Tesla Extends Range

It seems the car rags car and driver and consumer reports seem to both pick the fit as the low tco car. A friend whose car broke down 2 months ago, has been riding his motorcycle to work for a couple of months, which is not pleasant in cold rain that we have had here. Needing to wear a suit this week he finally broke down and bought a manual transmission fit for just over $16K. I don't know how much you paid for the prius phv, but if you consider that you will probably drive it for a large number of years, it is not that expensive of a premium for the prius phv. You aren't saving money but if you like it better, why not? The fit gets good gas mpg 32 combined for the manual, 36 for the cvt, but over 200,000 miles you still are burning more than 2500 fewer gallons of gas than even that cvt (epa estimated mpg, assuming 25% electric driving). That isn't going to save the environment, but it helps take power away from OPEC.

Yikes, what horible naming by honda. The fits system is so different than this why call it a sport hybrid. Oh well they aren't exporting fit hybrids here anyway.

 

I can't think of a better name for a car that that you buy and drive mostly for sport. No other word quite describes something so expensive, underpowered, range and space-limited

 

You could also tact on a 0ne motor, two motor, or three motor to the respective system, and it all falls under their Earth Dreams moniker.
I think used 'sport' to differentiate their system from Toyota's. To remind people that their cars generally have a more engaging driving dynamic. For the models that are obviously not performance car, most articles I've seen drop the Sport Hybrid part.

 

Honda should just call it "Not Boring" hybrid then to differentiate from Toyota Prius.

 

Could & might - words that just as easily mean might not. How many vapor ware formulas come & go every year. Even with that dose of reality - hats off ... good luck ... & I wish them well.
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And if you work really hard at it, you can exit this life with lot of your hard earned money passed on to someone else...

Joking aside, there is nothing wrong with spending money on more expensive solutions that advance sustainability. There are cheaper cars than the Prius, but few that send as strong a message that steps (no matter how small) in the right direction matter. For example, is the worlds best moped the most sustainably made and powered moped, or does "best" mean something else?

 

Lead Acid -> NiCad -> Nimh -> LIon each chemistry hits physical limitations and new ones are discovered.

LIon still has lots of room for improvement, but I wouldn't count other chemistries out, it just will be awhile before they exceed current cost and reliability of LIon. Switching to a Sulfur based (like Lithium graphene) or Air based battery will reduce size cost and weight of plug-ins eventually, but I would not bet that we see it in less than a decade.

 

It's worth pointing out that the present Li-Ion batteries would be quite adequate for a great many cars if just the cost were to drop substantially. While many focus on the advancing chemistries of future batteries, it is the cost/kWh that matters more than anything else right now.

 

The circuitry that protects a lithium-ion battery from being damaged when too deeply discharged, could also be applied to any automotive electrical system. When the voltage drops below 10.5V, power-drain would be cut off. I believe most electronic devices have this feature.

Why don't all cars have it? Possibly because it would impact negatively on new battery sales.

 

My 2005 HHR had it. It was my father's originally, and the original battery was defective. It was replaced under warranty. The cost of the battery protection circuit is likely cheaper than any warranty claims to damaged electrical equipment. I would be surprised if most cars don't have it.

 

Yes, true, but I'm sure the rat-bag business analysts got their way by proving that it drives customers back to the dealers to spend more money on servicing and batteries.

 

In a discussion on another site, I have reached the opinion that it is the dealers associations' pressure for why US models have shorter oil change intervals than in Europe. Even without the battery protection, a starter battery is good for a minimum 4 years in the continental US, more likely 5. Short oil change intervals means a customer coming in 2 to 3 times a year compared to once a, or every other, year. Early battery deaths might mean them coming in every 4 years instead of every 6. Between that and the greater hassle of dealing with the old batteries than used oil, I don't think the dealers would care much about it.

 

I think the automakers need to occasionally remind the auto dealers who's the boss. If rat-bag dealers are pulling shady tricks on their customers, the whole brand reputation is damaged.

 

Automakers have been reminded, fairly often, the the Dealers are the boss.
In the US, Dealer associations have gone far beyond protecting their rights granted under their contracts with their automakers.
They have become strong enough to actually write into state laws, in some states, legislation that outlaws otherwise legal business models.

If they can outlaw competition, why in the world would you think dealers aren't "The Boss"?

 

Examining Tesla Model S Excessive Rear Tire Wear Via Thermal Camera - Video

 

i suppose a lot of people drive them hard, and can afford new tyres.

 

Did some reading about it, a lot of complaints with the rear camber eating up the rear tires. 10 - 15k miles for rear tires? I can understand when I had my s2000 doing that range, but this is an AS touring tire, not some summer only tire.

I wonder if they changed the camber setting with the 85D?