[Uploaded on March 5, 2007 by harpseal]

Toyota is rumored to announce that it will power the air conditioning using solar panels on the next Prius. According to Marketwatch:

The move will make Toyota the first major automaker to install a popular model with solar panels. The redesigned Prius will have solar panels on the roof, which will supply part of the two to five kilowatts needed to power the air-conditioning unit, the Nikkei business daily reported.

The above car is the Kyocera Solar Car Vehicle (SCV) which was a proof of concept developed 10 years ago. Solar has many uses for vehicles however it was only recently that the cost and profile of the panels made them possible to be placed on conventional cars.