Lexus to introduce hopped-up ct 300h, three other new models

"..hit 60 in 7 seconds instead of 10.."

Sorry, at my advanced age, 70, I simply cannot "adjust" to the boy-racer mentality.

 

West the post is about increasing power. Luxury economy requires compromises but I don't think it requires things to go very slowly.

I understand at 70 some things don't make sense. 7 is the new normal for cars. My previous car was a lexus gs which hit 60 in less than 6 seconds. The changes I talked about would still allow you to stay in the combined mpg above 40 while having some more fun to drive acceleration..

A boy racer car is the mazda speed 3 which hits 60 in 6.3 and cost much less than a ct200.

As to why the gs hybrid is a pig, it just feels heavy and doesn't handle nearly as well as my old v8 gs did. It does have plenty of straight line performance, but you would think lexus could get the combined mileage above 23mpg (the regular v8 is 20). I'm hopeful that the M hybrid feels better, at least it gets 2 more mpg in the city and 7 on the highway.

 

GS450h is 2006MY vehicle that was optimized for speed not mpg... In fact, users are regularly reporting above stated EPA MPG:
Browse On-the-Road Fuel Economy Data


On the other hand, 2012 vehicles are better optimized for new EPA rules so you have people complaining how they cant reach EPA numbers.

Also Infiniti M hybrid weights the same as Lexus GS450h. It also has the same trunk (small), so I dont see what happened to lion space savings?

It seems, just like in Sonata Hybrid, that they cant actually save space with lion batteries. Is it an cooling issue?

I think Previa Hybrid was only car that managed to save space with lions and that with putting it in centre console.

 

Something I was thinking about earlier on my way home from work:
Could electric (hybrid or full electric) ever imitate the control of having a car locked into a certain gear, where you go back and forth between engine braking and accelerating. As I was thinking about it, I came up with the idea that an MG (motor-generator) that is large should be able to imitate this. Electric can quickly accelerate and the generator function could apply a significant amount of drag. If a computer controlled the amount of electric power and amount of generation, based on foot pedal position, it should be able to imitate an engine coupled to a specific transmission gear and locked in that gear.
(I hope Porsche or another performance car manufacturer reads this. Please!!!! )

 

doesnt that happen when you use RX or GS that have "virtual" gears?

 

I didnt even know they had them until someone mentioned in clublexus.... Lexus doesnt brag about it in media presentations...

 

The answer is no.

Electric motors can not "hold position" anywhere nearly as well nor as solidly as mechanical gears nor even hydraulic drives. They will always have a bit of "rubber bandish" effect, feeling.

A given mechanical gearbox ratio will always be EXACT, say 3.56:1. THe HSD CVT/PSD, for instance, will be 2.56:1 plus or minus a few percent, depending on the applied drive vs driven torque level.