Generally you are correct. Problem though is if there is a lead foot behind me I'm compelled to accelerate much quicker in city traffic. What happens then is instead of the engine taking over at about 10-12 mph it kicks in about 2-3 mph. I've had people pull up beside me and yell (like they're ready to kill me) get that piece of shit off the road. My only recourse then is to not move at all. mark_
Yes - I think all variations stop altogether. In the Toyota system the engine is cranked by using the pair of motor/generators differentially to spin the engine up to 1100 rpm (IIRC) before feeding fuel and spark. Since some Prius cars are over 200K miles and running sweetly the strategy must be working. There aren't many engines that get oil pressure before being fired up.
What amazes me is that except for the occasional shudder when coming to a stop that Bill mentioned, I can rarely tell when the engine starts or stops. I would hazard a guess the engine restarts an average of something like once to ten times per mile in city driving. There is no starter sound ever - just "hmmm" and the engine is running as if by magic. OTOH, having the engine shut down is unnerving to new drivers (at least it was to my wife and me!)
Mike
Mine at least is US.
Mike
Michelle, as a fellow Arizonan (Zonie) I have to mention the best we've had is the round trip from Flagstaff to Sedona and back: 61 mpg for the 60 mile trip with about 2000 ft difference in elevation. Hybrids love hills!
Mike
Close enough description, I think. Don't touch it, you'll break it. Sit back und watch der blinkenlights.
Mike
Makes sense...something new?...the start?...
Of course...everyone knows that for Gawd's sake...
A coupl points to be added to the above.
The life of the batteries I know they are specially made given a standard battery life is 3-4 years. The cost of replacement plus warranty period (this may be seperate). Are they ( battery) recyclable. Like all cars they will at some point will required repair /service and the cost of this service ????????
Yandoit Australia
As Maxwall Smart would say " The old consumer pays trick. " Yandoit Australia
Just checked my computerised Latin dictionary (yes, I know, I'm desperately sad ) and got (edited to exclude "pri" prefix):
prius ADVERB earlier, before, previously, first; prius, prioris NOUN earlier times/events/actions; a logically prior proposition
Which works for me. Recalling the "global" names our *.JP chums tend to come up with, it's an amazing outbreak of scholarship.
Expected life of Prius battery exceeds 10 years.
The cost of replacement plus warranty period (this may be seperate).
Who knows? None have been replaced yet. I heard the price has dropped considerably.
Are they ( battery) recyclable.
Yes.
Like all cars, that depends on what needs to be serviced and where the service is performed.
=>
=>A lot of people used to be very sloppy and/or careless when they filled up =>and the next in line usually got some fuel on the bottom of their shoes, =>which meant tracking it inside the car. Gasoline without the scent added =>smells gross. =>I buy clear K-1 and though I'm very careful with it I do get some on my =>hands. It lingers like chlorine bleach. =>I don't care how clean diesel becomes in the future, the exhaust is =>typically very heavy and doesn't dissipate as easily as the fumes from =>burned gasoline. I don't know a single person who enjoys being behind a =>diesel, in slow traffic, on a hot summer day. =>
=>mark_
Smelly? Another urban myth?
Never smell anything behind UPS vans(MB/Dodge/Freight liner Sprinter Diesel Van) and they have been running in US for years now. Also, Sprinter van is the hottest commercial van on the market for years. For 28MPG, no other US vans can beat it.
Me too.
I hope to make it at least once; until about a decade ago, I was not emotionally ready to visit it, and since then I haven't had the opportunity to visit DC.
-- Michelle
more expensive) also fuel filters and maintenance
today's market, in the winter you need blended fuel or
additives that keep the fuel from gelling.I have
it is, it cost more!
Wow. When I left Houston in 1987 (to move north), gas was 67 cents/gal
What are they alluding to when they call it a POS? I've never elicited such comments. Your part of Massachusetts must be populated by much ruder people!
Just wait until diesel cars start using bio fuel.
Yandoit Australia
Things only even go wrong at the last moment
J.D.Boatwood
No shit. That will drive the price of food up.
This is one of the most interesting threads I have seen anywhere recently - so much so I sorted by date and went through again. It is great to learn so much about day-to-day use of hybrids and about batteries and diesel technology.
One thing which is not clear is whether diesel is inherently more expensive to produce than petrol. I suppose the differential depends, in part, on the type of crude and, possibly, dealing with sulphur.
The free gift of hybrids is regenerative braking - the fossil fuels we will continue to waste until this is universal should make us weep.
The thread contains convincing evidence that there is no real barrier to diesel hybrids. My arithmetic suggests that a diesel-powered Prius would do around 35.
What remains unresolved, for me anyway, is whether there is (or needs to be) any significant difference in pollution between petrol/diesel.
I would rather see bio fuel used to heat homes instead of using it for vehicles. Alternatives such as wood, coal, pellets and corn are a pain in the ass unless one never leaves his home for any extended period of time. mark_
There is not really a technical barrier to making a dieseel hybrid function. However, as I mentioned before, there is a cost barrier that consumers may not be willing to pay because there is a premium price for a diesel and a premium price for a hybrid system, so the price of a diesel hybrid could be so high that nobody would purchase it.
The other potential barrier to diesel hybrid sales is that Toyota markets hybrids as a "greener" alternative to conventionally powered vehicles, and many people, especially in the U.S., perceive diesel as a dirtier engine so the number of prospective buyers might be to small to justify development and production costs.
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