Attila Vass's visit w/ the Chief Prius Engineer

[efusco]

Attila Vass sent me the following link first..and it's a good place to start...then come back and read the follow up information:

http://www.vassfamily.net/ToyotaPrius/Toyo...oyotaVisit.html

F/U e-mail:
Hi Evan,

> Wow Attila, what a neat trip. Do you mind if I share that on the forums?

It was amazing, it's OK to share.
Some supplement for you ( OK to share )

The Chief Engineer was also very familiar with the EV modification in the US
( it wasn't even me, who brought it up! ) and apologized for not having it
enabled. He also confirmed, that they were "forced" to leave it out in
the US, as the catalyzer can get too cold if EV mode is used "incorrectly",
leading to emission problems.

I also complained about the "Open Door" indicator ( as in I don't know which
door is open ), he looked at the other Chief Engineer and they exchanged
some "look"... It was awesome!

My third issue was the fuel gauge, when I mentioned the word "bladder" they
smiled and nodded. I told them that my "measurement system" uses historical
analysis, so if the sensors are "so-so", the software must be extra "good good"...
We laughed.

I also mentioned, that I consider the Prius as a revolutionary project,
not only because of the technology, but because it's daring effort to move
the auto industry from the present "ICE only" course. When I compared their
efforts to Ford's T1, they were very and I mean very glad.

There was a lot of talk about the 4th generation Prius, mostly incremental
changes as far as I can tell, needless to say they did not say anything
specific.

They seemed to be really, really bright people. It was an amazing
honour. We can expect more awesome developments from Toyota in the near future
for sure and they seem to use the Prius' success to fuel more R&D on the
advanced vehicle topics.

Cheers,
Attila

For those of you not familiar with Attila, he's a guy that doesn't spend a lot of time haunting the forums, but is one of the most innovative and technically savvy Prius people out there. He is the guy who decifered almost all the CAN codes we now use in CAN-View and that have been used by many others. He's on my very short list of people I'd pick for an opportunity like he had and I'm sincerely thrilled that he got to go.

[hdrygas]

Boggles the mind. Thank you for shairing this with us! It is good to know Toyota is listening to us!
Henry

[Cheap!]

I want to go!

I want to ask them about what if.

You know, what it the Prius;

Used two large motors to push it to 70 mph and the engine would be used to assist at high speed and to keep the unlimited range.

What if they used the new Altare nano li-ions in a large battery pack for a PEV60? That could charge in six minuets at a recharge station if needed, but still use the engine until those stations could come on line.

What if you could plug it in?


What if it came with this on the roof.
45% Efficient Solar Cells
That would be 900 watts of panels on the car instead of just 270 watts like Steve Lapp used.

What if you used a wind generator that would turn in the wind when it is parked all day?

What if we did all these things?

[efusco]

One thing in particular I want to point out is the REAL and confirmed reason why the EV button was left off of the US Prius....the Cat can get too cold. Never once in the 3 years we've had the 2G Prius in the US has that specific cause been suggested, at least as I can recall.

Note, also, the Chief Engineer didn't say it was b/c of battery life/warranty issues or anything like that. Simply b/c of the potential for increased emissions if the CAT gets too cold.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cheap! @ Nov 16 2006, 11:49 PM) [snapback]350707[/snapback]</div>

I want to go!

I want to ask them about what if.

You know, what it the Prius;

Used two large motors to push it to 70 mph and the engine would be used to assist at high speed and to keep the unlimited range.

What if they used the new Altare nano li-ions in a large battery pack for a PEV60? That could charge in six minuets at a recharge station if needed, but still use the engine until those stations could come on line.

What if you could plug it in?


What if it came with this on the roof.
45% Efficient Solar Cells
That would be 900 watts of panels on the car instead of just 270 watts like Steve Lapp used.

What if you used a wind generator that would turn in the wind when it is parked all day?

What if we did all these things?
[/b]

You don't need an engineer to answer that. At today's and the foreseable future the "what if" answer is "It would cost too much to be practical". There's a compromise that must be met. Yes, the technology is there to do lots of cool things, but the cost and reliability issues make them completely unrealistic for the market.

[mwbueno]

Thanks for posting this Evan along with the extra info & Humongous KUDOS to Attila!

You mentioned a short list; I know it is dangerous to start mentioning names because we always leave some off that we wish we hadn't but, I will brave it & post my very short list of Prius Promoters that I feel, along with Attila, deserve such attention from Toyota.

John1701a
Graham D
Michelle V
Attila V
Sam W
Dan K
‘Hobbit’
Evan F
Norm E

I hope that Toyota will someday recognize all of these Prius Promoting Pioneers!

Best Regards,
Wayne

[FireEngineer]

Hey Wayne, don't forget to add "mwbueno" to that list.

Wayne

[efusco]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mwbueno @ Nov 17 2006, 10:15 AM) [snapback]350795[/snapback]</div>

Thanks for posting this Evan along with the extra info & Humongous KUDOS to Attila!

You mentioned a short list; I know it is dangerous to start mentioning names because we always leave some off that we wish we hadn't but, I will brave it & post my very short list of Prius Promoters that I feel, along with Attila, deserve such attention from Toyota.

John1701a
Graham D
Michelle V
Attila V
Sam W
Dan K
'Hobbit'
Evan F
Norm E

I hope that Toyota will someday recognize all of these Prius Promoting Pioneers!

Best Regards,
Wayne
[/b]

Hey Wayne,
You're kind but sadly misguided to include me on that list. And you would be in the top 1 or 2 on my list for certain. And you're right, it's a bit risky to start such a list. My list was going to be techy folks who could really discuss the nuts and bolts (circuits and wires this century?) of Prius. I'd almost rather send John to the marketing department to tell them what vehicles are needed next and how to best market to the the US and produce literature.

Only one on your list I didn't recognize was Sam W...?


Let me add on other thing regarding the EV Button exclusion from the US Prius...

Another F/U e-mail from Attila said that the 'body language' of the engineers he spoke with suggested that the "catalyzer" was not the only reason the button wasn't included. But neither they nor he expounded on that. So there 'may' be battery issues and other issues besides the Cat.

[TonyPSchaefer]

My third issue was the fuel gauge, when I mentioned the word "bladder" they smiled and nodded. [/b]

Priceless.

That's an incredible read. You're right, all Prius owners can relate to it. I remember a couple years ago being on Priuschat and we were literally guessing how things worked and what was actually going on.

Thanks for sharing.

[SoopahMan]

What if...

Those solar panels people are putting on the rooves of the Prius were combined with the plug-in mod, so that the panels didn't charge the batteries but rather heated the Catalytic Converter, allowing the car to have longer runs with the ICE off?

We should accept the solar panel-as-charger method will not be viable as a significant energy source for years, but as a heater, panels have been able to do this for decades. It seems a good pairing.

[daniel]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Nov 16 2006, 08:50 PM) [snapback]350689[/snapback]</div>

There was a lot of talk about the 4th generation Prius, mostly incremental
changes as far as I can tell, needless to say they did not say anything
specific.
[/b]

I'm disappointed to hear that the 4th gen is to be "incremental changes only." I know I'm not the only one hoping for PHEV in 2009.