as a way to grow during future tough times. Toyota also mentioned that its Tsutsumi Plant, which produces some Lexus models and the Camry, has 60 tennis courts worth of solar panels installed its roof which is enough to power about 500 homes. That is a reduction of 1,500 barrels of crude oil each year.

Toyota's hybrid battery supplier, Panasonic Corp., will be aquiring Sanyo Inc., a leader in Solar technology this year, which means Toyota may become a veritable power house when it comes to solar vehicles.

TheCD's take: Could this mean we could drive a car that was both built and powered by the sun?

Source: The Associated Press