Plug-in hybrid starts trip across Japan

Zevex, a Japanese non-governmental organization set off on a northbound road trip across Japan in a plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle. The 3,000-kilometer trip began in Kagoshima, in the far south of Japan’s main islands, and is scheduled to end in Wakkanai in Hokkaido, the country’s northernmost prefecture, on July 20. The plug-in hybrid can be charged from a standard household socket and travel about 25 kilometers per charge. (June 30, 2010)