Toyota Debuts Plug-In Prius Hybrid

[wiyosaya]

[citation][nom]brutus1234[/nom]that's awfully expensive for 5.2KWThe Volt battery is 16 KW by comparison. It's rated for 40M and on a cold day, you'll be lucky to hit 25-30.This thing will barely get you out of your driveway on a winter morning. Might be enough to heat your seats[/citation]
So, you actually drive a volt? Or are you just listening to propaganda?

 

[alidan]

god, GIVE ME A FULL ELECTRIC CAR

back when they were testing them i believe one of the manufactures made 1000-5000 and field tested them.

they got 300 miles a charge, and towards the end of the test phase, newer batters were developed that could get 600 miles.

they can accelerate faster than a Porsche, but cant haul as much.

with 11 cents a kwatt here, and close to if not 3$ a gallon, i cant help but think that within the first 2 years, the car would pay for it self, EVEN if magic happened and gas wend down to 1$ a gallon again.

 

[CKKwan]

Where is the Fuel Cell that we have been talking about few years ago?

 

[Guest]

I'd buy one the day it comes out if it had a range of 50 miles (or preferably 100). 15 miles turns into 3 miles pretty quickly when the battery starts aging.

 

[blubbey]

Only problem is that the production of the car contributes a hell of a lot to what it's trying to stop - mining, shipping and manufacturing the batteries is a big problem, not to mention the batteries will probably go flat in ~10 years, unlike cars which will continue to run and so will be more efficient in the long term by not having to get rid of it (making new batteries or having to buy a new car if they aren't replacable is not the way to go, also there's the disposal of the batteries....). Don't get me wrong, 'regular' cars are also inefficient but there's so much more than thinking about one stage of it, you have to think of everything. It's ridiculous how close minded some people are.

Also, where's the energy to power it coming from? More than likely a fossil-fuel power station which totally defeats the point of the car in the first place.

 

[Au_equus]

the battery in your regular gasoline vehicle is a lead-sulfuric acid battery. where do you think lead comes from? the sky? what do you think happens to the lead acid batteries when they run out? that's right, they recycle them. same thing with the nickel metal hydride batteries, which last longer than their lead- acid counterparts. when they decrease in their KWh capacity they can recycle the nickel. btw the battery power management used by toyota allows them to slap a 150,000 mile warranty on the NiMH battery alone. by saying "the batteries will probably go flat in ~10 years" is dead wrong. priuses made in the late '90s are still operating on the same battery. yeah, it is a bit ridiculous how close minded people are.

 

[blubbey]

[citation][nom]au_equus[/nom]the battery in your regular gasoline vehicle is a lead-sulfuric acid battery. where do you think lead comes from? the sky? what do you think happens to the lead acid batteries when they run out? that's right, they recycle them. same thing with the nickel metal hydride batteries, which last longer than their lead- acid counterparts. when they decrease in their KWh capacity they can recycle the nickel. btw the battery power management used by toyota allows them to slap a 150,000 mile warranty on the NiMH battery alone. by saying "the batteries will probably go flat in ~10 years" is dead wrong. priuses made in the late '90s are still operating on the same battery. yeah, it is a bit ridiculous how close minded people are.[/citation]
They will still lose charge over time and will need to be replaced (will they make them non-replacable? Hopefully not so then it's more like a replace a faulty one or one that's going down with a newer one every now and then) if it's your everyday car you will definitely travel some way per year and not to mention they still get power from (more than likely) fossil-fuel power stations which totally defeats the object of an 'eco' car if it runs on power supplied by fossil fuels. That's the main problem I have with these type of cars.

'deliver a top-speed range of 15 miles on full electric mode' - I take that as if you run it flatout you'll only get 15 miles from it, which is probably ~100mph for 15 miles which is less than 10m running time. Sure you won't run it that high but come on, on a motorway at 70mph for some miles you'll run out of power at a reasonable rate. You will need to recharge which will take more than an hour. That is not what you want. 'Oh I'm sorry I couldn't come to the meeting because I was recharging my car'. I don't think that's the future of motoring.

 

[Au_equus]

In the event the NiMH battery needs to be replaced (long after your lead-acid battery goes out) that can be done at your local toyota dealership . Its very replaceable.
I agree with you that using fossil fuels to recharge your car is not the ideal 'eco' alternative, but the majority of prius drivers buy the car not because of the eco movement. FYI electric cars produce ozone, a major component of smog. They buy the car to save money on gas. The savings are simple: 500-600 mile range per 11.9gal tank.
http/blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2011/04/06/hybrid-sales-surge-as-gas-prices-march-upward/
if you're thinking about running the car as an electric, you're totally missing the point of a hybrid. by your arguement, most prius drivers can agree that you don't know how this technology works. just because they say it will run 15 miles on the electric battery alone does not mean it will only do that. by doing so you will shorten the battery life by constantly depleting it. instead the car will start the first 1-3 miles on the battery then revert to the gas engine/electric balance. in my first post I pointed out that the prius and other hybrids balance the output between the electric and gas engine to maximize mpg. if your battery is out of power, the gas engine will kick in to recharge the battery, you don't have to plug it in. that's why they put in as an option.

 

[nebun]

[citation][nom]enewmen[/nom]Hybirds should not cost more than the fuel saved using small & cheap cars.[/citation]
you will always pay more for a "FAD" that's what they are, nothing but a "FAD"

 

[SmileyTPB1]

People get so testy and wound up about a car. Not even a cool car.

Also I would question the accuracy of people's claims of 50+ mpg in their Prius. Is that average mpg for a whole month of driving or just what the computer screen in the car told you? Because I could get 99 mpg in my Cadillac from time to time also. Don't assume that the computer screen in your Prius is honest either, it might be lying about your mileage. Keep track of your mileage and gas and do the math yourself and see if it's the same. Better yet, cover up that computer screen and see if you still get good mileage, bet you don't.

 

[jsc]

[citation][nom]qefx[/nom]From the net: "The star point coil voltage of a 480 volt three phase system is 277 volts." Appear to be a 3 phase thing.[/citation]
Yes. How many houses have 3 phase 480 volts?

 

[pollom]

[citation][nom]sgtopmobile[/nom]you are forgetting to overclock your house voltage[/citation]
you only need a transformer for do that! too easy !

 

[toms my babys daddy]

[citation][nom]captaincharisma[/nom]i can see it now. Americans suing Toyota again because they don't know how to plug it in right just to find out a year later that there wasn't any issues with the car but just the customers[/citation]

I bet you go to bed every single night grumbling about Americans. lol hop off usa's sack k thnx.

 

[digitalgriffin]

If you were TRULY eco conscious then you would get a Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt. Both hold a useable charge that is considerably higher than a Prius. In fact the Chevy Volt is designed around the fact that most people drive < 40 miles/day. So you virtually almost use NO gas. Averages of 100 MPG on the Volt over a tank lifetime are quite common. This is significanly better than a Prius.

Buyer beware however. You could never recoup the cost of these vehicles in gas savings over their life time, compared to their base counterparts. There are many vehicles now which over 40+ MPG non-hybrid crap. There's 2 from chevy, 2 from ford, and 2 from VW that I can think off the top of my head.

BTW: I hate the Prius and my wife owns one. It's a dead lifeless piece of stale toast that all Toyota products are.

 

[nebun]

[citation][nom]enewmen[/nom]You're right. I'm waiting for econo cars to become hybird. Then we can finally start seeing dramatic increases - 50% better than current small cars, instead of just seeing 30mpg on cars that normally get 20mpg......[/citation]
gas companies like shell, mobil and many others have bought out patents to prevent cars from becoming 60+mpg gas sipping technological marvels

 

[Vladislaus]

[citation][nom]blubbey[/nom]They will still lose charge over time and will need to be replaced (will they make them non-replacable? Hopefully not so then it's more like a replace a faulty one or one that's going down with a newer one every now and then) if it's your everyday car you will definitely travel some way per year and not to mention they still get power from (more than likely) fossil-fuel power stations which totally defeats the object of an 'eco' car if it runs on power supplied by fossil fuels. That's the main problem I have with these type of cars.'deliver a top-speed range of 15 miles on full electric mode' - I take that as if you run it flatout you'll only get 15 miles from it, which is probably ~100mph for 15 miles which is less than 10m running time. Sure you won't run it that high but come on, on a motorway at 70mph for some miles you'll run out of power at a reasonable rate. You will need to recharge which will take more than an hour. That is not what you want. 'Oh I'm sorry I couldn't come to the meeting because I was recharging my car'. I don't think that's the future of motoring.[/citation]
Still, fossil fuel power stations are a lot more efficient than the engine of a car.

 

[Kileak]

Any fuel you're saving with your Prius, I'm wasting in my 350Z.

And even at 4$ a gallon, it's worth every single penny in enjoyment.

Keep hugging that tree, I'll hug the curves 'til the reserves are empty or until they can make mainstream fully electric cars worth driving, and not just for 30 miles on a charge.

 

[feeddagoat]

While electric cars will save a fortune in fuel it will cause electric prices to rise fairly sharply effecting everyone in everyday life not just fuel for heating or petrol for car. Top gear, being the idiots they are, are right about one thing, manufacturing these cars is a bigger waste of energy than they will ultimately save. The process will be refined over time and become cheaper but components like batteries will have a sharp increase short term.

 

[Guest]

"Any fuel you're saving with your Prius, I'm wasting in my 350Z"

Funny! A guy in a 350Z passed me while I was driving my Prius 35mph through a 35 speed limit - no passing residential area just yesterday. I was wondering when Darwin's law would get him, or some poor little kid that was just trying to ride her bike on the road.

Facts about the 2006 Prius I drive. I average 51 mpg over several years of driving in all weather conditions. Still on the first traction battery, first set of brakes, 106000 on the odo. When the speed limit is 35, I drive 35. When it's 70 I drive 70. No problems merging into traffic, lots of torque. A cost analysis that I did before I purchased the Prius showed savings at $2.50 a gallon over a cheap economy car if I could average 50mpg. At $3.44 and 51 mpg, the Prius beats any eco car that gets 40mpg over the life of the car. The Prius is roomy, and it is a much nicer ride than an economy car, and requires less maintenance.

At $32,000 the plug in Prius is too expensive. Buy the $23,000 Prius and spend a little more on fuel. At $4 a gallon, a regular Prius will use $15.6K in fuel over it's 200,000 life. A plug in might use $10.6K in fuel over 200,000 miles (averaging 75 mpg) so we are talking $5000. If you drive a car less than 200K miles before you trade it in, or if we get into replacing traction batteries, the plug in Prius is a clear looser. Now if you live where you pay sales tax and annual property tax like we do in Kentucky, the up front cost and value of the car add greatly to the cost. Oh, and don't forget the electricity you need to purchase and the charge controller you need to install in the garage, that adds to the plug in Prius cost. The numbers are bad for the Plug in, unless the government rebates make the numbers work like they did in 2006. If the US government wants to encourage fuel economy, add about $2.00 in taxes to a gallon of fuel. That would sell plug ins.

I was quoted in a newspaper once as saying "wasting a finite resource is silly" Tell me where my logic is wrong.

 

[antilycus]

I'll still take a diesel engine from Audi or VW please. Much more efficient with the ability to use up recycle-able cooking oil (batteries can't do that) and 60mpg isn't that great, FYI. My 1987 Honda CRX usually gets 60-67. Yes 1987, on GASOLINE.