Featured Threads Archive
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Dashboard Summary February 2018
Thanks to Jeff Cobb's team at: http://www.hybridcars.com/february-2018-dashboard/
model 02/15/18 01/15/18 12/15/17 11/15/17 1 Fusion Hybrid 5059 2519 4169 3541 2 Prius Liftback 3889 4011 5401 4787 3 RAV4 3657 3502 4846 4349 4 Transit Diesel 3383 2629 4333 3798 5 Model 3 2600 1900 1050 350 6 Prius Prime 2050 1496 2420 1834 7 Ram Pickup Diesel 1917 1517 2147 1417 8 Niro Hybrid 1826 1630 2397 2235 9 Camry Hybrid 1557 1621 2913 2703 10 Bolt EV 1424 1177 3227 2987 11 Model S 1100 900 4800 1400 12 Highlander Hybrid 1094 976 1606 1393 13 Volt 983 713 1937 1702 14 Ioniq Hybrid 975 902 829 939 15 Model X 900 700 3400 1800 16 Leaf 895 150 102 175 17 Clarity Plug In 881 594 898 18 Fusion Energi 794 640 875 731 19 Prius C 716 811 954 854 20 C-Max Hybrid 709 709 980 939 21 RX 400 / 450 h 668 583 967 753 22 Colorado Diesel 624 554 557 594 23 i3 623 382 672 283 24 X5 596 261 832 929 25 Lacrosse Hybrid 567 454 55 300 26 NX Hybrid 518 458 731 431 27 Avalon Hybrid 513 477 446 329 28 Prius... -
EPA Chief Pruitt pushes back CARB
http://www.hybridcars.com/epa-chief-pruitt-pushes-back-carb/
Stole this article from HybridCars.com. Discusses the 2025 CAFE standards and clarifies that April-1 is the deadline for EPA to make any mid-course changes, with some softening expected.
Pruitt seems to be suggesting the drop in new car sales is due to a trend to buy used cars, presumably implying new cars are getting too expensive due to CAFE. Did I get this correct? Are used car sales up? -
Clean Technica Chats With Fully Charged
I would imagine that most of you have heard of one or the other.
CleanTechnica Chats With The Fully Charged Dudes (Video) | CleanTechnica -
Ads on the infotainment screen
Oh joy:
Telenav Creates In-Car Infotainment Advertising for OEMs | News | Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog
Telenav Offering In-Car Ad Platform for OEMs - The Connected Car
CES 2018: Expect Annoying Ads in Your New Car, Very Soon
Our 2010 Touring has NO infotainment screen, but see very few if any new cars thus. -
Electric Car Myth Buster
I was hesitant to post this because it come close to advocacy yet I found it via Google News. I'm hoping @john1701a adds his insights as he has history dealing with Prius-skeptics. There is little distance between Prius and plugin skeptics: Electric Car Myth Buster — Efficiency | CleanTechnica
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We recently heard from CleanTechnica reader Martin Hemdricks, who told us about a scurrilous indictment of electric cars that recently showed up in his email inbox. It charged that electric cars put all their carbon emissions into the atmosphere before they drive a single mile. It went on to say an electric car needs to drive 15 miles or more 365 days a year for 10 yearsbefore making any positive contribution to the environment. Not true.
These sorts of bizarre statements are routine. One way you can tell they are all coming from the same source is they all make the same... -
Consumer Reports Reformed
I picked up the Consumer Reports New Cars issue, April 2018, from the magazine rack yet held off reading it for a couple of weeks. When I finally read it, Huh? The cars I'm familiar with Prius Prime and BMW i3-REx were factual. Even their notoriously poor MPG numbers were close enough to the EPA and my metrics to be usable:
- Toyota Prius Prime - 74 Road Test Score
- 69 MPG overall
- 56 City
- 81 Highway (only with EV)
- 69 MPG overall
- BMW i3-REx - 79 Road Test Score
- 139 MPGe
- 135 City
- 141 Highway (only EV tested)
- 139 MPGe
The Prime is a plug-in Prius that can usually drive about 23 miles on electricity only. But the gas engine... - Toyota Prius Prime - 74 Road Test Score
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Driving Aids in the news
Not specific to Prius, Hybrid, or EV specifically, but related to radar cruise, lane departure, blind spot monitoring systems, and some possible negative impacts:
How new safety technology might actually be making our driving worse | CTV News -
electric car window stickers
Source: Making sense of electric car window stickers: What it all means | Autoweek
Making sense of electric car window stickers: What it all means
Trying to compare EVs with gasoline or diesel vehicles isn't easy, and the current window sticker doesn't help
. . .
While in principle MPGe is a good way of conveying relative efficiency, I'm not sure that it's actually meaningful to consumers, nor is energy efficiency in general for plug-in vehicles," said Sam Abuelsamid, senior analyst at Navigant Research. "Much as most consumers focus on what their monthly payment is going to be, for EVs, I think they are mostly just interested in the electric range and, in the case of PHEVs, the gas/diesel efficiency."
. . .
MPGe stands for "miles per gallon equivalent." A slew of alternatives were debated before this metric was applied for... -
World Debut of the Lexus UX, a New Genre of Crossover
World Debut of the Lexus UX, a New Genre of Crossover | LEXUS | TOYOTA Global Newsroom
Hat tip to @GasperG who posted this in the TNGA powertrains thread.
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Rotary returns as range extender
Source: Mazda's Rotary is Making an Unexciting Return in 2019 » AutoGuide.com News
. . . In an interview with Dutch group AutoRAI, Mazda’s European sales chief, Martijn ten Brink, said the rotary range extender will appear on a new electric car that shares its platform with the next-generation Mazda3. Although he didn’t say it conclusively, he suggested a crossover body style would make sense.
As for the rotary engine itself, it will be a single-rotor unit without a turbocharger, and its compact design takes up no more space than two shoe boxes. It’s been developed to operate so smoothly that drivers will not even notice when the rotary engine is operating.
. . .
I hope it competes well with the BMW i3-REx.
Bob Wilson -
The Race to Improve Fuel Economy
I'm slowly changing my opinion about Consumer Reports:
The Race to Improve Fuel Economy - Consumer Reports
. . .
As CEO of Diverse Construction, one of the state’s few female-owned communications contractors, Mulkey sweats the fuel expense for her 15 work trucks. They’re mostly big, brawny Chevrolet pickups of various sizes, some strong enough to haul 18-foot trailers fully loaded with tools and materials for building and maintaining cell towers.
Mulkey has noticed fuel efficiency notching up in recent years as she rotates in new trucks. The improved efficiency saves Diverse, based in Lewisville, about 20 percent on its fuel bill. Last year, it was about $135,000, Mulkey says. A few years ago, the fleet was averaging 6 to 8 mpg; now it’s more like 9 to 10. “We can tell it’s improving,” she says. “Every little bit helps.”
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Bob Wilson -
For 6 months, 1 in 5 Prius sales have been a plug-in hybrid
I think this means that despite Toyota insisting people don't want plug-in electric cars, it turns out we do. Especially if you can get it cheaper than a regular Prius when you factor in the tax credit.
I hope this helps to convince them to release more plug-in vehicles, even if they have to do it kicking and screaming something about hydrogen fuel cell cars.
For six months, one in five Prius sales has been a plug-in hybrid -
Interesting article on jalopnik
Not always a fan of this site but I thought this was interesting. Predictable conversation comments happened as well.For some reason can't post the link here. -
Lexus UX crossover photo and video released ahead of Geneva
A Hybrid more compact than a Prius with eAWD? It could be really tempting.
That's if they bring all of these features to the U.S. The full reveal will be March 6.
Lexus UX crossover will debut at Geneva, but here's a photo and video - Autoblog -
Lexus lowers hybrid prices to reduce premium over gasoline substantially
Lexus lowers hybrid prices to reduce premium over gasoline substantially
This is just for the US. In Canada, the price has increased (probably paritally due to the exchange rate. It's about...
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