Toyota Prius

[aczlan]

I don't know about you but I will not ride with 15 people in a van because those 15 people may not care to go where I want to go. Are they splitting the gas cost? Then you got public transportation. Or a Church group which is a whole other subject.

In that case, it would be more efficient to use another means of transportation. I was just showing that there are cases where a Prius is NOT the most efficient way to get from point a to point b.

Aaron Z

 

[two_bit_score]

Interesting:US safety agency opens probe into Tesla fires - VehicleServicePros.com

.The probe affects more than 13,000 cars from the 2013 model year that were sold in the U.S. Tesla has sold about 19,000 of the cars worldwide. They start at $70,000 but often run more than $100,000.

Tesla's batteries are located beneath the passenger compartment and protected by a quarter-inch-thick metal shield. Experts say that if the batteries are damaged, that can cause arcing and sparks and touch off a fire.

 

[MossRoad]

I didn't mention in my earlier note on the Impala that the interior was reminiscent of a 1990 Chevy. I understand they have really upgraded the 2014 but boy it sure took them a long time.

Yeah. I rode in a 2014 rental this fall. It was actually nice! :laughing:

 

[txdon]

Is that on a public road? I hear they are retro fitting gravel on some roads in Texas. Possibly to encourage more horse and buggy use?

TxDOT Plans to Convert Some Roads to Gravel | The Texas Tribune

Yes that is on public gravel road. and my 1/2 mile driveway. The blacktop roads are ok here, but a rabbit can cave in the front grill and get stuck between the grill and the radiator.


And yes Txdot is converting some blacktop roads to gravel but thankfully not in this county.

 

[MossRoad]

Reminds me of my son's early 2000's Impala. The auto transmission has been on the cusp of dying--for four years now. :laughing: One rear quarter panel is bashed in. It's the car that won't die and it's not worth fixing.

I forgot about my 2000 Impala tranny.... around 100K it started making some noises and slipping a bit. Chevy dealer and local tranny shop both said new tranny and $2000K+. I took it to a friend of a friend that is a certified GM transmission tech. He changed the fluids, tightened up a few things, replaced a few things and said have a nice life... for $600.00. That was 90K miles ago. It kind of ticked me off that the Chevy dealer and 'reputable' tranny shops both were going to stick it to me.

 

[IslandTractor]

Interesting:US safety agency opens probe into Tesla fires - VehicleServicePros.com

.The probe affects more than 13,000 cars from the 2013 model year that were sold in the U.S. Tesla has sold about 19,000 of the cars worldwide. They start at $70,000 but often run more than $100,000.

Tesla's batteries are located beneath the passenger compartment and protected by a quarter-inch-thick metal shield. Experts say that if the batteries are damaged, that can cause arcing and sparks and touch off a fire.

Yes, the Tesla fires are getting all sorts of press. As Tesla points out though, since their car went on sale there have been three fires (2 road debris related, one crash in Mexico) and there have been zero deaths or injuries. In the same time period there have been 400 deaths and 1200 injuries due to car fires in non Tesla cars in the USA. This is as much a PR issue as an engineering issue at this point.

Interestingly, because the Teslas are computer controlled and link to the internet for updates, Tesla has already reprogrammed all the existing cars to ride about an inch higher off the ground at speed to avoid road debris better. This was done remotely with no need for a service visit or recall.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Along the lines of weight, I would think that the mileage advantage of the hybrid would be lost trying to get the Prius up to speed. This would depend on the amount of start/stops etc. I also wonder how well it would stop if the milk got sloshing around.

The Prius hybrid has a regenerative braking system, so kinetic energy from motion is stored chemically in the battery from electric generators on the wheels. Yes, there are losses in efficiency along the way; but there is a total savings using the system.

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Ford fiesta up to 40 mpg
ford focus up to 35 mpg

1981 Ford Escort, 2 dr hatchback, 4 spd standard, 35 mpg average. Over 30 years and Ford hasn't made a single significant improvement on gasoline engine efficiency. Or any other company in Detroit for that matter.

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Yes, a used car is typically cheaper to own. Just for kicks though consider a four year old used $8000 car vs new $25000 Prius and put 100,000 miles on each in three years.

After the three years the used car is worth maybe $3000, has required maybe another $4000 in repairs and maintenance plus 4000 gallons of gas at 3.75/gal. So, $5000 depreciation, plus $4000 repairs/maint plus $15,000 in gas for a total of $24,000.

The Prius would cost $25,000 and sell for $12500 at least with nearly no repairs and maybe $1000 for tires, brakes and oil. Gas would cost $7500. Total cost to drive Prius for 100,000 miles is therefore only $21000.

For someone driving 36,000 miles a year it seems the Pious makes more sense $ wise.

Battery replacement for a Prius Hybrid is about $2500 with a core refund on the old one. Most never need replacing for the life of the vehicle.

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...
Prius owners I have a question which could only be answered by a seasoned owner. My 125 mile commute goes like this. Load kids into car and drive to front gate, sit there for 10 minutes with the radio on waiting for the school bus. Then onto the highway for roughly 60 miles at highway speeds 75mph (now the speed limit) with the air conditioner near full blast. The last 5 miles is city traffic stop and go but averages 40 mph. My question is, with the highway speeds at 75, without much battery re-generative braking, what would you estimate the mileage to be? So in effect, I'm NOT a hypermiler.

I'm going to guesstimate that you'd get 45 to 48 mpg with that kind of use, which is about the way my wife drives. You don't have to be a hypermiler to get good mileage, just using the cruise control at every opportunity, not stomping on the accelerator when starting up, and not racing to the next stoplight to slow up at the last second. Over an identical course, I'd be averaging 50 to 52 mpg.

 

[aczlan]

Yes, the Tesla fires are getting all sorts of press. As Tesla points out though, since their car went on sale there have been three fires (2 road debris related, one crash in Mexico) and there have been zero deaths or injuries. In the same time period there have been 400 deaths and 1200 injuries due to car fires in non Tesla cars in the USA. This is as much a PR issue as an engineering issue at this point.

It would be far more useful if they released how many crashes their cars have been in and how many of those resulted in a fire. There are what, 15,000 Teslas on the road? There were 733,000 Prius cars sold in 2012 alone.

Interestingly, because the Teslas are computer controlled and link to the internet for updates, Tesla has already reprogrammed all the existing cars to ride about an inch higher off the ground at speed to avoid road debris better. This was done remotely with no need for a service visit or recall.

Personally, I don't like the idea of the car maker being able to remotely control my car.

Aaron Z

 

[IslandTractor]

Battery replacement for a Prius Hybrid is about $2500 with a core refund on the old one. Most never need replacing for the life of the vehicle.

I thought it was cheaper than that. It is a very rare service item though and probably less common than engine swap outs for most other types of cars and trucks.

 

[hawkeye08]

The lobbies will stop any innovation that threatens the big car manufacturers or oil companies.

I have started looking into "brown's gas" or hydrogen generator for cars. The whole idea is to make more of the fuel usable. It is relatively simple, add hydrogen to the intake and adjust O2 sensor feedback to stop the computers from negating increased efficiency.

HHO Generator Kit Improves MPG - HHO Generator Kit

Eagle-Research:

I suspect that there are battery technologies that would make great improvements in the usage in cars that have patents or controls by oil companies to stop them from being used or at least used at a reasonable cost.